Angel di Maria concerns Manchester United with dead leg

Di Maria left the field with a groin complaint. (©GettyImages).

Manchester United may have been left sweating on the fitness of Angel di Maria after the winger was seen holding an ice pack to his groin after being substituted in the game against West Bromwich Albion.

Di Maria was one of the more impressive performers for Manchester United at the Hawthorns on Monday night, but was forced off in the 76th minute with the Red Devils still trailing 2-1. Daley Blind eventually equalised in the 87th minute, by which time Di Maria was already nursing his injury on the bench.

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Discomfort

The Mail reported that Di Maria was in obvious discomfort as he took his seat on the bench and the physio was sent to wrap his leg with the ice pack. Ahead of the crunch clash against Chelsea next weekend, there was immediate concern over Di Maria's availability for the game.

Di Maria is likely to be key to Van Gaal's plans to stop the table-toppers from continuing their scintillating form. Chelsea are currently five points clear at the top of the Premier League and a win at Old Trafford would take them 13 points clear of United.

Confident

However, according to Goal, Manchester United are confident that the Argentinian will be fit to face Jose Mourinho's unbeaten side when they travel to Old Trafford on Sunday.

The report claims that Di Maria suffered a dead leg and was withdrawn by Van Gaal as a precaution. The 26-year-old set to undergo a scan at Manchester United's Carrington training ground but expect him to recover in time to face Chelsea.

Great form

Di Maria has been in sensational form since joining from Real Madrid in the summer. The winger cost Manchester United £59.7 million in a transfer fee and now earns a reported £280,000-a-week.

In just five Premier League games, Di Maria has scored three goals and assisted four. His latest effort was to set up Marouane Fellaini for the equaliser on Monday night.

Andy Murray ready to fight in Valencia

Murray (©GettyImages).

Andy Murray is looking to build on his Vienna triumph when he arrives in Valencia later this week, where he will be hoping to secure a spot at the O2 for the ATP World Tour Finals.

Murray beat Ferrer in the final of last week's Vienna open meaning he overtook the Spaniard in the race to London, yet Ferrer still remains only 100 points behind the Scot.

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Tomas Berdych cemented his seventh place in the finals as he beat Grigor Dimitrov in Stockholm, leaving fewer spots to fight for in London.

Murray finds himself in an unusual situation, having qualified with ease in recent years, but injury has plagued his last year, leaving him having to fight his way into the top eight.

Murray in confident mood

"For the last few years I've managed to qualify for it [World Tour Finals] without having to play every week at the end of the year," he said after his win in Vienna.

"It's a different challenge and it's going to be interesting. There's no guarantee so i'll need to win more matches over the next few weeks, but i've given myself a good chance by winning here."

Swiss Indoor Championship

While Murray is competing in the Valencia Open, some of his competitors on the tour will be in Basle playing in the Swiss Indoor Championship.

The Scot is seeded 3rd in Spain, with rivals Ferrer and Berdych seeded 1st and 2nd respectively.

Other competitors Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov, who are respectively ranked 10th and 11th on the tour, will be competing in Basle, where home favourite Roger Federer is the top seed.

Can Murray hold off the threat from Ferrer in the Spaniard's home country to prevent the 32-year-old from gaining the all coveted eighth spot?

West Indies foolish to withdraw from India series

Bravo informed the WICB of the players' decision. (©GettyImages).

The West Indies’ handling of their pay dispute has been foolish to say the least.
The Caribbean outfit’s tour with India was cut short after it was confirmed that Friday’s ODI would be the last.

Bizarrely, it was India who initially revealed the news, which the Windies then denied, but later confirmed. The strange series of events leading up to their withdrawal says a lot about the haphazard fashion in which the dispute has been handled.

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The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) have apologised to fans for the situation, but do not seem to fully comprehend the impact of the decision on their own team’s chances.

World Cup preparation

The cancellation of the tour is not only majorly disruptive to their preparation for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next year, it could have an impact on the players’ willingness to represent their country in the future.

Evidently, the extent to which the players are unhappy with the WICB is now close to being beyond repair. The once-mighty Windies have slipped to eighth in both the Test and ODI rankings, with little sign of them crawling back to the top. Undoubtedly, the divide between the board and the players is in no way helpful to that quest.

BCCI feud

Perhaps without realising it, the WICB have also now become embroiled in a further financial dispute; the Board for Cricket Control in India may now ask them to pay damages for the collapse of the series. In a statement, the BCCI also accused them of failing to take into account the relations between the two boards.

Windies pride

Only last week, Windies hero Viv Richards praised the players for their spirit in continuing in spite of their off-field difficulties. Now that has changed, it is the players, and not the board, who are coming under the spotlight. 

