D Wednesday, September 30, 2009 METROSPORT 21 SPORTDigest Future in doubt: Gavin Henson Henson absence will not distract us, insists Jones RUGBY: Ryan Jones has told Ospreys to ignore the uncertainty over Gavin Hensons future that has forced his exclusion from their Heineken Cup squad. Henson has not played or trained since hurting an ankle in April and is on indefinite leave amid speculation his interest in the game is waning. And Jones said: You cant include someone in the squad if they havent been training. The situation with him is not a distraction for the team or myself. There are people far higher up the food chain who are dealing with it. Theres so much else to focus on. The boys are working really hard and weve got to move on from Gavin. We cant dwell on him or use his situation as an excuse for anything that happens. Interest in Quins post RUGBY: Mark Evans has revealed Harlequins have received quite a few approaches to succeed the disgraced Dean Richards as their director of rugby. And club chief executive Evans believes an appointment will probably be made before Christmas as Quins look to regroup after the Bloodgate fake injury scandal. Lions coach Ian McGeechan has been linked to the Quins vacancy. We are searching, said Evans. We are talking to a few people. Weve got our preferences, which we will keep to ourselves, and weve had quite a few approaches. Maria glee as seeds crash TENNIS: Seeds continued to tumble at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo yesterday as Elena Dementieva, Caroline Wozniacki and Vera Zvonareva suffered second-round defeats. That followed the exits of top seed Dinara Safina, Venus Williams and Svetlana Kuznetsova on Monday. The shocks have paved the way for the unseeded Maria Sharapova to claim her first WTA title since a shoulder injury. She beat 12th seed Sam Stosur 6-0, 6-1 in just 57 minutes yesterday. Senna confident of F1 job FORMULA ONE: Bruno Senna is confident he will make his F1 debut next year. Senna was set to drive for Honda before the Japanese manufacturer pulled out of the sport and re- emerged in the guise of Brawn GP. But Senna said: At the moment, were negotiating for a seat with quite a few teams some more advanced than others. Weve been dealing with some of the teams and know which is best. Alonso on verge of move FORMULA ONE: Double world champion Fernando Alonso is on the verge of joining Ferrari for the 2010 season. The 28-year-old Spaniard (pictured) is believed to be on the verge of penning a two-year deal with the Italian marque and will replace Kimi Raikkonen, who could be in line for a move to McLaren, reports the BBC. Renault driver Alonso, who finished third in Sundays Singapore Grand Prix, has been linked to reigning champions Ferrari for months, with his move considered an open secret in the paddock. The move is set to be announced within seven days. rugby MAGNERS LEAGUE racing Mick kinane believes Sea The Stars is as strong now as he has been at any stage this season as he bids for glory in Sundays Prix de larc de Triomphe at Longchamp. The son of cape cross has enjoyed a sterling season which has seen him emerge as one of the best horses of recent years with wins in the 2,000 Guineas, Derby, eclipse, Juddmonte international and irish champion Stakes. However, he is now set to face arguably his stiffest task to date in europes premier middle-distance prize. For many, victory this weekend would be his crowning glory. and kinane feels the John Oxx- trained colt is still improving physically and he can hardly wait for Sundays race. ive been to sit on the horse this morning and hes in good shape, he said. He came out of his race at Leopardstown really well and hes actually put weight on and got bigger and stronger. Tactically well just have to take the race as it comes, see what other horses are running and look at the draw. Stars is stronger than ever for Arc bid ODriscoll returns in time for derby clashBY GARETH MAKIM FeLiPe MaSSa has climbed into a racing car for the first time since sustaining a life-threatening head injury at the Hungarian Grand Prix when he drove seven laps in a kart. and the Ferrari driver now hopes to make a return to the F1 track in time for the final race of the season in abu Dhabi in november. Massa suffered a fractured skull when he was hit on the helmet by a spring from fellow Brazilian Rubens Barrichellos Brawn GP car in July. But he drove seven laps at a kart circuit outside Sao Paulo before being forced off by rain as he stepped up his return to fitness. He was accompanied by friends and his doctor, Dino altmann, and a source close to him told BBc Sport: He was in very good condition and he said to the doctor he was feeling Ok. There were no complaints. He had been a bit worried about the pressure of his helmet on the part of his head where he suffered the fracture, but it was Ok. He would like to be back for the last race [in abu Dhabi on 1 november] but that depends on further tests with the Fia doctor. Should Massa fail to return in time for abu Dhabi, his next competitive appearance will be in the international challenge of the Stars event in november in Brazil. Massa back behind wheel for first time since injury Back on track: Massa takes a kart out for a spin in Brazil as he drives a racing car for the first time since his injury Picture: Reuters formula one Brian ODriscOll is back in the leinster squad for the first time this season as the Euro- pean champions prepare to face Munster this saturday in their final Magners league game before getting the defence of the Heineken cup under way the following week. The return of irelands Grand slam-winning captain after his post-lions break means coach Michael cheika is only without cJ van der linde of his frontline players, with the south african prop nearing a return himself from a long-term injury absence. cJ was fairly borderline and i probably could have included him if i wanted to, said cheika yesterday. But the front rows are go- ing quite well so we decided it was probably better to leave him go another week to get his scrummaging right, make sure everythings right but its all going well so far. Brian also did full contact just now and came through it nicely. We would have liked to play Brian last weekend but its a long sea- son and hes got enough experience now to play these games fresh from a long break. He will have some rustiness so we dont ex- pect him to go out next week and win the game on his own but hell get a good run out in this fixture against some quality opposi- tion. it will get him up there pretty quickly. all the talk has been about Munsters bid to gain revenge for last seasons Heineken cup defeat at croke Park, but cheika and leinster have their own axe to grind after losing 18-0 at the rDs in the corresponding league fix- ture last term. [That] definitely [hurt], cheika admitted. That was the fourth game in four years that weve lost at home. They hurt when you lose. it doesnt matter if its one point or ten, one point is just as bad. its something thats been discussed and weve got to make sure we dont have that feeling again. Leinster squad (v Munster): L Cullen (capt), J Fogarty, C Healy, J Heaslip, N Hines, B Jackman, S Jennings, S Keogh, R McCormack, K McLaughlin, S OBrien, M OKelly, M Ross, D Toner, S Wright, S Berne, G DArcy, G Dempsey, L Fitzgerald, S Horgan, C Keane, R Kearney, S Keogh, F McFadden, I Nacewa, B ODriscoll, E Reddan, J Sexton index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html