Wayne Rooney fractured a bone in his left foot on Sunday, leaving Manchester United to settle for a 0-0 draw with Reading in the Premier League.
The England striker picked up a hairline fracture trying to force the ball home just before halftime. Although he was able to continue playing, he was limping badly.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said the foot began to swell and Rooney had to be replaced at halftime.
PHOTO: AP
"He couldn't really stand on it,'' Ferguson said. "But it started to swell so there was no point in trying anything with the second half with him.''
Goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann denied the defending champions a chance to begin the season with a victory, making five key saves.
"All credit to the lad. He made some fantastic saves,'' Ferguson said. "He's experienced, he's confident.''
Ferguson didn't start any of his four new signings -- Owen Hargreaves, Carlos Tevez, Nani and Anderson -- as United began with a familiar lineup. After the loss of Rooney, the Red Devils struggled to break down Reading's well-organized defense.
"The loss of Wayne Rooney was obvious,'' Ferguson said. "I think if he'd have been on the pitch we'd have won the match. We were just lacking that central striker and the experience of a central striker and it cost us.''
Hahnemann made saves from John O'Shea and Michael Carrick and, after Reading was reduced to 10 men following the 73rd-minute sending off of Dave Kitson for a lunge at Patrice Evra, he made three more standout blocks.
Chelsea conceded an early goal against Birmingham but bounced back to win 3-2 and set a record of 64 games unbeaten at home, moving ahead of the Liverpool team that went 63 unbeaten matches from 1978 to 1981.
Former Chelsea striker Mikael Forssell gave Birmingham the lead at Stamford Bridge in the 15th. The Finn's header sent Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech the wrong way after Liam Ridgewell had flicked on a free kick by Gary McSheffrey.
Peru striker Claudio Pizarro equalized in the 17th with a low shot from Shaun Wright-Phillips' cross.
Florent Malouda, another of manager Jose Mourinho's new signings, made it 2-1 in the 31st after Salomon Kalou put him clear of the defense. But Birmingham leveled five minutes later when Olivier Kapo easily beat Glenn Johnson and cut inside to hit a powerful rising shot inside the far post.
Michael Essien made it 3-2 with a 20m shot in the 50th, although Doyle was again at fault.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB