AC Milan defender Philippe Mexes' return to action following a six-month spell on the sidelines has been curtailed due to a hand injury that will rule the France international out for a week.

It means Mexes will not be able to play in Saturday's clash with former club Roma, with whom he spent seven seasons.

Montenegro defender Miodrag Dzudovic has written to UEFA calling for leniency for Wayne Rooney as the England striker awaits his 2012 European Championships fate, reports said Saturday.

Rooney's chances of starring at Euro 2012 could be scuppered by a three-match ban handed down by UEFA after the Manchester United star's sending-off for kicking Dzudovic in their final qualifier earlier this month.

Petra Kvitova stayed on course for her biggest title since winning Wimbledon when she overcame Agnieszka Radwanska 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to score her third win at the WTA Championships on Friday.

The Czech’s success carries her unbeaten momentum into the semi-finals and denied the Pole, who needed just one set to reach the semi-finals as well, by a frustratingly narrow margin.

Michael Ballack could be doubtful for Bayer Leverkusen's visit to Champions League Group E opponents Valencia after fracturing a bone in his nose during the 1-0 Bundesliga win over rock-bottom Freiburg on Friday.

Ballack scored the only goal of the game after just two minutes to boost his side's flagging league campaign, only to forced off in the 65th minute after a clash with Freiburg's Jan Rosenthal.

Manchester City reduced its fine of four weeks' wages handed out to Carlos Tevez to just two weeks' pay on Thursday after England's footballers' union backed the player in his dispute with the Premier League club.

City planned to fine Tevez four weeks' salary, which equates to around 800,000 pounds ($1.3 million), after finding him guilty of misconduct over a touchline dispute during a 2-0 loss at Bayern Munich last month.

Caroline Wozniacki, who celebrated becoming year-end world number one for the second successive year on Wednesday, marked the occasion by crashing out of the WTA Championships on Thursday.

Although the 21-year-old Dane has topped the rankings for fully 64 weeks, she was so outplayed by Petra Kvitova, the Wimbledon champion from the Czech Republic, that she looked anything but the best player in the world.

India's grand entry into Formula One came grinding to a halt on Friday when a stray dog interrupted the first ever practice session at Buddh International Circuit.

After years of planning, hundreds of millions of dollars in expense and frantic work to get facilities ready on time, it was an improbable hitch as the black dog ran onto the track, causing a five-minute delay.

Arsene Wenger told Arsenal shareholders on the eve of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Chelsea that his team will fight to get their season back on track.

The Gunners travel to Stamford Bridge for the Saturday lunchtime kick-off on the back of four consecutive victories, but it has still only taken them to seventh in the table.

NBA players and club owners met for more than seven hours on Thursday and planned to return to the bargaining table Friday morning as talks continued toward a new contract and a possible full season.

A dispute between billionaire owners and millionaire players over how to divide about $4 billion in annual revenues led to a lockout July 1 when the old contract expired, a shutdown that reaches 120 days on Friday.

German league leaders Bayern Munich expect to have vice-captain and Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger back in their starting line-up when they host Nuremberg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Schweinsteiger sat out Bayern's 6-0 demolition of second-division Ingolstadt 04 in the German Cup on Wednesday with a heavy cold as coach Jupp Heynckes blooded several promising youngsters.