The Sport Matrix: Monday 2 September 2013

Injury headache adds to frustrating day for Hodgson

The England manager Roy Hodgson received a contrite apology from Liverpool last night after he was denied initial access to his former club’s boardroom lounge, on the day he suffered the desperate blow of losing Wayne Rooney, above, for the national side’s two upcoming make-or-break World Cup qualifiers.

Hodgson was infuriated to find he had only been allocated a pass for a guest lounge at Anfield when he arrived to watched Liverpool’s 1-0 win over Manchester United, rather than the boardroom where the national manager is traditionally received.

The 66-year-old also learned that a severe gash to the head will keep Rooney out for the qualifiers against Moldova on Friday and in Ukraine a week on Tuesday.

Hodgson meets his squad at St George’s Park today, with Phil Jones, Glen Johnson and Rooney all out and Daniel Sturridge a doubt. Cardiff City’s Steven Caulker will be in the squad.

Fears about Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere subsided when it emerged a stomach bug which forced his substitution against Tottenham is not serious. MORE

Bale joins Real Madrid for £86m

Gareth Bale has finally completed his switch to Real Madrid for a fee Tottenham Hotspur insist is £86m. However, sources close to Madrid suggest the deal is worth £78m, less than the fee Real paid for Cristiano Ronaldo. Bale is due to be unveiled at the Bernabeu today. MORE

Giroud goal eases pressure on Wenger

Olivier Giroud settled the north London derby yesterday as Arsenal asserted their supremacy over Tottenham with a 1-0 victory at the Emirates. Giroud turned the ball into the net from Theo Walcott’s cross in the 23rd minute for his fourth goal of the season. MORE

Swansea find form at the Hawthorns

Ben Davies and Pablo Hernandez gave Swansea a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion for their first league victory of the season. Hernandez’s right-sided cross was volleyed beyond West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill by Davies, and the Spaniard secured the win seven minutes from time. MORE

Sturridge pops up to dump United

Daniel Sturridge scored Liverpool’s winner for the third straight Premier League game to condemn Manchester United to a 1-0 loss yesterday and David Moyes to a first defeat with the champions. Sturridge flicked home a close-range header early on for his fourth goal of the season. MORE

Warner dropped from ODI squad

David Warner has been dropped from Australia’s one-day international squad, while bowler Mitchell Starc will fly back home because of a back injury. Warner’s recent lack of runs in ODI’s was the reason behind his dropping, said coach Darren Lehmann. MORE

Redding takes step closer to world title

Britain’s Scott Redding shed his Mr Consistency image to claim a daring victory in the Moto2 GP at Silverstone yesterday. The win takes him a step closer to becoming Britain’s first world motorcycle champion since Barry Sheene 36 years ago.

Sykes holds edge over Guintoli

Kawasaki rider Tom Sykes leads the World Superbike championship by one point over Sylvain Guintoli after winning the first race at the Nurburgring yesterday. In the second race of the day, Chaz Davies triumphed on his BMW with Sykes fourth.

Murray cruises through to last 16

Andy Murray eased through to the last 16 of the US Open with a straight sets win over Florian Mayer. The Briton won 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 6-2 in little more than two hours, a far cry from his more laboured performance on Friday night.

Giants cruise to win over Wakefield

Huddersfield Giants thrashed Wakefield 40-0 to claim the league leaders’ shield for the first time in 81 years. Two tries apiece from Jermaine McGillvary and Jason Chan helped Huddersfield on their way to victory. MORE

Sam Wallace

At the end of the transfer window the fear is one voiced by Roy Hodgson’s assistant Gary Neville: even those young English players good enough for the top have their path blocked by foreign signings. MORE