Rooney: England's impressive 1-0 win over Slovenia yesterday was tainted by an ankle injury suffered by Wayne Rooney. The Manchester United striker had to come off in the 72nd minute and was replaced by Joe Cole. "I took Wayne off because his ankle wasn't feeling too good. I don't know exactly what he's got but I'm not concerned, I think he'll be okay for our next game on Sunday," Fabio Capello said.
Silva: Cash-strapped Spanish club Valencia confirmed yesterday that Manchester City have been given permission to speak to midfielder David Silva with a view to a transfer. "As has been said, there is interest from Manchester City and we have permitted them to talk to the player but we have reached no agreement and we have not talked about a fee," Valencia's deputy chairman Javier Gomez told reporters.
Cabanas: Mexican police arrested a man linked to the January shooting of Paraguayan striker Salvador Cabanas, the office of Public Security (SSP) said yesterday. Cabanas, who at the time was playing for Mexican team America, was the captain of Paraguay's World Cup team and its star forward. Cabanas, 29, was shot in the head after an argument at a bar in Mexico City on January 25. He is currently recovering in a Buenos Aires hospital.
Tickets: More tickets will be sold for the second round of the World Cup after some ticket-holders saw their teams eliminated from the tournament, FIFA said yesterday. About 4,000 tickets will go back on the market for the first round of 16 match, between Uruguay and South Korea on Saturday. Another 1,000 tickets will be sold for Sunday's match between Argentina and Mexico in Johannesburg's Soccer City.
South Africa: Pitso Mosimane and Gavin Hunt are the frontrunners to succeed Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira as South Africa coach. The 200,000-dollar-a-month contract of the 67-year-old grandfather ended with the elimination of Bafana Bafana (The Boys) from the World Cup on Tuesday despite defeating France in their final group game.
Kilmarnock: Mixu Paatelainen was confirmed as the new manager of Kilmarnock by the Scottish Premier League strugglers yesterday. The 43-year-old former Finland international was previously in charge of Hibernian. Paatelainen replaces Jimmy Calderwood who left at the end of last season after Killie had finished second bottom and only two points above relegated Falkirk.
Rugby Union: New Zealand Maori winger Hosea Gear scored a thrilling hat-trick of tries in Napier yesterday to ensure a 35-28 win over England and a perfect record in their centenary celebration series. Following wins over the New Zealand Barbarians and Ireland, New Zealand Maori ran in four tries to three as the two teams ran each other into the ground.
Basketball: Los Angeles Lakers centre Andrew Bynum will undergo surgery on his injured right knee next month. Bynum said he's headed to the World Cup in South Africa before undergoing surgery in July to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. The two-time reigning NBA champions Lakers expect Bynum to be ready for training later this year.
Ice hockey: Scott Niedermayer, captain of Canada's Olympic team and four-time Stanley Cup winner, has retired after a glorious 18-season career in the National Hockey League. Niedermayer is considered one of the greatest defencemen of his era and is a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Athletics: The Austrian anti-doping agency NADA has suspended former runner Stephanie Graf for two years on doping charges. Graf, 37, was found to have violated doping regulations when she attempted to use banned performance-enhancing methods that involved removing and storing her blood for later re-injection. The ban is effective as of June 21, NADA said in a statement.