A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Petrov ruled out for two months
ASTON Villa captain Stiliyan Petrov has been ruled out for at least two months, manager Gerard Houllier confirmed yesterday.
The midfielder was hurt in the first half of Villa’s 1-0 loss to Sunderland on Saturday, and may now need an operation on his knee injury.
“Unfortunately I think we have lost Stiliyan Petrov for maybe at least two months,” Houllier said on the club’s website.
Mowbray wanted by Middlesbrough
TONY MOWBRAY is the man Steve Gibson, Middlesbrough’s chairman, wants to become the next manager of the struggling Championship club, but no contract will be signed until a significant financial hurdle is surmounted.
Mowbray, a much loved former Middlesbrough centre-half, is still receiving compensation from Celtic following his dismissal last spring and is understood to be owed another €563,291 to be paid in monthly instalments. Such payments would stop were he to take charge at The Riverside and, with the incoming manager to be offered a salary lower than that commanded by Gordon Strachan, who resigned last week, Mowbray has a big decision to make.
It is thought likely he will elect to take charge of Boro, possibly after a compromise being reached with Celtic, and Gibson is hoping to have him in situ by the weekend.
McCarthy ruled out for 10 weeks
WIGAN midfielder James McCarthy could be out of action for up to 10 weeks with an ankle injury, manager Roberto Martinez has said. McCarthy was carried off on a stretcher after a heavy tackle from Bolton’s Fabrice Muamba in Saturday’s Premier League clash.
The injury is not as bad as feared but the Republic of Ireland international still faces a lengthy lay-off.
Martinez said: “It is a little bit better than we thought at first but it is obviously ligament damage in the right ankle. When it is swollen it is sometimes difficult to assess but there is no fracture, we hope. We expect to get the results of the scan today and then hopefully it will be eight to 10 weeks.”
Martinez said Muamba’s tackle “was a completely unnecessary challenge”.
Mutu accused of punching waiter
FIORENTINA will await the outcome of a police investigation before deciding what action to take against Adrian Mutu after the Romanian striker was accused of a “serious” assault.
The player has been accused of punching and badly injuring a waiter in a bar in early on Saturday. Mutu, whose nine-month drugs ban ends on Friday, has made no comment.
“I saw Adrian this morning briefly and it’s better I don’t tell you what I said to him because we are before the watershed. It’s a serious thing, we will wait for the investigation,” Fiorentina director Andrea Della Valle said in a club statement.
“We’ve got to wait because we don’t know exactly what happened. We will act calmly. It’s not the first time this sort of thing has happened but it’s never been so serious.”
Mutu has suffered many problems during his career. Fiorentina have always stuck by the striker but Della Valle’s statement suggested strong action could follow if he is found guilty of the assault.
Arsenal to offer Nasri new deal
ARSENAL intend to reward Samir Nasri for his impressive form to date this season by offering the France international an extension to his contract at the Premier League club.
The 23-year-old, a €17 million signing from Marseille in 2008, scored his seventh goal in as many club appearances in the 3-0 victory at Manchester City on Sunday.
Nasri’s current deal runs until 2012, with negotiations to take place on what is expected to be a three-year extension, tying him to the north London club until 2015.
Arsene Wenger is convinced the midfielder will go on to make a prolonged impact this term after two relatively inconsistent years since moving to the Premier League.
“He is becoming more efficient,” said the Arsenal manager. “He has become stronger and you judge a player by his ‘numbers’: on Sunday he had a goal and an assist. I believe we have a great player now.”
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Bothroyd brace pushes Cardiff level with leaders
JAY BOTHROYD fired a double as Cardiff served warning this could finally be their year for promotion by routing English Championship rivals Leeds 4-0 in their backyard.
The Welshmen, beaten play-off finalists last season and so often in the thick of the promotion race in recent years, moved level on points with leaders QPR by securing a fourth-straight league win thanks to Bothroyd’s 10th and 11th goals of the season and strikes from Michael Chopra and Lee Naylor.
Bothroyd was fortunate not to receive a red card for his studs-up challenge on Luciano Becchio in the first half, but he now has four goals in as many games as Cardiff registered a fifth-straight win over Leeds, who have lost their last three league games at Elland Road.
Kasper Schmeichel made his long-awaited return in goal for Leeds following a foot injury, and Alex Bruce returned to central defence, but confusion between the pair allowed Bothroyd to pounce on a route one ball a score the opener into an unguarded net.
