Fabiano: Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano will be sidelined for about six weeks after the Brazilian international strained a right thigh muscle during a weekend Spanish league match. The 30-year-old was stretchered off the pitch in the 71st minute of Sevilla’s 2-0 loss away to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday after he landed awkwardly on his right leg. After the match Sevilla coach Gregorio Manzano said he feared Fabiano may have suffered ligament damage to his knee and would need further
Popluhar: Former Czechoslovakia defender Jan Popluhar, who played in the team that lost to Brazil in the 1962 World Cup final in Chile, died on Sunday aged 75. Popluhar, who played 62 games for Czechoslovakia and scored one goal, was also in the team that finished third at the 1960 European championships.
Lacatus: Marius Lacatus resigned yesterday as coach of Steaua Bucharest a day after a humiliating defeat in the Romanian league, local media reported. “Lacatus went before the boys and told them he was resigning,” the club’s owner Gigi Becali told Gazeta sporturilor. The former army club lost 3-0 at home by a modest FC Brasov, drawing scathing comments from fans.
Rangers: Rangers have handed young midfielder Jamie Ness his second contract extension inside four months to tie him to the club until the summer of 2015. The 20-year-old signed an improved deal in December, but has now extended his stay at Ibrox by another two years.
Bannan: Aston Villa midfielder Barry Bannan has completed a loan move to Championship side Leeds until the end of the season. The 21-year-old Scotland international will go straight into Simon Grayson’s squad for tonight’s clash at Preston.
Serie B: Vicenza vs Torino 1-0; Atalanta vs Novara 1-1.
Primera Liga: Deportivo La Coruna vs Real Sociedad 2-1.
MFA Div. Three: Għargħur vs Kalkara 4-1; Marsa vs Luqa 1-3.
In Scotland: Premier League – Dundee United vs Aberdeen 3-1.
Cricket: Cricket Australia said yesterday it had reprimanded New South Wales opener Phillip Hughes for swearing after he was caught out during a Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania. Hughes, a Test opener during some matches in Australia’s Ashes series loss to England, was reported on day two of the March 3-6 game at Bellerive for breaching the Cricket Australia code of behaviour. “Hughes was reported for using repeated obscenities after being dismissed for 26 in the Blues’ second innings,” Cricket Australia said.
Rugby League: The ‘face’ of Australia’s scandal-hit rugby league, Benji Marshall, will not face an immediate ban by his Wests Tigers club despite being charged with assault, the league’s head said yesterday. Marshall was charged on Sunday over an alleged altercation at a fast-food restaurant in Sydney, after reportedly being the target of racial abuse. National Rugby League chief David Gallop said the New Zealand skipper would not face any immediate ban over the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Saturday.
Basketball: The two-time defending NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers handed league-leaders San Antonio a punishing 99-83 defeat on their home floor in a game billed as a possible Western Conference finals preview. The Lakers brought the Spurs’ 22-game home winning streak to an abrupt halt and won their seventh in a row, launching what was expected to be a tough seven-day road trip with a bang. Next up they will visit Atlanta today, Miami on Thursday and Western rivals Dallas on Saturday.
Golf: South Africa’s Rory Sabbatini held off fast-closing Yang Yong-Eun of South Korea on Sunday to win the $5.7 million Honda Classic and capture his sixth career US PGA title. Sabbatini began the final round with a five-stroke lead and fired a par 70 to finish on nine-under par 271 and defeat Yang, who fired a closing 66, by one stroke. “I’m just beside myself. It’s fantastic,” Sabbatini said of the triumph, which came after a battle with skin cancer. “An awful lot has happened since the last time I won. It’s great being here again.”