Soccer Shorts

Injury forces Keane out: Roy Keane yesterday suffered his first fitness setback as a Celtic player, as he was forced out of training with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.

The 34-year-old former Manchester United captain will now almost certainly miss tomorrow's trip to Motherwell (live on Setanta Sports, kick-off 2pm), and therefore add to manager Gordon Strachan's defensive worries.

Keane was deployed in central defence for last week's victory over Kilmarnock, and with Stephen McManus banned and Bobo Balde on African Cup of Nations duty, Strachan was keen to keep the Corkman in such a role for the game at Fir Park.

Strachan confirmed yesterday that the Hibernian defender Gary Caldwell has signed a pre-contract deal to move to Parkhead at the end of the season.

Walcott signing a big gamble: Arsène Wenger has admitted he's taken the biggest financial gamble of his career by spending £5 million on Theo Walcott in a transfer that could eventually cost Arsenal more than double that. Walcott's move from Southampton has made him the world's most expensive 16-year-old, but Wenger believes it will prove money well spent.

The Arsenal manager revealed he knew after watching a 14-year-old Walcott for 20 minutes in a Southampton academy team that he was looking at a special talent, and has monitored him ever since. He will have been encouraged by the calm, mature figure that Walcott cut yesterday, and Wenger was not afraid to suggest his new purchase has the potential to follow Wayne Rooney and be a "big prospect" for England.

"You have to accept that when you take a boy at 16 it is a huge gamble, and I am ready to take that gamble because of the vibe I feel," Wenger said. "After that, if I am wrong it will be only my fault not his fault, but I am very confident that I will be right."

Walcott remains on £90 a week until he signs a professional contract on his 17th birthday in March.

Irish still hoping to secure Villa: The consortium interested in purchasing Aston Villa remain confident a deal can be struck, despite the club appointing major financial advisors Rothschild to find a buyer for the club. Sources close to Irish property developers, the Comer Brothers, and consortium frontman Michael Neville are optimistic "that a deal can be done soon" with Villa chairman Doug Ellis - the club's leading shareholder. Villa have been in discussions with the consortium - via their company Aston Villa Investments Limited - for the past three months with a view to a possible £64-million takeover.

Eriksson fights back: England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson is suing a British newspaper after it quoted him saying he was ready to leave the national side after this year's World Cup. The News of the World quoted the Swede telling one of its journalists posing as a Arab businessman that he might quit after the World Cup and take over at Aston Villa.

In brief. . . Defender Alan Stubbs returned to Everton from Sunderland yesterday and apologised for how he handled his departure from his hometown club last July. The 34-year-old is available for today's clash with Arsenal. Norway defender John Arne Riise signed a new contract with Liverpool yesterday binding him to the English club until the end of the 2009 season. Riise had six months left of his existing contract. The English Premier League has charged Portsmouth with breaching its "approach rules" regarding the appointment of Harry Redknapp as manager. The League decided to take action after receiving an official complaint from Southampton. English FA investigators have contacted QPR manager Ian Holloway after he claimed that he was offered a bribe to push through a player's transfer. Middlesbrough goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has vowed to help his side climb away from the relegation zone after withdrawing his transfer request. Birmingham City boss Steve Bruce is expected to step up his attempts to clinch the signing of Jason Euell next week. West Brom have signed midfielder Jan Kozak on a six-month loan deal from Slovak champions Artmedia Bratislava. Finally, Chelsea have denied they are set to quit Stamford Bridge and buy the nearby Earls Court Exhibition Centre in a £400 million deal.