ENGLAND
Fletcher out for season
Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to cure his chronic bowel condition. Fletcher has been struggling with ulcerative colitis for nearly two years and missed the majority of last season as a result. This season the Scotland international had hoped to resume his role in United’s midfield but, after initially returning in September, he has made just two substitute appearances since starting the Premier League game at Reading on Dec. 1. “Darren Fletcher will be unavailable for the remainder of this season having undergone surgery to resolve his ulcerative colitis condition,” United revealed in a statement on Thursday. “We wish to stress this was a planned procedure undertaken at the optimal time having achieved a period of sustained good general health, as illustrated by the fact that Darren has trained with the team regularly this season and been available for selection right up to the operation. Whilst it is frustrating for both Darren and the club that he won’t be able to contribute further during this campaign, this decision has been taken with our full support in the best interests of his long term health and we look forward to him returning next season with this problem firmly behind him.”
ENGLAND
Reid played with broken leg
West Bromwich Albion right back Steven Reid played the second half of their 2-0 defeat at Arsenal early last month with a fractured fibula, manager Steve Clarke said on Thursday. Reid is unlikely to feature in today’s Premier League derby against Aston Villa at the Hawthorns after taking a knock in the same area as a late substitute in Tuesday’s 1-0 FA Cup third round replay loss at home to Queens Park Rangers. “Steven went to see the doctor this morning,” said Clarke, who is hoping the Irishman will be back in training next week. “He has been out for a number of weeks and we didn’t release the full nature of the injury. It was a fractured fibula against Arsenal and he effectively played 45 minutes with a broken leg. That tells you the character of the boy. He came back on Tuesday and got another knock in the same area. It’s not serious but he’ll probably miss the weekend and that will be more our decision than Steven’s. We’re trying to protect Steven from himself a little bit.”
ENGLAND
Rodgers slams Suarez
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has criticized Luis Suarez after the striker said he dived while playing for the Merseyside club in a Premier League match in October. The Uruguay forward admitted to “falling” in an attempt to win a penalty during a goalless draw against Stoke, but no spot kick was awarded. Rodgers has described the Uruguay forward’s behavior as “unacceptable” and said the club would look to take action. Rodgers said: “I have spoken to Luis and it will be dealt with internally.”
ENGLAND
City headline Asian line-up
Manchester City will headline the Asia Trophy in Hong Kong later this year as the Premier League champions join English top-flight rivals Tottenham and Sunderland in the pre-season tournament. City, Tottenham and Sunderland will compete with local side South China FC at the biennial knockout event from July 24 to July 27. It will be City’s second appearance in the tournament, having finished third in Thailand in 2005, and their second successive pre-season trip to the Far East after touring China and Malaysia last year.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was