Knee injury grounds Spain defender

Madrid: Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos suffered a knee ligament sprain during Spain’s World Cup qualifying win over Albania on Sunday. The 30-year-old was replaced in the 80th minute after he fell awkwardly. The club have confirmed that the Spanish captain sustained a grade two tear of his medial collateral ligament. Ramos is reported to be out for a month, which could see him miss four La Liga matches, including a clash against local rivals Atletico Madrid. He would also miss both Champions League group stage matches against Legia Warsaw and be a doubt for Spain’s World Cup qualifier against Macedonia on Saturday, November 12. BBC London: England captain Wayne Rooney says he is in a “difficult period” after he was dropped for this morning’s World Cup qualifier against Slovenia. Interim manager Gareth Southgate said the decision was tactical and not a reflection of the forward’s form. Rooney, who was booed by sections of the Wembley crowd during Saturday’s 2-0 win over Malta, has not started Manchester United’s past three matches. The 30-year-old said there was “no embarrassment” in being on the bench. BBC to launch a deal worth more than £200m ($FJ508m) to sign the Brazilian star from the Nou Camp. PSG were knocked back after an approach in the transfer window when club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi failed TO tempt the 24-year-old into a move, but now it seems he’s willing to do whatever it takes to bring Neymar to Paris. The Qatari born businessman would reportedly offer Neymar a salary to match Lionel Messi’s wage, which would be worth around £22.5m ($FJ57.21m) each year until 2021. But if he does move, Neymar would have a range of clauses in his contract to boost his pay packet. PSG were reportedly close to landing the Brazilian last summer, and as he is yet to sign a new deal with his Catalan club, Neymar’s representatives used PSG’s interest to give them the upper hand when negotiating with Barca. Neymar turned down a new Barca contract offer worth £36m ($FJ91.5m) as it was £2m ($FJ5m) off what Messi’s deal is worth. Fox Sports impressed with a double in Saturday’s 4-0 win over San Marino. Lafferty is vying for a start with Josh Magennis and Conor Washington. Norwich City forward Lafferty continues to prosper at international level but was dropped to the bench against San Marino after playing only 46 minutes for his club since last month’s goalless draw with the Czech Republic. BBC