Wolves
Karl Henry, the Wolverhampton Wanderers captain, has apologised to his teammates and the club's fans for the tackle that earned him an 11th-minute red card at Wigan Athletic on Saturday. Henry admitted his sliding challenge on Jordi Gomez, which sent the Wigan midfielder into a cartwheel, was "horrific" and that he deserved to be given his marching orders. In his absence Wolves slumped to a 2-0 defeat, with Gomez scoring a second-half opener. "I've already apologised to the manager, TC [Terry Connor, the assistant manager] and the boys, but I'd also like to apologise to the supporters, especially the ones that travelled up to Wigan," Henry told the club's website. "If we had 11 men on the pitch, there is no doubt in my mind that we would have won that game. I'd made the decision to go and win the ball and it turned out to be the wrong one."
Manchester City
James Milner and Nigel de Jong took advantage of their enforced breaks from international football by joining Manchester City teammates Jo and Aleksander Kolarov in Abu Dhabi this week on a trip to strengthen the club's ties with the capital city. Milner is serving a one-match ban and therefore unavailable for England's Euro 2012 qualifier against Montenegro on Tuesday. De Jong, meanwhile, has been dropped by Bert van Marwijk, the Holland coach, in reaction to his leg-breaking tackle on Newcastle United's Hatem Ben Arfa on Sunday.
Chelsea
Chelsea have confirmed that Alex, the defender, will be sidelined for up to three weeks with a thigh injury he sustained in the late stages of their 2-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday. Alex has been ruled out of Brazil's friendly international matches against Iran, in Abu Dhabi tomorrow, and Ukraine, in Derby, England, on Monday. The central defender underwent medical assessment on the injury yesterday and it is almost certain he will miss the trip to Aston Villa after the international break and the Champions League clash with Spartak Moscow.
Arsenal
Samir Nasri, the Arsenal winger, feels referees should do more to protect players in the Premier League. Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, has long championed the need to stamp out X-rated challenges from the game - with three of his players, Abou Diaby, Eduardo and last season Aaron Ramsey, the young Wales midfielder, being left with broken legs and months of rehabilitation. "What strikes me is the refereeing," Nasri told Eurosport. "The referee saw Hatem [Ben Arfa] exit on a stretcher with an oxygen mask yet he didn't punish [Nigel] De Jong. It's that which has to change in England. De Jong has pedigree, a bit like [Mark] van Bommel." Nasri continued: "With the exception of one time, when [Joey] Barton tried to hack me down, players are not 'evil'. There are sometimes accidents - but are we protected enough in England? I don't think so."
Tottenham Hotspur
AEG, the American sports and entertainment giant, has no plans of retaining the running track in London's Olympic Stadium if it wins its joint bid with Tottenham Hotspur to move into the venue after the 2012 Games. Tim Leiweke, the AEG president, said it would not make economic sense to keep the stadium geared for athletics - one of the organisers' goals - after the Olympics because of a lack of major track and field events that could be staged at the venue. "I think it's a crime if you sacrifice having a perfect football stadium for convincing yourself that you are going to do a track and field event every 10 years," Leiweke said.
* Agencies
