Ouch! Wayne Rooney's nasty ear injury is revealed for the first time as he flies off to Malaysia

Wayne Rooney unveiled his damaged ear for the first time today as he joined his Manchester United team-mates for their pre-season tour of Asia.

The 23-year-old has kept his left ear under wraps since slipping on the deck of his rented luxury yacht last month.

But today the scabbed up injury was clear to see as he arrived at Manchester Airport, dressed in his regulation issue branded suit.



The £90,000 a week footballer needed emergency surgery following the incident, which came as he enjoyed a relaxing break with pregnant wife Coleen in St Tropez.

He was reportedly 'larking around' with a group of friends onboard the boat when he slipped and fell.


He spent the night with his friends, only visiting hospital in the morning to receive the urgent attention of a specialist cosmetic surgeon.

But the injury is not expected to leave any scars.



The player now has extra pressure on his shoulders after the departures of teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

Yesterday Coleen, who is expecting her first child in October, visited the hair salon in Wilmslow.

Covering her bump with a tribal print maxi dress he looked relaxed and tanned, following her two summer breaks.

Chelsea defender Alex escapes FA action over stamp on Cahill

Chelsea defender Alex will not face disciplinary action over an alleged stamp on Everton's Tim Cahill in last night's Barclays Premier League game at Goodison Park.

Referee Phil Dowd was asked to review footage of the incident by the Football Association after no action was taken against the player on the field.



Alex appeared to bring his foot down on the Australian's thigh after being tackled but he will not face punishment.

A statement from the Football Association said: "Referee Phil Dowd confirmed to the FA today that he had not seen the incident at the time.

"He was subsequently requested to view footage of the incident. Having done so, Dowd informed the FA that, had he seen the incident, he would not have shown Alex a red card. On this basis, the FA will not be taking any disciplinary action."

The incident was one of a number talking points from the goalless draw. Skipper John Terry was shown a straight red card by Dowd for a wreckless lunge at Leon Osman, while Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Ashley Cole were all booked for dissent as the Blues were held to a goalless draw.



It was the first time that Luiz Felipe Scolari's team have failed to win away this season and leaves them a point behind leaders Liverpool at Christmas.

Scolari was so incensed by the performance of Dowd that he refused to speak at the press conference after the game but he knows he now faces a defensive crisis.

Chelsea will not appeal Terry's dismissal and he will now be banned for the next three games, starting with the home match against West Brom on Boxing Day and followed by Sunday's derby with Fulham and the FA Cup third-round clash with Southend.



With Ricardo Carvalho possibly not returning from his hamstring injury until the new year, there is a danger that Branislav Ivanovic will be the only recognised centre-half for Scolari to pick from.

To make matters worse for the Chelsea manager, goalkeeper Petr Cech picked up a thumb injury late on in the match and had difficulty taking his gloves off because of the pain.



Cech hinted that Dowd may have been influenced by the home supporters when he sent off Terry and said: 'It was hard for the ref to see exactly what happened. He had a split second.

'The crowd were behind him and there was a lot of noise. It makes it more difficult for the referee. He made a decision and we have to live with that.

'It's a pity we couldn't win. We could have been top of the league again but it's a good point.

'We have had other chances to go top but we have drawn some games. A lot of teams are dropping points this season and if we had won our games at home we could have been top with a gap.'

The ten-year-old football wizard who can perform 4,000 keepy-uppies

Football prodigy Josh Clancy looks set to follow in David Beckham's footsteps after mastering tricks including 4,000 keepy-uppies at the tender age of ten.

Talented Josh is on his way to winning a national freestyle competition headed by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard.

He is already over 1,000 votes ahead in the online contest despite being pitted against youngsters twice his age.

The 4ft 10in wonder has wowed crowds with his ball control skills, including testing signature moves 'Round the World' and 'Enigma', as well as a series of complex ball-balancing tricks.

Josh, who only began playing football four years ago aged six, chooses a new freestyle trick then practices at least two hours a day, seven days a week until he can perform it perfectly.

The testing tricks can take the football-mad schoolboy anything between one week and one month to master depending on the level of difficulty.

Josh's latest balancing act involves flicking the ball in air, catching it on the back of his neck and balancing it there while he pulls his shirt over his head without dropping the ball.

In 'Round the World' Josh can be seen kicking up the ball with his left foot before looping the same leg over the ball in mid-air and catching it again on that foot.

On top of his non-stop practice, Josh trains and plays football six hours a week with Norwich City Academy, Hadley Rangers under-11s and Hertfordshire Brazilian soccer school.

His ambition is to become a professional free-styler and cited world-class players Christiano Ronaldo and Ronaldinho as his footballing idols.

Josh, from Welwyn Garden City, Hertforshire, said: 'I got into freestyle after watching YouTube videos. It's loads cooler than normal football.

'The tricks look hard but once you get to know how to do them its pretty easy. I've learnt a lot of skills since I was at the school - it gives me a good chance to practice.'

Andrew Anastasiou, 46, Josh's coach at the Brazilian soccer school in Hatfield, said his young protégé had raw talent and was easily capable of turning professional.

Businessman Mr Anastasiou set up the Hertfordshire branch of Brazilian Soccer School three years ago and has been coaching Josh for the last 18 months.

He said Josh was easily the most talented of the 200 aspiring freestyle footballers he has coached.

The Gerrard Performance Challenge invites youngsters to post video clips of their freestyle skills and is open to entries and votes until December 31.

With a current total of 1,508 online votes Josh looks set to claim the first prize of a couple of VIP tickets to a Premiership football match.

Josh's proud parents Bill and Hayley Clancy are devoted to helping their son achieve his dream.

Mr Clancy said: 'It's great to see Josh doing so well with his hobby - although he drives us mad when he is kicking a football around indoors all the time.

'He would love to become a professional freestyler and it would be a miracle iff he could make it.

'So many other kids are trying to do the same thing but I think Josh is committed enough to achieve his dream.'

Under the hammer: One of the world's oldest football programmes expected to fetch thousands at auction

The rare single sheet programme for the 1892 match between Royal Arsenal and Gainsborough Trinity is expected to fetch at least £3,500.

The find is just one of the items being sold an an auction of sporting memorabilia by specialist auctioneers Graham Budd Auctions at Sotheby's Olympia showroom on Tuesday.

Graham Budd said the programme was an extremely rare find.





A football match programme which is more than 100 years old is to go under the hammer next week at auction.


He said: 'This is only the second one I have ever seen and I have been doing this for 10 years.

'It's a piece of really early Arsenal memorabilia and there's a lot of big Arsenal collectors around.

'It's being sold by a private collector but I do know he happened to acquire it from a family that had roots close to south-east London, where Arsenal originated.

'It had probably been tucked away in drawers or something and finally resurfaced.'

The 1892 match against Gainsborough Trinity took place only six years after Arsenal was first founded as Dial Square in 1886, before it later changed its name as well as its location.

Mr Budd said an exhibition of the memorabilia would open tomorrow before going under the hammer on Tuesday.

He added: 'Once we open the exhibition tomorrow that's when we get a better sense of the interest.

'If it comes out of its little file to be viewed that's always a good sign.'

This is not the first time a single piece of football-related paper could fetch a small fortune at auction.

Graham Budd Auctions previously sold a single sheet 1889 FA Cup final programme for £19,000 - a world record auction price for a football programme.