Sportsday - breaking sports news

That's all for Sportsday live. The service will resume at 08:00 BST on Friday morning.

Join Aimee Lewis for live text commentary of the Diamond League athletics from Rome.

Usain Bolt leads a star-studded field in the 100m, British record-holder Greg Rutherford takes part in the long jump and Britain's Dwain Chambers takes part in the men's 4x100m relay team.

Britain's Heather Watson breaks Julia Goerges in the first game of their second round contest at the French Open, but is immediately broken back in the next game to level the score at 1-1. You can follow the action on our tennis pages with Mike Henson.

US Open champion Rory McIlroy recovered from a quadruple-bogey seven on his third hole to shoot a one-under-par 71 in the first round of the Memorial Tournament, with Tiger Woods opening with a 70.

Uncapped spinner Sunil Narine is hoping to fulfil a dream by forcing his way into the West Indies' plans for the final Test against England following his unexpected call-up to replace the injured paceman Kemar Roach.

"I have not played a lot in England, so it will be vital that I get acclimatised as quickly as possible," he said.

BBC motorcycling commentator Steve Parrish thinks former world champion Jorge Lorenzo is leading candidate to take reigning world champion Casey Stoner's seat at Honda when the Australian retires at the end of the season.

The Scottish Premier League have given Celtic the go-ahead to play Spanish champions Real Madrid on 11 August, seven days after the SPL season begins, in Philadelphia.

A statement read: "The SPL board is mindful of the benefit to Scottish football as a whole of its clubs participating in glamorous and lucrative matches against some of the world's highest-profile clubs."

Former players and coaches offer an insight into what it is like to tour South Africa and assess England's prospects of a first series win in the country where they last won a Test in 2000.

"South Africa won't have had much time to prepare and if England catch them cold in the first Test, then suddenly the dynamic of the whole tour changes, and the pressure goes onto the Boks," said former England lock Ben Kay.

Former South Africa captain John Smitsaid: "England need to be ambitious [in the first Test] because South Africa will only get better and better with each game they play under their new coach."

Hungary's Krisztian Berki, who has won the last two pommel horse world titles and beat Britain's Louis Smith to European gold last week, believes the Briton's routine will be the most difficult on show at London 2012. #olympicthursday

Former world number one Mark Williams has been fined £3,000 and ordered to pay £1,000 towards the costs of a hearing into derogatory comments he made on Twitter regarding the Crucible which hosts the World Championship.

England's one-day international captain Alastair Cook has called on one of the country's young players to fill the void created by Kevin Pietersen's shock

"Clearly when you lose a player of that calibre in a short format where he's proven to be a mighty fine player it is disappointing," said Cook.

"There's a huge number of talented, young players in the county game - people like Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler. It gives them an opportunity to really push on now."

The Football Association said Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson will be called into the squad - subject to agreement from UEFA's medical team - as a replacement for Frank Lampard.

England manager Roy Hodgson added: "Apart from it being a huge blow to me and the team, I'm especially disappointed for Frank himself.

"He has been in very good form and was looking forward to the tournament.

"He made a huge contribution towards us qualifying for the Euros so it is cruel to be forced out through injury just before the tournament."

Commenting on Frank Lampard's Euro 2012 absence, England manager Roy Hodgson said:

"It's a huge blow for the team, especially coming after the loss of another senior player in Gareth Barry.

"The fact that the doctor cannot guarantee Frank could take part in any of the group matches means we have to replace him in the central midfield area."

Frank Lampard, who turns 34 next month, suffered a thigh injury in training and went for a scan on Thursday afternoon to discover the extent of the damage.

Former Ryder Cup player Tommy Horton has been awarded honorary life membership of the European Tour.

Horton, 70, won 31 titles in his professional career, 23 of them on the Seniors Tour, and was awarded the MBE in the 2000 New Year's Honours List for his services to golf.

Wigan assistant manager Graeme Jones has emerged as the clear favourite to succeed Brendan Rodgers as Swansea City manager. The 42-year-old was targeted by Swansea in 2010 before Rodgers was appointed.

Eleven-times Swiss champions Young Boys have named Martin Rueda as their new coach as they bid to end their 26-year wait for a league title.

Spanish La Liga champions Real Madrid will play AC Milan at the Yankee Stadium, home of the New York Yankees baseball team, on 8 August as part of the World Football Challenge being staged in North America.

Former world number one and 19th seed Jelena Jankovic has been knocked out by American Vavara Lepchenko in the second round of the French Open.

Britain's Heather Watson takes on Julia Georges on Court 2 after Janko Tipsarevic and Jeremy Chardy complete their match. Tipsarevic won the first set 7-6 and leads 3-0 in the second.

You can follow updates from that match and others from around Roland Garros with Mike Henson on our tennis pages.

McLaren driver Jenson Button believes that seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher's critics need to understand that it can take time to regain competitiveness in Formula 1, reports Autosport.

"Michael's come in for a lot of criticism over the last couple of years since he's been back," said Button. "I think we all forget what he achieved in his previous career, if you want to call it that.

"Sometimes it takes time to feel comfortable with a car and comfortable with the people you're working with. But I think he put a great lap together, didn't make any mistakes and he obviously deserved it very much."

Football League chairmen have voted unanimously to back proposals to stamp out cheating cheating and have agreed to tell their managers and players to cut out diving, time-wasting and feigning injury.

Football League chairman Greg Clarke said: "As a collective of clubs we have a responsibility to protect the image and long-term health of the game of football."