Captain Dwayne Bravo told reporters that while the decision to withdraw was down to the players, it will not affect their attitude going forward.

“Everyone has stuck together despite what’s going on. We’re looking forward to playing for the West Indies again soon”, he said.

It remains to be seen whether his words will come true, but the reality is, going into 2015, it is the reputation of West Indies Cricket as a whole that has been tarnished.

Rory McIlroy taking time off to focus on trial

McIlroy (©GettyImages).

World number one golfer Rory McIlroy will take a break from the game as he focuses on his upcoming trial over a legal dispute with former employers Horizon Sports Management.

McIlroy and his former agent have failed to come to an agreement over the financial aspects of the trial, after the Northern Irishman sued Horizon claiming a representation agreement signed by him almost three years ago is invalid and unenforceable on a number of grounds.

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He is also suing two other companies in Gurteen Limited and Canovan Management Services, on the same grounds, and it is believed that the star is trying to retain €7m through the trial.

All three companies deny the claims that McIlroy was too young - at 22 - when he signed the representation documents and that he did not have independent legal advice.

Earlier in October, Judge McGovern had suggested that both sides try to mediate the dispute, yet on Monday, a statement from McIlroy confirmed that "the court-directed mediation process failed over the weekend to resolve the issue."

The 25-year-old added that he needed time "to prepare for the trial over my legal dispute with Horizon Sports Management." He has pulled out of the BMW Masters and the WGC HSBC Champions next week to prepare, and will return to action at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai from 20-23 November.

Having one two majors this year, The world number 1 will be looking to win a third consecutive major and complete the grand slam of winning all four major tournaments - and become only the sixth player ever to do so - when the Masters comes around in April.

Stephen Larkham knocks back Cheika appointment offer

Cheika (©GettyImages).

Having accepted the Wallabies coaching role on Monday, Michael Cheika's appointment has suffered a minor setback, with Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham deciding to put club before country as he plans to focus on taking his side to a Super Rugby title.

Cheika planned to bring in Larkham as an assistant coach to accompany him, as well as Michael Foley of the Western Force, but the former Wallaby didn't want the distraction of international duties, leaving Cheika still seeking a man to fill the position and complete his support staff.

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The Waratah's boss plans to juggle club commitments and international obligations over the coming year, and was hoping his assistant coaches could do the same in an attempt to unite the Australian States in preparation for next year's World Cup.

However, Larkham has not ruled out taking the job at a later date and has backed Cheika's philosophy of uniting the states.

Larkham comments

"I definitely have ambition to coach at that level. If you're a rugby coach you've always got ambition to be at the top level," Larkham said.

"Test level is a step up. To be coaching your national team would be something very special and a great opportunity. I have a lot of respect for [Cheika] and I think he'll do a fantastic job."

"I haven't ruled anything out after the spring tour, I certainly want to help the Wallabies provided it doesn't distract or detract from my role here at the Brumbies."

"It's a great concept with Super Rugby coaches coming together for the good of Australian rugby and then breaking apart to compete against each other. We all feel the same, we're trying to do our bit for Australian rugby."

Potential assistant

Former Brumbies Director of Rugby Laurie Fisher is said to be on the cards as a potential assistant to Cheika for the autumn internationals, having recently taken up a post at Gloucester.

"It's a pretty humbling experience to be asked to be involved in something like that, but we'll see what happens," Cheika said when speaking to the Media outside the Waratahs headquarters in Moore Park.

"There are a few things to be ironed out, obviously the logistics, etc ... everything is so close. So we will see how it goes and work it out from there."

Need for communication

The struggles with the appointment continue for the ARU. Cheika has one year left on his contract with the Super Rugby Champions, meaning the ARU have had to converse with the Waratah's board in order to strike a deal for their coach's services.

"I had a long chat with Bill [Pulver, ARU CEO] about a number of things. I am not going to repeat what they were about," Jason Allen, chief executive of the Waratahs, said. "All I will say is, if that were to eventuate with Michael Cheika [asked to coach the Wallabies], that's the position of the Waratahs board."

"We would want him to coach us next season, so we are willing to work with the ARU on the solution and wouldn't stop him obviously," Allen said. "I know Roger [Davis, Waratahs chairman] said we would definitely support him in advancing his career. There is no doubt about it."

The ARU are expected to announce the appointment of Cheika, and the Wallabies squad for the autumn internationals on Wednesday, with the squad meeting in Sydney on Thursday and flying out on Friday.

Australia kick off their European tour on November 1 when they take on the Barbarians at Twickenham.