Lampard a major doubt for Barcelona match

Frank Lampard is facing a major battle to be fit for Chelsea's European showdown in Barcelona.

Lampard had a scan on Tuesday on the injured hamstring which forced him to withdraw from the England squad ahead of the friendly against Uruguay. The results show he is a serious doubt for Saturday's Premiership trip to West Brom.

But Lampard will not abandon hope of making the Champions League clash in Camp Nou on Tuesday.

Lampard damaged his hamstring in the first-leg defeat to Barcelona at Stamford Bridge last week but played on because Chelsea were down to 10 men after Asier del Horno's red card.

He then played and scored against Portsmouth on Saturday but felt a tightness in the muscle during an England training session.

Chelsea must overturn a 2-1 deficit from the home leg.

Celtic skipper Neil Lennon hopes to remain at the club for at least another season.

Lennon (34), expects to open contract talks with the club's bosses towards the end of the current campaign.

He told the Celtic View: "We'll no doubt sit down and talk about it nearer the end of the season and I obviously hope there will be a desire there to keep me."

Barcelona striker Samuel Eto'o wants tougher punishments for racist abuse after being subjected to insults in a league match against Real Zaragoza.

"We need exemplary punishments," the Cameroon international said yesterday. "Maybe it would make people think again if they closed the Zaragoza stadium for a year and made them play all their matches away from home."

Eto'o tried to leave the pitch during last Saturday's match having been targeted for racial abuse by Zaragoza fans, but Barca coach Frank Rijkaard persuaded him to play on.

"What made me go back was the boss telling me that the best way to shut them up was to beat them. That is the only thing that made me change my mind," Said Eto'o. Barca scored two goals in the remaining 11 minutes of the game, the second of which was set up by Eto'o.

Zaragoza were fined €9,000 by the Spanish Football Federation for the incident.

Former world rally champion Carlos Sainz says he is considering standing for the presidency of Real Madrid. The Spaniard (43), who won the world championship in 1990 and 1992, has said before that he was interested in the job, but the shock resignation of Florentino Perez has led to speculation that he may bring forward plans to take charge.

The World Cup could be disrupted if bird flu starts being passed between people, Fifa president Sepp Blatter has warned.

Infected birds have been found in Germany, and a cat has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the disease - the first infected mammal in the European Union.

Blatter, asked if bird flu could threaten the tournament, told German newspaper Bild: "If bird flu developed into something like the plague or cholera, if it's a case of people infecting people, then the government would have to take a decision. We would have to respect that. That is clear."

Blatter admitted the deadline for World Cup squad selection could be pushed back following objections from Sven-Goran Eriksson and Jurgen Klinsmann.