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Soccer Shorts

■ United Kingdom
Del Horno returns home
Chelsea agreed on Friday to sell defender Asier Del Horno to Spanish club Valencia. The English champion said Del Horno had traveled to Spain to negotiate personal terms. The fee was not disclosed. Del Horno joined Chelsea in June last year from Atletico Bilbao and played 34 games for the London club. The 25-year-old left-back was named in Spain's World Cup squad, but withdrew with a leg injury. Chelsea has been linked with a move for Arsenal's Ashley Cole and Real Madrid's Roberto Carlos as replacements.

■ United Kingdom
Bent tries finger sandwich
Charlton striker Darren Bent is training with a protective splint after his cutting his left hand in a kitchen accident. The 22-year-old England international was chopping onions on Wednesday when he severed a tendon in his index finger. However, he's continuing to train wearing a protective cast and manager Iain Dowie said Bent would be ready for Charlton's first game against West Ham on Aug. 19. "Yes, he has cut his finger, yes it is deep but it is healing well and there is no question he will miss the start of the season," Dowie told the club's Web site on Friday. "I can't believe what I've done," Bent said. "I was in so much shock afterward I couldn't tell you what sandwich it was."

■ Brazil
Player found dead
A soccer player from a second-division club in the northeast was found dead at his hotel room after apparently suffering a stroke. Helder, a 27-year-old midfielder from America de Natal, was found dead on Thursday night by a teammate who went looking for him at hotel he was temporarily living in, the club said. "I was worried because he didn't show up at the club and I couldn't contact him," teammate Paulinho Kobayashi told the local Tribuna do Norte newspaper. "It looked like he was sleeping when we found him." Doctors said it was likely Helder suffered a stroke, but the official cause of death wasn't yet known.

■ Trinidad & Tobago
Yorke may play on
Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke could continue playing at international level after enjoying his first World Cup experience with Trinidad and Tobago. The Caribbean side, the smallest nation ever to feature at a World Cup finals, were knocked out in the first round in Germany but took a point off Sweden before heading home. Now skipper Yorke has hinted he may play on despite his rapidly approaching 35th birthday. "I try to always keep myself as fit as possible and who knows how long this could keep me going as a player," Yorke told reporters here. "I've had a long spell and I have enjoyed every moment of it. Leading my country to the World Cup has undoubtedly been the proudest moment for me. There's not much more a player can ask for especially at my age and seeing what we were able to achieve."


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