Palombo: There were more woes in store for Sampdoria last night as the club revealed that captain Angelo Palombo had suffered a broken rib during the 3-2 upset at home to Cesena in a Serie A match earlier in the day. The midfielder went off during the first half and was taken to hospital for further checks.
Puyol: Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has been ruled out of tomorrow’s Champions League second-leg with Arsenal at the Nou Camp after failing to recover from injury. The Spain centre-back has been missing since the middle of January with a knee problem and, despite being able to train in recent days, he is not yet to return to action.
Matavz: Slovenian striker Tim Matavz is close to signing for Napoli according to his agent. The 22-year-old currently plays for Groningen in Holland and was linked with a move to Lyon last week. But agent Nusret Jashari said: “I want to reassure the Napoli directors that everything has always been fine for Tim’s transfer, even if nothing is official yet.”
Nagatomo: Yuto Nagatomo dedicated his first ever Serie A goal to the Inter fans yesterday. The Japan full-back, formerly of Catania, joined the champions in the January transfer window and hit the back of the net during the 5-2 win over Genoa yesterday. “I am the one who should be thanking Inter for this opportunity,” he said. “I also thank the supporters... my goal is a wonderful gift to the fans.”
Probe: Scottish Police have launched an investigation into the events surrounding last week’s explosive Old Firm clash between Celtic and Rangers. Rangers players Steven Whittaker, Madjid Bougherra and El-Hadji Diouf were shown red cards in a Scottish Cup replay at Parkhead that featured 13 cautions and saw Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist and Celtic boss Neil Lennon share a heated exchange after the final whistle.
French Cup: Semi-final draw made yesterday – Angers vs Paris Saint Germain; Nice vs Lille. Ties to be played on April 18-19. The final will be played at the Stade de France on May 14.
Athletics: Wilson Kipsang defeated Deriba Merga, of Ethiopia, in the last four kilometres to win Japan’s Lake Biwa marathon yesterday, setting a new record for the event in doing so. The 28-year-old Ken-yan, who raced a shoulder-to-shoulder battle against Merga, put on a spurt after passing the 38km mark to cross the finishing line in 2:06.13. Merga was second in 2:09:13, followed by Japan’s Hiroyuki Horibata, who timed 2:09:25 to qualify for the World Championships in August.
Tennis: Big-hitting Croat Ivo Karlovic set a new world record on Saturday with a 251km per hour serve in his country’s Davis Cup World Group first round tie against Germany. The previous record of 249.4km per hour was set by Andy Roddick in a Davis Cup semi-final in 2004. The 2.08m Karlovic, making his return from achilles surgery, hit the monster serve in the fourth set of his doubles tie which he and Ivan Dodig lost 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to Germany’s Christopher Kas and Philipp Petzschner.
Rugby League: Rugby League star Benji Marshall was charged with assault, his Australian club said, after an alleged fight outside a fast-food outlet in the latest controversy to hit the scandal-mired sport. The Wests Tigers player and New Zealand Test captain is due to appear in court next month over the incident which allegedly took place in Sydney. New Zealand-born Marshall was anointed the “face of the NRL” after officially launching the 2011 season, which is just days from kick-off.
Rallying: Reigning world champion Sebastien Loeb won the Rally of Mexico for the fifth time yesterday, as overnight leader Sebastien Ogier crashed out. The Citroen Racing DS3 driver finished ahead of Finnish pair Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala to notch up the 63rd victory of his career. It is the first victory this season for the seven-time world champion who finished a disappointing sixth in the season-opening Rally of Sweden, and his first triumph in Citroen’s new DS3 car.