SOCCER SHORTS:West Ham striker Andy Carroll could be facing up to six weeks out of action with a hamstring injury.
Carroll (23) was forced to withdraw from England's 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine after the on-loan Liverpool frontman limped off in the second half of his debut against Fulham.
The Premier League club are yet to confirm reports scans have shown the problem to be more severe than first suspected.
However, co-owner David Gold responded to questions on his official Twitter account suggesting the player being back by mid-October would be the "worst case scenario".
Carroll is now certainly expected to miss the resumption of the domestic season at Norwich next weekend, as well as the League Cup tie against Wigan.
West Ham then host Arsenal on October 6th, by which time if the striker is not back towards match fitness, he would also be a major doubt for England's next round of World Cup qualifiers with San Marino at Wembley and the trip to Poland the following week.
England wary of condition of pitch ahead of Moldova tie
World Cup qualifiersEngland will arrive in Moldova today wary of what awaits them at the Zimbru Stadium amid concerns over the state of the pitch for tomorrow night's opening Group H World Cup qualifying fixture between the teams.
Officials from the Football Association have twice visited the new venue as part of the build up to the fixture and neither trip suggested there will be any potential major problems for the game. However, there is an awareness that facilities at the 10,400-capacity arena are relatively basic and an acceptance that the playing surface may be far from pristine, with coaching and playing staff alike anxious to test it for themselves when the squad train on the turf at the arena this evening.
“We have been made aware that conditions probably won’t be what we are used to, but we will see that first hand when we train there on Thursday,” said the centre-back Gary Cahill.
Adam Johnson has withdrawn from the squad for tomorrow’s game and next Tuesday’s against Ukraine due to injury.
Guardian Service
Crunch times for King’s charges
Under-21For the first time over the 24 years of the Under-21 Uefa championship, the Republic of Ireland approach the tail-end of their qualifying campaign in contention to progress, prompting midfielder Conor Henderson to liken this evening's tie in Hungary to a cup final.
Only victory in Kecskemét will maintain Ireland’s ambitions heading into Monday’s concluding qualifier in Italy. Six points from the two games would now seem certain to secure Noel King’s side a play-off shot at reaching next year’s European Championships in Israel.
Achieving a win against the unbeaten Italians in Casarano next week may appear a long shot, yet Henderson is of the view that accounting for Hungary would set up the ideal scenario for his squad.
“This may be a qualifying group but it is knockout at this stage and we’re treating these games as two cup finals,” he said.
REP OF IRELAND U21 (Probable):McLoughlin (MK Dons); Egan (Sunderland), Kiernan (Wigan Athletic), Duffy (Everton), Cunningham (Bristol City); Towell (Unattached), O'Kane (Bournemouth), Henderson (Arsenal); Brady (Manchester United), Barton (Coventry City), White (Leeds United).
Malouda says he has been banished
Premier LeagueFlorent Malouda yesterday revealed he had been banished from training with the Chelsea first team for what remained of his Stamford Bridge career. Winger Malouda took to Twitter to announce he was to keep fit with the club's youth side, posting a picture of the headquarters of their under-21 squad, along with the message: "This is where I'll train for my last season with the blues !!!" The 32-year-old, who is in the final year of his contract, failed to secure a move away this summer.
Michael Owenhas been cleared to play for new club Stoke following a decision from the Premier League to approve his inclusion in the Potters' 25-man squad.
The England international was a free agent following his release from Manchester United at the end of last season and has agreed a one-year pay-as-you-play deal at the Britannia Stadium.The deal was announced by the club on Tuesday but remained subject to confirmation that the Potters submitted the relevant paperwork prior to the 4pm deadline for the player to be signed on a free agent basis.
Del Piero finds his new challenge in Australia
A-LeagueAlessandro Del Piero sought a new challenge after ending his record-breaking 19-year soccer career with Italian champion Juventus. He found it in Australia. Del Piero will become the highest-profile player to compete in Australia's A-League after signing a two-year contract at Sydney FC.
“I was lucky to win everything during my career and to end it in Italy winning once again with the team of my life: Juventus,” Del Piero, said on his website. The 37-year-old, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, said: “I was looking for something new, something different, something that wouldn’t have things in common with my past.
Del Piero became a free agent in May after scoring 289 goals in a record 704 matches for Juventus.
