Totti unsure of Italy return

Rome: Francesco Totti isn’t sure whether he’ll play for Italy again.

“I don’t know if I will return to the national team,” Totti said on Monday.

Totti has not played for Italy since the Azzurri won the World Cup in July, choosing to focus on his play for AS Roma and regain fitness in his surgically repaired left leg.

Unable to play up to his potential at the World Cup due to his injury, Totti now leads the Serie A with 12 goals.

He said he will talk with Italy coach Roberto Donadoni after the season. “Right now I’m only thinking about Roma,” Totti said.

Blatter’s apology

Rome: Sepp Blatter apologised to Italy on Monday for not awarding the team with the World Cup trophy.

"History will say it was an error that the Fifa president did not award the Azzurri as world champions, and in effect it was an error," Blatter said. "I had already apologised to Italian officials right after the final."

Blatter said his decision to skip the award ceremony after Italy beat France on penalties on July 9 in Berlin was planned before the game started.

“ I wanted to avoid creating an ugly scene because the Germans had shown they would whistle at the word Fifa,” Blatter said after arriving in Rome for a ceremony with the champions.

Larsson loan

London: Henrik Larsson’s 10-week loan to Manchester United could be extended, the Swedish striker’s club said on Monday after his goalscoring debut at the weekend.

The 35-year-old former Barcelona and Celtic striker joined United from his hometown club Helsingborg on January 1 in a deal that is due to end in March. The Swedish season starts in April.

But Helsingborg chairman Sten-Inge Fredrin made it clear they would not stand in Larsson’s way, telling Sky Sports: “If Manchester want to have him for longer it’s up to Henrik.”

Kenyon’s faith

Beijing: Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon brushed aside the club’s recent dip in form on Monday and put his faith in the Premier League champions’ current squad. “You've got to look where we are today,” Kenyon, who was in the Chinese capital to launch Chelsea’s Mandarin language website, told reporters. “I think we’re in a very good position with a very strong squad.”

Vijai up to fifth spot

London: Vijai Singh rose two places to fifth in the world rankings issued on Monday after winning the PGA Tour’s season-opening event in Hawaii.

The Fijian, who turns 44 next month, shot a closing three-under-par 70 to finish two strokes ahead of Australian Adam Scott in the Mercedes-Benz Championship at Kapalua on Sunday. The 26-year-old Scott rose one spot in the rankings to a career-best third.

Talukdar in fray

New Delhi: The archery World Cup will kick off this year at the Korean city of Ulsan on April 1 with ace archer Jayanta Talukdar holding the key for India in the prestigious meet. The first leg of the World Cup will continue till April 6. The second leg will be played at Varese, Italy, from April 30 to May 5 while the third leg will be played at Antalya, Turkey, from May 28 to June 2. The grand final will be in Dover from July 30 to August 4.