D Friday, January 22, 2010 SPORT 23 sportdigestOShea out for season Mancini goes Gago Manchester United expect John Oshea to miss the rest of the campaign following complications after he suffered a dead leg. the injury is more severe than first expected and sir alex Ferguson said: hes got a terrible injury. the problem is that the blood clot became all knotted and when it gets knotted you get calcification so therefore its a long process to clear that up. Its a bad blow for the boy and for the team. u UnIted are poised to announce a sponsorship deal with turkish airlines. the three-year contract will see the club adopt turkish airlines as their official carrier, replacing air asia. Manchester city manager roberto Mancini is reportedly interested in signing midfield duo Fernando Gago and Mathieu Flamini. the Italian hopes real Madrids Gago and ac Milans Flamini can follow Patrick Vieira, who joined the eastlands outfit for the remainder of the season from Inter Milan. I need players, Mancini said. Perhaps real Madrid will give me Gago, maybe Milan [will let me have] Flamini. Meanwhile, the Italian must wait to see if Vieira can recover from a calf injury in time for the second leg of their carling cup semi-final against Manchester United on Wednesday. I hope that Vieira is fit for the return, he said. arsenal defender William Gallas will not face retrospective disciplinary action from the Fa following his late tackle on Boltons Mark davies in Wednesdays Premier league victory at the emirates. Bolton boss Owen coyle labelled the challenge, which happened in the build-up to arsenals crucial equaliser at the start of the second half, as akin to assault, leaving the midfielder with severe ligament damage. But it seems referee alan Wiley viewed the challenge as two players coming together, and so allowed play to continue and thus no separate disciplinary proceedings can be implemented. however, former Burnley boss coyle was less than impressed by the challenge. he said: clearly it was a foul, and closer to a red card. It was akin to assault and it changed the game. FA put Gallas in the clear Floored: Boltons Mark Davies writhes in agony after William Gallass controversial challenge on Wednesday night Picture: Pixel SOCCER PREMIER LEAGUE Title is firmly in our sights, says Wenger Positive thinking: Wenger arsenaL boss arsene Wenger insists his side have already pulled off something ludicrous by overhauling an 11-point deficit to move top of the Premier League. But Wenger believes his cesc Fabregas-inspired team can improve further and now have the title in their sights. arsenals 4-2 win against Bolton on Wednesday, after they trailed 2-0, was a seventh in nine matches since a 3-0 de- feat at home to chelsea left them 11 points adrift and seem- ingly out of the title race. But while they have played a match more than the Blues and are top only on goals scored, Wenger has no doubt his team have the spirit of champions. If you keep belief, no matter what people say, it can strengthen the belief in the heads of my players and get them stronger, said Wenger. But I am very proud of what the players have achieved be- cause [after the chelsea game] it looked a little bit ludicrous to say we would come back. Despite that, the players con- tinued to fight with belief. Wenger added: We believe we have a real chance and I am convinced this team will have a go. It is very important we keep a good mixture be- tween humility, with our feet on the ground, and of course ambition and desire to win it. czech winger tomas ros- icky, meanwhile, whose strike at the end of the first half prompted the hosts incredible fight-back against Bolton, has no doubtarsenals rivals know they are right in the title hunt. the other clubs can see that we are there and we want to win it and everybody will have to compete with us, he said. all the other teams can see we are able to do it, and it will be interesting until the end. u arsenaL full-back Kieran Gibbs will miss the rest of the season as he needs further sur- gery on his metatarsal fracture. Midfielder abou Diaby and full-back Bacary sagna miss sundays Fa cup tie at stoke with calf and shoulder injuries. By Simon Kay Warning: Federer Federer ploughs through opposition in Melbourne TENNIS: Roger Federer sent out an ominous warning to his rivals as he eased into the third round with a straight- sets victory over Victor Hanescu in Melbourne. The world No.1 needed just an hour and 39 minutes to overcome the 47th-ranked Romanian 6-2, 6-3, 6-2. It was a convincing performance on a day which saw just one seed crash out of the mens draw, 17th seed David Ferrer going down 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) 6-3, 6-1 to 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis. Third seed Novak Djokovic, the in-form Nikolay Davydenko, 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and last years semi-finalist Fernando Verdasco all progressed, leaving Robin Soderling, the eighth seed, as the only player inside the top 12 to have been eliminated so far. Federers display even had a royal seal of approval as Britains Prince William, currently touring Australia, arrived, to the applause of the crowd and the Swiss himself. For me it was a big honour that he came and watched me, Federer said. Ivanovic crashes out again TENNIS: Former world No.1 Ana Ivanovic continued her disappointing grand-slam form when she crashed out in the second round in Melbourne. The 2008 French Open winner, who has now failed to get past the fourth round in seven majors since her Roland Garros triumph, fell to the 36th-ranked Argentine Gisela Dulko 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 6-4. Ivanovic, an Australian Open finalist two years ago but now ranked 21, admitted she is frustrated with her early exits. It hurts, she said. I think I just have to be patient. Some matches its there, some not. Elsewhere, defending champion Serena Williams and her sister Venus both had comfortable straight-sets victories. Mouse retains taste for War RACING: Cheltenham Gold Cup hero War Of Attrition brought the house down at Gowran Park yesterday as he recorded an emotional success in the Alo Duffin Memorial Galmoy Hurdle. The top dog in steeplechasing in 2006 found plenty to beat Powerstation and Tony McCoy by four lengths. A delighted Morris said: I got great pleasure out of that it was great to see and he did it well. I havent had that much pleasure since he won the Gold Cup. The days big race, the Tendrleen Thyestes Handicap Chase, went to 5-1 shot Whinstone Boy, trained by Jimmy Mangan (pictured). Gabon are squeezed out SOCCER: Zambia and Cameroon reached the African Nations Cup quarter-finals as a dramatic final day in Group D saw Gabon top before kick- off miss out. Goals from Rainford Kalaba and James Chamanga earned Herve Renards Zambia side a deserved 2-1 victory against Gabon in Benguela despite substitute Fabrice Do Marcolinos late consolation. Cameroon booked their place after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 against Tunisia in Lubango, thanks to goals from Samuel Etoo and Landry NGuemo. index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html