Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has backed midfielder Lucas to make a speedy recovery from his latest injury setback.

All the talk after England’s uninspiring yet nevertheless, satisfactory, draw against France was that one victory over Sweden on Friday will leave them within touching distance of the quarter-finals and potentially kick-start a new era under manager Roy Hodgson.

Rory McIlroy’s selective scheduling hasn’t found favour with everyone this season but figures from the third annual The Sunday Times Sport Rich List would suggest the US Open champion tends to know what he is doing.

The editors of the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror have conceded that phone-hacking might have occurred at their newspapers.

MARK HUGHES faces more talks with QPR today before he decides whether to succeed Neil Warnock as manager of the Barclays Premier League club.

Mark Hughes stands on the brink of becoming the next manager of QPR after today arriving at Loftus Road to discuss the vacancy.

FIFA chairman Sepp Blatter believes England are still sore about failing to secure the 2018 World Cup.

FORMER Ireland and Manchester United star Roy Keane is battling to make his return to management with ambitious Championship club Leicester City.

LAST month, Sean St Ledger experienced the colour and excitement of an All-Ireland football final at Croke Park and the Leicester City defender is banking on a similarly passionate atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium tonight.

HE was only the fourth player in history to leave Arsenal for Spurs when he crossed north London in 2002 but, in truth, that giant step in football terms was only a modest relocation geographically for a man whose relentless globetrotting has since seen him play football in Canada, Hungary, Moldova, Germany and, now, Ireland.

Choosing the right location for a team base is fraught with difficulties. Declan Kidney’s choice for his charges has appeared to have been an inspired choice.

NEW season, new beginnings. But, for Sean St Ledger, that means a lot more than most.

Leicester City manager Sven Goran Eriksson is hoping to sign Republic of Ireland and Reading striker Shane Long.

BLACKBURN’S Republic of Ireland international midfielder Keith Andrews is expected to join Ipswich Town on a season-long loan prior to the start of the Championship season on Saturday.

ROBBIE KEANE is weighing up offers to join either Blackburn Rovers or West Brom and is likely to make a decision in the coming days.

SCUNTHORPE face into tomorrow’s clash with Reading with new belief they can stave off relegation following Saturday’s stunning 4-1 thrashing of npower Championship leaders Queens Park Rangers.

ROBERTO MANCINI is adamant that when it comes to the FA Cup, Manchester City are in it to win it.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND defender Greg Cunningham will be out for four months after suffering a broken leg playing for Leicester at the weekend.

THREE goals in a game that could barely be described as a contest would not normally be the cause of gushing optimism but different rules apply in the case of Theo Walcott.

Fulham's hopes of luring Sven Goran Eriksson to Craven Cottage could be in jeopardy after the Swede revealed he is considering an offer to extend his contract as Ivory Coast manager.

AFTER the early shadow boxing it seems as though this could turn out to be the World Cup of upsets.

BRAZIL midfielder Gilberto Silva has admitted he is wary of the threat the Ivory Coast possess ahead of tomorrow’s Group G clash.

SWITZERLAND celebrated the greatest victory in their history and one of the biggest World Cup upsets of all time by beating a seemingly invincible Spain in Durban yesterday.

Jamie Carragher is poised to answer Fabio Capello's World Cup SOS by scrapping his international retirement, according to reports.

OPPORTUNITIES to focus attention on matters away from the most glamorous clubs and the biggest competitions come along all too rarely, so they must be grasped.

CRAIG BELLAMY has little doubt about the way he is viewed by the outside world and even claimed on his arrival at Eastlands that his autobiography – not that he would ever write one – would be called ‘Don’t Google me’.

A 2ft movie star emerged as an early favourite to win 'Celebrity Big Brother' as the “egos landed” at the launch show.

'Celebrity Big Brother' returns to screens tonight, with Ulrika Jonsson among those tipped to enter the house.

Gareth Barry has claimed his four-year omission from England’s plans spurred him on to make the most of his chance under Fabio Capello.

High-ranking Manchester City officials are in talks over their response to stories suggesting owner Thaksin Shinawatra is looking for investment into the Eastlands outfit.

Blackburn have given Manchester City permission to talk to Mark Hughes about the managerial vacancy at Eastlands (now that Sven Goran Eriksson has vacated the post), Rovers have confirmed.

The future of Man City manager Sven Goran Eriksson is likely to become much clearer on Monday.

Richard Dunne is expected to return to the Manchester City defence for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League trip to Anfield after missing the 3-2 defeat to Fulham with a hamstring injury.

IT could not have gone much worse for Sven Goran Eriksson.

Manchester City and Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Ireland is reluctant to join up with his international team-mates at next month’s training camp.

MANCHESTER City boss Sven Goran Eriksson has told fans “it doesn’t matter whether you wear blue or red” when it comes to honouring a minute’s silence for the 50th anniversary of the Munich disaster.

ARSENE Wenger is not known for exaggerations but he might have broken new ground when he insisted Emmanuel Adebayor could become as good as Didier Drogba.

Manchester City striker Nery Castillo has been ruled out for up to six weeks after fracturing a bone on his shoulder.

SEEN from the Continent, the English are an unpredictable lot. Apart from speaking loudly in restaurants and being inexplicably fond of bad lager, they have a tendency to deceive their allies, but they themselves are easily deceived by appearances.

Stephen Ireland is said to be considering retiring from international football.

MINUTES before the media gathered at Gannon Park in Malahide yesterday for a post-training briefing from Steve Staunton, the news broke via the Manchester City website that Stephen Ireland had withdrawn from the Irish squad.

Sven Goran Eriksson paid tribute to Micah Richards after Manchester City chalked up a notable double of Premier League awards.