Keane: Manchester United captain Roy Keane will miss Ireland's do-or-die World Cup qualifier at home to Switzerland next month after breaking a bone in his foot. The midfielder injured his left foot during United's 0-0 draw with Liverpool in the Premier League on Sunday with the club saying that he was expected to be out for two months. Keane may, therefore, have played his last match for his country since he had said he would retire from international football after the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany or before if Ireland failed to qualify.
Butt: Birmingham City's Nicky Butt has been charged with insulting a match official after being sent off at the weekend, the Football Association said yesterday. Butt has been given until this evening to respond to the charge and the case will be heard on Tuesday of next week. The former Man. United midfielder was sent off for violent conduct just before half-time in Birmingham's 1-1 draw at Portsmouth on Saturday. Butt kicked out at Portsmouth's Uruguayan Dario Silva when the pair tussled for position at a free-kick.
Aston Villa: Aston Villa said yesterday they had received a "preliminary approach" to buy the Premier League club. Villa's share price soared following weekend media reports that a Russian consortium was about to launch a £60 million takeover bid. Speculation over bids for soccer clubs has increased in the wake of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich's takeover of Chelsea two years ago. Villa are 12th in the standings after one win, three draws and two defeats this season under manager David O'Leary.
In Brazil: Sao Paulo goalkeeper Rogerio Ceni missed one penalty and converted another in a 4-2 win over Vasco da Gama in the Brazilian championship on Sunday. The win lifted the South American champions to 13th in the 22-team table as they continued their recovery after a poor run saw them briefly drop into the relegation zone. Rogerio, the team's captain, free-kick and penalty specialist, took his tally this year to 17 goals, including seven in the Brazilian championship.
In Italy: Serie C1 - (Group A) Padova vs Genoa 1-1; (Group B) Napoli vs Torres 0-0.
MFA DIV. II/III KO: Birzebbuga vs Balzan 0-0; Qormi vs Sta Venera 1-0 (Balzan and Qormi in quarter-finals).
¤ Nuremberg midfielder Marek Mintal, top scorer in the Bundesliga last season, will be out for up to two months with a broken bone in his left foot. "We can treat him with a simple cast but he's looking at six to eight weeks out," Nuremberg doctor Jochen Gruber said. Mintal, who scored 24 goals in the Bundesliga last season, suffered the injury in training yesterday. The Slovakia international has found the net just once in the league so far this term.