England coach Martin Johnson has said he expects to be without Simon Shaw and Delon Armitage for the Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland (4/6 to receive the wooden spoon) on March 13.

England (20/1 to be tournament winners) head to Murrayfield next week needing a win to have any chance of keeping of their hopes alive of winning the Six Nations after their 16-20 defeat to Ireland (10/1).

Shaw and Armitage look unlikely to play any part in the crunch game against the as yet winless Scots.

Wasps (10/1 to be Grand Final winners) lock Shaw injured his shoulder in the opening minutes of the defeat to Ireland while London Irish (5/1) full-back Armitage was forced off in the same game with damage to his rib cartilage.

Johnson has now revealed that he expects both players not to be involved next week, although he will know for certain in the coming days.

“Delon’s rib injury is difficult to call when he will be fit but he and Simon are progressing very well,” said Johnson.

“We will know more next week but it is likely, particularly Simon, that they will be ruled out.”

Louis Deacon looks set to step in for Shaw should he be unavailable will Ben Foden could get the nod at 15 having replaced Armitage in the defeat to the Irish.

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Manchester United (6/4 with totesport to win the Premier League title) will be without Michael Owen for the rest of the season, after the striker was told he needs an operation on a hamstring injury.

The former Real Madrid star pulled up during the first-half of Sunday’s Carling Cup final, having scored the equaliser against Aston Villa, and had to be replaced by Wayne Rooney.

Scans revealed Owen will need surgery to cure the problem and the injury looks set to end his hopes of featuring for England (11/2 to win the 2010 World Cup) in South Africa this summer.

Sir Alex Ferguson revealed: “It is a terrible blow for the lad. It is more serious than we thought. I think the heavy pitch at Wembley played some part, but it’s also bad luck.”

Despite not being a regular starter for United, the 30-year-old has scored nine goals in all competitions this season.

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Chelsea full-back Jose Bosingwa has been ruled out for the rest of the domestic season and the World Cup after being told he needs further knee surgery.

The 27-year-old originally underwent the operation in October after picking up the problem against Aston Villa (4/1 to win the Fa Cup) and hasn’t been seen in a Blues (11/10) shirt since.

The former Porto man had begun light training again in February but he hasn’t recovered as expected and he will now have to go under the knife again.

Bosingwa will miss the World Cup with the injury meaning Portugal (28/1 to win the tournament) will be without their first choice right-back for the tournament.

The news will not only be a headache for Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz but Chelsea (2/9 to beat Stoke in the 90 minutes market) manager Carlo Ancelotti as well having already lost first choice left-back Ashley Cole for the majority of the season.

“Bosingwa will be out for the season and have another operation, so that’s him unfortunately, and he’ll miss the World Cup as well.” said Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins.

The news means that Branislav Ivanovic will continue at right-back for the remainder of the season having deputised while Bosingwa has been absent.

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The owner of Taranis has confirmed that the nine-year-old will not run in this year’s Grand National (for which Tricky Trickster is 10/1 ante post fav with totesport) due to injury.

The Paul Nicholls-charge has been scratched from the entrants for the Aintree marathon, having been seen as potential challenger for the 2010 race – which takes place in Liverpool on April 10.

Taranis made a successful comeback in January, when winning the Argento Chase at Cheltenham after over two years on the sidelines a with a leg injury.

But since then the gelding has struggling for fitness and although connections says it is not a leg problem, Taranis has been ruled out of the National and this month’s Cheltenham Gold Cup – Kauto Star is the current 4/6 fav for the 3 mile and 2½ furlong chase.

Owner Angela Yeoman insisted: “We are not quite sure what the problem is yet, but I don’t want to run him if he’s not right.”

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Hull City goalkeeper Boaz Myhill says he remains confident the Tigers (11/10 with totesport to be relegated) will be able to fight their way out of Premier League trouble and avoid the drop this season.

Having lost their last two games, Hull (13/2 to win at Goodison Park) have slipped into the bottom three and they go in search of their first away win of the season at in-form Everton (1/3) this Sunday.

Wales international Myhill admits that it is hard to enjoy the game when it is a constant fight against the drop, but he believes the side have enough quality to avoid the drama of last season - when they survived on the final day of the campaign.

The former Aston Villa man told the Hull Daily Mail: “There is so much at stake. Everybody fights for everything and it will go down to the last few games of the season for half-a-dozen teams.”

Phil Brown’s men have 11 games left this season, with five at home and six away, including games against fellow relegation battlers Portsmouth, Burnley, Sunderland and Wigan.

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Ivory Coast football association president Jacques Anouma admits he wants Russia coach Guus Hiddink to take charge of the Elephants (Evens to be Top African Team) at the World Cup finals.

Anouma is looking to replace the sacked Vahid Halilhodzic who paid the price for a disappointing African Cup of Nations campaign earlier in the year.

