Cole: Ashley Cole will return to the Arsenal squad for their visit to Sunderland on Monday after a run of injuries, manager Arsene Wenger said yesterday. Wenger will be relieved to have the England international back in action after he admitted to reporters at a news conference that several players were struggling with injuries. Gilberto, Alexander Hleb, Jose Antonio Reyes and Mathieu Flamini are all likely to miss the Sunderland match.

Messi: Argentina's Lionel Messi hopes to be back in action as soon as possible after returning to Barcelona for the final stages of treatment on a thigh injury. Messi had spent 10 days in Argentina while he recovered from a thigh muscle tear originally sustained on March 7 in the second leg of a 3-2 aggregate victory over Chelsea in the last 16 of the Champions League. "I'm not setting a date for my return but I'm dreaming of being back soon," he said.

Primera Liga Extension: Spanish plans to extend the whole Primera Liga season by a week have been vetoed by FIFA, though Sevilla and Barcelona will be allowed to play a rescheduled match after the rest of the clubs have finished. Sevilla said that FIFA had rejected a Spanish Football Federation proposal to play all 10 final league games on May 20 because it would breach an agreement made to finish the domestic season by May 15 to allow national team squads time to prepare for the World Cup.

XAVI: Spain midfielder Xavi returned to the Barcelona squad yesterday five months after suffering a serious knee injury. It is a major boost to his chances of making Luis Aragones's Spain squad for the World Cup finals in Germany. He tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee in December.

Appeals Rejected: Liverpool's Luis Garcia and West Ham's Hayden Mullins have lost their appeals against being sent off in a league match between the sides on Wednesday and will miss next month's FA Cup Final when the two teams meet again. The FA said yesterday, a disciplinary commission hearing had turned down the appeals.

Division Three: Sta Lucija vs Mgarr 1-0; Sirens vs Fgura 3-0 (Sirens in promotion play-offs).