Sporting briefs

FORSTER: Neil Lennon hopes to tie up goalkeeper Fraser Forster to a permanent deal at Celtic. The 23-year-old is in his second loan spell from Newcastle and has won rave reviews for his performances this season. “You are never confident on these things but we have made our approach,” Lennon said. “It is basically down to his agent now.”

BRENO: Bayern Munich defender Breno underwent surgery at a clinic in Augsburg after he suffered a recurrence of inflammation in his right knee. “We can’t say for some time how long Breno will be unavailable,” club doctor Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt said. The 22-year-old Brazilian has only played for Bayern 13 times since his arrival in the summer of 2010.

McCLEAN: Sunderland winger James McClean was a surprise omission when Ireland boss Gio-vanni Trapattoni named his squad for the friendly with the Czech Republic this month. The Lon-donderry-born 22-year-old was expected to win a first senior call-up after being watched by Tra-pattoni in recent weeks, but he did not make the 24-man party for the game at the Aviva Stadium on February 29.

AIMAR: Argentinian midfielder Pablo Aimar has extended his contract with Benfica by a year, the Lisbon club said. Aimar arrived at Benfica in 2008 from Spain, where he played with Real Zaragoza and Valencia.

ALTINTOP: Real Madrid midfielder Hamit Altintop looks set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a calf injury. The Liga leaders did not put a timescale on a return for the 29-year-old Turkey international, who moved to the Spanish capital from Bayern Munich last summer.

FULLKRUG: Werder Bremen have handed 19-year-old striker Niclas Fullkrug a full-time professional contract. The youngster made his first-team debut in Bremen’s home game against Bayer Leverkusen recently. As a reward, he has been given a two-and-a-half-year contract and will now continue to train with the first team.