Ronaldo: Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out of Portugal's friendly against Egypt in Lisbon today because of an ankle injury. Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has replaced the Manchester United winger by calling up Fulham's Luis Boa Morte. The uncapped Custodio Castro also pulled out of the squad through injury. Another uncapped midfielder, Braga's Joao Alves, has been drafted in.

Cyprus: Cyprus international midfielder Niko Nikolaou will miss his country's World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands on Wednesday after four of his relatives were killed in Sunday's air crash in Greece. Nikolaou's uncle, aunt and their two daughters have been confirmed among the dead of the Cypriot Helios Airways plane which crashed into mountains near Athens killing all 121 passengers and crew.

Buffon: Italian champions Juventus will be without their Italy international goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon for the first three months of the season. Buffon suffered an injury to his right shoulder after clashing with Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaka during a friendly match at the San Siro stadium on Sunday. Tests yesterday confirmed the seriousness of Buffon's injury and Juve said he would have an operation today.

Henry: Patrick Vieira left a big vacuum at Arsenal when he left to join Juventus, former club mate Thierry Henry said. Vieira joined the Serie A club in July after nine years with Arsenal in the Premier League. "It's just inexplicable," Henry said of Vieira's departure. "You have to live in England to understand what it means," he added. Henry said the whole Arsenal squad mourned Vieira, who had joined the London club in 1996 from Milan.

Fish: South Africa defender Mark Fish has announced his retirement at the age of 31 because of a long-standing knee injury. Fish, handed a free transfer by Charlton at the end of last season, has suffered knee problems over the past few seasons.

Sweden: Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg and Juventus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic have been ruled out of Sweden's friendly against the Czech Republic in Gothenburg today because of calf injuries.

U-21 results: Denmark vs England 0-1; France vs Italy 2-2.

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