Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs has been ruled out for three weeks after suffering a thigh strain in his side's 2-2 draw against Liverpool on Wednesday.

Gibbs was forced off in the 37th minute at the Emirates Stadium and Gunners manager Arsene Wenger doesn't expect to see the left-back in action again until late February.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has challenged his three main strikers to each reach 20 goals this season as the Old Trafford club aim for a trophy treble.

United moved seven points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 win at home to Southampton on Wednesday.

French youngster Raphael Varane headed in a late goal as Real Madrid salvaged a 1-1 draw against bitter rivals Barcelona in their Spanish Cup semi-final first-leg clash on Wednesday.

Cesc Fabregas had given Barca the lead at the Santiago Bernabeu in a game his side looked to be running away with until the leveller.

Roberto Mancini admitted he will be disappointed to see Mario Balotelli leave Manchester City for AC Milan but insists the move is in the best interests of the Italy forward.

Balotelli was missing from English champions City's goalless Premier League draw away to Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on Tuesday as his reported £19 million ($30 million) transfer was finalized.

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has warned Africa Cup of Nations title favorites Ivory Coast not to write off Nigeria ahead of a mega quarterfinal clash this weekend.

Mikel excelled and Stamford Bridge teammate Victor Moses slotted two late penalties as the Super Eagles overcame gallant Ethiopia 2-0 Tuesday in this north-western town to finish second behind shock Group C winners Burkina Faso.

The post-Mario Balotelli era at Manchester City began in lackluster fashion as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday that prevented them from making up ground on Manchester United.

Victory for City would have cut United's lead to just two points but instead Alex Ferguson's side will tackle Southampton on Wednesday with an opportunity to re-open a seven-point lead at the Premier League summit.

The Los Angeles Lakers hung on to beat the New Orleans Hornets 111-106 Tuesday for their first three-game winning streak in five weeks.

Dwight Howard scored 24 points, and Kobe Bryant had 14 points and 11 assists in another pass-first performance for Los Angeles.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has had his top-of-the-range 4x4 stolen from outside his house, as he defrosted the windscreen with the engine running, police said on Tuesday.

The grey Chevrolet Captiva was taken from the driveway in Oldham, northwest England, just before 8:00 am (0700 GMT) on Monday, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs respects and understands President Barack Obama's opinion about the dangers of American football — and hesitation about having a child play.

The hard-hitting 2011 defensive player of the year also says that no matter how violent the sport, his 4-year-old son will be allowed to take it up if he wants.

A proposed Indian professional football league that was to feature the likes of former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo and Italy's World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro, has been scrapped owing to logistic problems.

The five-team tournament planned on the lines of the successful franchise-based Indian Premier League cricket tournament was announced with much fanfare by the Indian Football Association but things failed to move after a players' auction in January last year.