Hiddink’s appointment is far from straightforward, however, with the Dutchman contracted to Russia until the end of June while he will take over as Turkey coach in August for their 2012 Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

Anouma told the BBC: “Guus is one of the people we have contacted about becoming coach.

“Probably in the middle of next week something will be concluded.”

He added: “Of the three or four in contention to become the next coach, Guus is the person we want but we are still talking to him.

“Talks are ongoing but nothing has been decided.”

The Elephants kick off their World Cup campaign against Portugal on June 15 in Port Elizabeth.

Ivory Coast also face games against Brazil and North Korea in Group G.

Eighteen-times major winner Jack Nicklaus claims he will be “surprised” if Tiger Woods is not back in golf in time for the Masters in Augusta next month.

Woods is currently on an indefinite break as he addresses marital problems but Aussie Nicklaus expects the 34-year-old to be back in the near future.

Nicklaus, 70, said: “It would it surprise me if he didn’t.

“I’ve been very non-committal because it’s none of my business. But playing golf, my guess as a golfer, he’s going to probably try to want to.”

The Golden Bear added: “I suspect he will play something before Augusta, and I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t play before Augusta.”

Meanwhile, Woods’ caddie Steve Williams insists he knew nothing of the scandal that surrounds his employer and that he would have spoken out if he had discovered the truth.

The Kiwi told 60 Minutes in New Zealand: “It’s been the most difficult time of my life…because every single person believed that I should know or did know or had something to do with it.

“I’m a straight-up sort of person. No-one that has ever watched him on a golf course would suspect anything would be going on. I’m under siege, it’s been a difficult time.

“If I had known something was going on, the whistle would have been blown.”

New Scotland boss Craig Levein says his side have a “decent chance” of qualifying for Euro 2012 – despite the fact Spain and Wednesday’s opponents Czech Republic are in their group (Scotland 6/1 to make it to Euro 2012 with totesport).

Levein’s first game in charge of the national side is against the Czechs as Scotland look for their first friendly win at Hampden Park in 14 years on Wednesday (Scotland 13/8, Czech Republic 8/5, the draw 23/10 on the match coupon).

The former Dundee United chief is aiming to kick off his reign successfully and also insists Scotland can make it to the European Championships in just over two years’ time.

“We’ve got a lot of hard work to do but I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn’t think we had a decent chance of qualifying for the European Championships,” he said.

On the game itself, he added: “I know it’s not a competitive match and it’s not the be-all and end-all. But I think for everybody’s sake, it would be good  to put on a good performance and win.

“I think we are capable of winning the match.”

Birmingham forward James McFadden has pulled out of the game with a groin injury so West Brom midfielder Graham Dorrans will take his place but full-back Lee Wallace has passed a late fitness test and will start.

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Steven Gerrard has admitted a good team spirit will be vital if England (11/2) are to triumph at this summer’s World Cup.

Gerrard, who will captain England in the absence of the injured Rio Ferdinand against Egypt in the friendly at Wembley on Wednesday, says Fabio Capello’s squad must be united out in South Africa if they are to stand any chance of winning the World Cup (England 7/1 to beat Egypt 3-0).

The Liverpool skipper said: “I think it is important for everyone to get on to be successful. We know there are a lot of opinions about this squad from the outside.

“But the most important thing is from the inside we are all one, we are all together and united.

“For us to be successful in the summer, we need to all stick together. We know each other inside out now. We’ve had enough time under Fabio to realise what the manager wants from us.”

Gerrard will ine up in the England midfield against Egypt as Capello’s side continue to prepare for the World Cup with the friendly the final game before the Italian names his provisional squad for the tournament.

Ospreys have been dealt a big blow with the news that back rower Tom Smith will miss the next eights weeks and is a doubt for their Heineken Cup clash with Biarritz.

The 24-year-old picked up hip and knee injuries in the Welsh region’s 19-17 victory over Connacht (18/1 to win the European Challenge Cup) on February 21.

The former Wales (40/1 to receive the wooden spoon) under-21 captain was forced off early on in the game at the Liberty Stadium and scans on Tuesday showed the full extent of the injuries.

Ospreys (4/1 to win the Magners League grand final), who face Edinburgh (20/1) on Sunday, will now be concerned that Smith will miss their upcoming Heineken Cup quarter-final match with Biarritz on April 10.

“He is improving as well as we could hope for at the moment, but we are looking at a recovery period of around six to eight weeks from the day of the game, which means that we are looking at a mid-April return to playing.”

The good news for the Ospreys ahead of their game with Edinburgh is that Mike Phillips along with Andrew Bishop, Dan Biggar, Tom Prydie, Kristian Phillips and Ian Gough have all been released by Wales to play at Hampden Park this weekend.

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