Hand of Becks in ‘designer plaster’

ENGLAND skipper David Beckham will be in plaster for up to eight weeks following confirmation that he fractured the scaphoid on his right hand during England’s 2-1 friendly win over South Africa.

Beckham suffered the injury after landing awkwardly under a first-half challenge from Thabang Molefe in Durban.

Although he played on the 28-year-old midfielder was clearly in pain and was eventually rushed to hospital after being substituted five minutes into the second half.

The Manchester United star broke a bone at the bottom of his thumb, but the injury is not an immediate worry for England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, as Beckham was already ruled out of the Euro qualifier with Slovakia on June 11 through suspension.

However he has been given the green light to join United’s high-profile trip to the United States this summer.

Newcastle are preparing to launch a charm offensive after finally getting their hands on Lee Bowyer.

The 26-year-old England midfielder agreed a four-year deal before jetting off on holiday, and will undergo a medical on his return before completing the formalities of the move.

The task now is to persuade Bowyer’s critics that he has learnt from his mistakes and will toe the line at St James’ Park after being dogged by controversy for much of his career.

Bobby Robson is renowned as one of the toughest disciplinarians in the game.

He has seen his faith in Bowyer’s former Leeds team-mate Jonathan Woodgate rewarded in fine style since his £9million arrival.

Meanwhile Everton have finalised a deal to make Nigerian defender Joseph Yobo’s move to Goodison Park permanent. Yobo, who has been on loan from Olympique Marseille, will sign a contract tying him to Everton until 2007 with Marseille receiving a further fee of 3.5 million pounds, Everton’s official website reported yesterday.

Everton paid an initial one million pounds to secure the 22-year-old defender on loan last July. Talks to make the deal permanent were held up by a dispute with Marseille over his severance fee.

Joe Kinnear and assistant Mick Harford have left Luton after new owners took charge of the club.

A consortium gained control of the club on Tuesday following the retirement of chairman Mike Watson-Challis and Kinnear lasted just three days before leaving.

Manchester United have signed a co-operation agreement with Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon. The deal, which has been anticipated for a number of weeks, was confirmed yesterday, extending United’s global reach.

It places the Old Trafford outfit in an advantageous position to sign Sporting’s highly-rated teenage star Ricardo Quaresma, who has been coveted by a number of top European clubs.