De Jong: Marseille are planning legal action against Manchester City midfielder Nigel de Jong over the tackle which broke Hatem Ben Arfa’s leg. The France midfielder, who is on a season-long loan at Newcastle from the Mediterranean club, was ruled out for the bulk of that period after having his tibia and fibula broken by the Dutchman’s challenge earlier this month.
Albrighton: Aston Villa midfielder Marc Albrighton will miss the second leg of England U-21 European Championship play-off in Romania because of a minor groin complaint. The 20-year-old came off the bench in the 2-1 win on Friday.
Muslera: In-form Nando Muslera has been left in the dark over his new contract after Lazio cancelled a meeting they had with their goalkeeper and his agent repeatedly in summer. “I don’t know what’s going on with the contract renewal,” the 24-year-old said. “My agent, Daniel Fonseca, came to Rome 14 times between July and August. His most recent trip was last week, but it was useless.”
Doyle: Ireland striker Kevin Doyle has been ruled out of tomorrow’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Slovakia with a knee injury. The Football Association of Ireland yesterday confirmed the Wolves striker has returned to his club for treatment.
Ziegler: Reto Ziegler, the Sampdoria defender, could be heading to Juventus in January. The Swiss international’s contract expires at the end of the season, so a transfer move is expected to avoid losing him for free. Fiorentina and Liverpool are also interested, but according to the latest reports Ziegler is likely to join Juve if he decides to leave Sampdoria.
Formula One: Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has agreed terms with Russia for the country to hold its first Grand Prix in Winter Olympics host city Sochi in 2014, a report said. Ecclestone told the Kommersant daily that after several rounds of negotiations conditions for the contract have been agreed and they had been given the document. “The document has still not been signed but when the appropriate person from Russia signs it, I will sign it the next day,” Ecclestone told the newspaper.
Basket, NBA: New Jersey power forward Troy Murphy will not accompany the Nets on their trip to Russia and China because of a lower back injury, coach Avery Johnson said. Murphy might miss the Nets’ NBA season-opener because of a sore disk. He will be re-evaluated when the team returns from its pre-season exhibition tour.
Boxing: Manju Wanniarachchi guaranteed yesterday Sri Lanka their first Commonwealth Games boxing medal in 60 years after easing through to the semi-finals on points. The 30-year-old saw off Kenya’s Nicholas Okoth in the bantamweight quarter-finals, putting him through to the last-four and a guaranteed bronze. “This is Sri Lanka’s first boxing medal since 1950, so this is great for us. It is historic,” said manager Dian Gomes.
Golf: Yang Yong-Eun, the South Korean who became Asia’s first major men’s champion by winning last year’s PGA Championship, won his second OneAsia title of the year after shooting a closing five-under-par 66 for a surprise two-stroke victory in the Korea Open yesterday. Yang won the $260,000 prize after finishing with a four-under total of 280, two ahead of 20-year-old Kim Bi-O, who shot 73, and Choi Ho-Sung, who carded a 71.