Zinedine Zidane did not appear in court on Monday to answer questions in a drug trial of two high-ranking Juventus officials accused of giving players banned substances. It was the second time in less than a month that the Real Madrid star did not answer a court summons.

Cameroon’s attempts to win the African Nations Cup for a third successive time are in danger of being overshadowed by a host of problems for the continental showpiece event, which starts in Tunisia on January 24. First and foremost will be the continuing lobbying for the host country for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

England captain Martin Johnson is expected to confirm next week he is to retire from Test rugby, it was reported on Monday. Coach Clive Woodward has told his players to commit to the three-Test tour of Australia and New Zealand in June if they want to play in the Six Nations and Johnson is reportedly unwilling to make that commitment.

John McEnroe has called for the ATP to severely deal with players accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, and said he was surprised that Britain’s Greg Rusedski had tested positive for steroids. McEnroe said he had suspicions that players were taking drugs when he was playing.

Chelsea stayed in touch with the title race after an emphatic 4-0 drubbing of Leicester on Sunday ended a poor week for the big-spending club. Chelsea tore into the home side from the start, with Eidur Gudjohnsen slipping a pass to Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, but goalkeeper Ian Walker was able to block the shot.

Defending champion Hiroshi Masuoka admitted on Sunday that the decision to cancel two stages of the Dakar Rally has killed off his outside hopes of winning a third successive title. Stages 10 and 11, compromising 800km of competitive action, were called off due to reports of armed gangs operating in the border areas.

The United States is planning to replace its troubled, ageing fleet of space shuttles with a powerful new craft modelled on the Apollo vehicles that took US astronauts to the Moon 30 years ago. The new Crew Exploration Vehicle will be designed to ferry crew and cargo to and from the International Space Station, take men and women to the Moon, and eventually participate in manned missions to Mars.