England’s rugby league captain Adrian Morley could miss the Four Nations with a suspected ruptured bicep muscle.
The Warrington Wolves prop, who was handed the armband after injury ruled out regular skipper Jamie Peacock of Leeds Rhinos, picked up his problem during the warm-up game against New Zealand Maori.
The contest in Auckland ended in an 18-18 draw but the initial prognosis suggests Morley will miss the entire tournament.
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In rugby union, head coach Toby Booth had no complaints after London Irish lost 27-16 to Ospreys in the Heineken Cup.
Shane Williams’ superb solo try was the highlight of an entertaining Pool Three encounter at the Liberty Stadium.
The Exiles had opened their campaign with a victory over European powerhouse Munster but Booth had no qualms about the result in Wales. Sailosi Tagicakibau was the only try scorer on the night for the Guinness Premiership leaders.
Mark Webber is refusing to accept that the Formula One world championship is now within his grasp even though there are only three races remaining in the season.
The Australian will head to South Korea next weekend for the inaugural race at Yeongam but is keeping thoughts of a first ever drivers’ title out of his mind.
The Red Bull driver leads Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and team-mate Sebastian Vettel by 14 points following his second-placed finish in Japan last weekend.
In football, Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle has revealed that he hopes to start new contract talks with in-form striker Johan Elmander shortly.
After moving to the Reebok Stadium from French side Toulouse in a club-record transfer deal in the summer of 2008, the Swede struggled to make an impact under former boss Gary Megson.
But, Elmander has started this season well, scoring four times in just seven appearances so far this term.
West Ham United manager Avram Grant has confirmed that German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger will be sidelined for up to four months due to a thigh injury.
The 28-year-old has yet to feature for the Hammers since joining on a free transfer from Lazio in the summer and has now been ruled out until well into the new year.
Hitzlsperger is in his second spell in English football, having spent five years at Aston Villa before heading home to join Stuttgart in the summer of 2005.
