Fulham: Dickson Etuhu will miss Fulham’s game at Aston Villa today after suffering a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. But new loan signing Eidur Gudjohnsen is in line for his debut after not being considered ready to feature in Wednesday night’s win over Newcastle.
Ascoli: Ascoli have been docked another point due to financial irregularities. The Serie B strugglers have already had five points taken away from them after failing to meet the criteria on financial stability in clubs.
De Jong: Defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong was recalled to the Netherlands squad by coach Bert van Marwijk for next Wednesday’s friendly with Austria in Eindhoven. The Manchester City player had been left out for Holland’s recent matches, after Van Marwijk criticised him over his rough play following a challenge on Newcastle’s Hatem Ben Arfa in October that left the French international with a broken leg.
Real: Real Madrid will offer €28 million and striker Alvaro Negredo, who they would buy back from Seville, to land Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero, Marca reported yesterday. Real sold Negredo to Sevilla in 2009 for around €14 million but they have the option of buying him back in the first two years for €17 million.
Ref 'rested': Emidio Morganti, the referee who turned down penalty claims by Juventus in their 1-2 upset to Palermo in midweek, will be ‘rested’ for two rounds of Serie A matches, the referees association said. On one occasion, Morganti denied Juve a penalty after a blatant hand-ball from Palermo’s Cesare Bovo.
Davies: USA international striker Charlie Davies confirmed that he was poised to join Major League Soccer club DC United, after a trial period at the Washington-based team. The 24-year-old will undergo a medical examination before signing a one-year deal on loan from French side Sochaux.
MFA Div. Three: Swieqi vs Attard 2-2; Sta Venera vs Qrendi 2-0.
Championship: Reading vs QPR 0-1.
Six nations: Wales vs England 19-26. Today: Italy vs Ireland (15.30); France vs Scotland (18.00).
Athletics: New Zealand’s Nick Willis, the 2008 Beijing Olympic 1,500m runner-up, will seek a third consecutive mile crown today against US star Alan Webb at the Boston Indoor Grand Prix. Webb had withdrawn from the meet but officials said this week the American record holder at the distance had re-entered and would join Mexican record holder Pablo Solares, among others, in trying to end the reign of Willis.
Cricket: Cricket’s governing body warned the public to beware of fraudulent emails that seek personal details to give away non-existent rewards ahead of the World Cup. The ICC said tricksters have been sending out emails to announce prizes supposedly won in sweepstakes and other competitions organised by it. Recipients are asked to provide bank account data and told to wire funds to a third-party bank account in order to facilitate their receipt of the award.
Golf: Two weeks before the start of the 2011 season, the LPGA is dealing with the loss of another tournament, the Tres Marias Championship in Mexico, from an already-reduced schedule. The women’s golf tour had scheduled the event April 21-24 in Morelia, with Japan’s Ai Miyazato set to defend her title, but LPGA officials said security concerns were too great to stage the event there this year.
Basket, NBA: Kevin Garnett was named to a record-tying 14th consecutive NBA All-Star Game by coaches, whose reserve picks also included Spain’s Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, of Germany, and Argentina’s Manu Ginobili. The selections were announced ahead of the 60th NBA showdown between Eastern and Western conference superstars at Los Angeles on February 20. Garnett matched Shaquille O’Neal, Karl Malone and Jerry West for the most consecutive All-Star selections.