Six Nations: Italy centre Gonzalo Canale will miss the 2014 rugby Six Nations tournament with a leg injury. The Stade Rochelais player sustained the injury in Saturday’s Test match defeat to Argentina and underwent surgery in Rome to repair a tibial plateau fracture in his right leg. A statement from the Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) read: “The surgery on Canale has gone well and no ligament lesions have been found. The prognosis for the recovery is of six months.” Italy, coached by Jacques Brunel, begin the Six Nations tournament against Wales at the Millennium Stadium, in Cardiff, on February 1, 2014.
Alpine Skiing: A nine-month-old boy will for now remain with his mother, a court ruled, in a custody battle with the baby’s father, Olympic gold medal skier Bode Miller, that has raised questions about the rights of pregnant women to relocate. Miller, 36, and ex-girlfriend Sara McKenna, 27, have been fighting for primary physical custody of the little boy since before the child was born. Legal battles over the boy he calls Nate and she calls Sam have played out in two states, New York and California. Miller lives in California. He accused McKenna of moving to New York when she was seven months pregnant in an effort to seek out a state with courts that might be more sympathetic to the custody concerns of the mother.
Rugby Union: Australia will take on France in a three-test series starting in Brisbane on June 7, the Australian Rugby Union said yesterday. The teams will play in Melbourne the following week and finish the series in Sydney in a Saturday afternoon match, the ARU said in a statement. France were emphatic 33-6 winners during their last encounter in Paris in 2012, but were beaten 22-6 by the Wallabies in their last tour Down Under in 2009.
Basket, NBA: Los Angeles Lakers have signed Kobe Bryant to a two-year contract extension. Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak announced the new deal and said it should ensure the 35-year-old, who has been with the Lakers for 17 years, ends his career with the team. The terms of the contract were not released. “This is a very happy day for Lakers fans and for the Lakers organisation,” Kupchak said. “To play 20 years in the NBA, and to do so with the same team, is unprecedented and quite an accomplishment.” Bryant is a five-time NBA champion and the 15-time NBA All-Star also led the US to gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Games.
Athletics: Perri Shakes-Drayton could miss the 2014 athletics season, including the Com-monwealth Games, because of a serious knee injury. The 24-year-old Briton suffered posterior cruciate ligament and cartilage tears in the final of the 400 metres hurdles at August’s World Championships in Moscow, not only missing out on what had looked a certain medal but also leaving her with a long road to recovery. The Londoner will miss the indoor season, including March’s World Indoor Championships in Poland, but could also be forced out of July’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the European Championships in Zurich the following month.