Former AC Milan and Barcelona striker Ronaldinho has been suspended by Flamengo after failing to join the squad for a friendly in north-east Brazil, reports Reuters.

The Brazilian was jeered off the pitch when he was substituted on Saturday after his mistake had led to Internacional's equaliser in a 3-3 draw.

Ronaldinho was given permission to visit his mother, who has health problems, after the game but missed training on Wednesday and did not catch the flight to Teresina for Thursday's friendly.

Czech captain Tomas Rosicky will miss his side's last warm-up match before Euro 2012 due to injury. Coach Michal Bilek says the Arsenal midfielder will not play "a single minute" against Hungary on Friday, but adds that the captain will recover from calf muscle injury in time for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine that begins 8 June.

There is a huge night of Diamond League athletics from Rome on BBC Radio 5 live later:

Usain Bolt leads a star-studded field in the 100m, British record-holder Greg Rutherford takes part in the long jump, there is a British showdown featuring Andrew Osagie and Michael Rimmer in the 800m and Briton Dwain Chambers takes part in the men's 4x100m relay team.

Coverage starts at 19:00 BST.

Simon Thornton makes his fourth birdie of the day on nine to get within one of clubhouse leader Lee Slattery at the Wales Open. The Irishman is three under through nine.

Gary Neville says that the way the nation have celebrated reaching major tournaments in the past has been "embarrassing". Read more from the England coach here.

Frederic Michalak is in France's squad for their two-match tour of Argentina next month. Nine players are called up to the Les Bleus squad for the first time while, as expected, captain Thierry Dusautoir is rested - with Stade Francais lock Pascal Pape set to stand in as skipper.

Crewe manager Steve Davis says there have been no offers for highly rated teenager Nick Powell, although he expects them to come soon.

The 18-year-old, who helped the Railwaymen seal promotion to League One with a stunning strike at Wembley last weekend, has been linked with a £4m move to Manchester United in recent weeks.

"I know there's been bits in the papers about him and Manchester United but we've not had any solid offers," says Davis. "But I think it will come."

Lewis Hamilton will be hoping an error-free weekend will finally elevate him to the top of the podium in Canada next weekend.

There have been six different winners at each of the six races this season, but Hamilton has not been one of them.

"I'm excited for every race, and whatever happens in a race, I always lift myself up and get myself pushing again," he says.

"I'll be in the gym working as hard as I can, I'll get my mind in the same frame it has been in every race, making sure I'm doing my job - which I am."

At tea at Lord's, Middlesex are 159-3 in their first innings against Sussex. Chris Rogers is 71 not out as Middlesex trail by 124 runs.

Dundee United announce the signing of Falkirk midfielder Mark Millar on a pre-contract agreement.

The Scottish side say the 24-year-old has signed a three-year contract, which will come into effect when his Falkirk deal expires at the end of June.

Brighton boss Gus Poyet, Blackpool's Ian Holloway, Birmingham's Chris Hughton and former Denmark international Michael Laudrup have all been linked with the vacancy at Swansea.

The club have already started discussions over their hunt for a new manager following the departure of Brendan Rodgers to Liverpool.

Lazio midfielder Cristian Ledesma will remain at the club next season despite reported interest from Manchester City, according to the player's agent.

City manager Roberto Mancini is a known admirer of the 29-year-old Ledesma, who missed just one league game for Lazio this season.

"Mancini likes Ledesma," Ledesma's agent Vincenzo D'Ippolito said to Gazzetta dello Sport. "Each year this interest is renewed but Cristian has made a life choice and wants to remain in Rome."

Somerset are 27-2 at tea in their County Championship Division One match at Worcestershire. Somerset trail by 313 runs with eight wickets remaining in the first innings.

Leicester announce a new three-year contract for their director of rugby Richard Cockerill.

The former Tigers and England hooker became Leicester head coach during the 2008-09 season and was named rugby director almost two years ago.

At the Memorial Tournament in Ohio, Rory McIlroy makes a quadruple-bogey seven at the par-three 12th. He is two over through seven after carding successive birdies from the 14th.

Team GB taekwondo candidate Aaron Cook, reacting to the news that the British Olympic Association refuse to ratify British Taekwondo's decision not to include him in Olympic squad: "Encouraging news reports. Thank you to the BOA, I await further news. The dream is still alive..."

Titus Bramble is cleared of sexually assaulting two women. The Sunderland defender is found not guilty by a jury at Teesside Crown Court following a four-day trial.

BBC Sport's Ben Smith reports: "Three members of Swansea's backroom staff are understood to be joining Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool - first-team coach Colin Pascoe, match-analyst Chris Davies and conditioning expert Glen Driscoll."

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli says he and his team will stand up for Mario Balotelli, should the Manchester City forward be subjected to racism during Euro 2012.

"In the case that Balotelli is a target of racial boos, we will all step out on the pitch from the bench," Prandelli says. "We will do something for Mario should that case arise."

Former Manchester United forward Alan Smith is closing in on a permanent switch to MK Dons. The 31-year-old spent part of last season on loan at the League One side from Newcastle.

"We've had a little chat and it's looking good, me and Smithy get on very well," Dons boss Karl Robinson told MK News. "But I don't take anything for granted in football because there are so many things that can change people's decisions."

Caroline Wozniacki advances to the third round of the French Open by beating Jarmila Gajdosova of Australia 6-1 6-4. The ninth-seeded Dane, who is still looking to win her first Grand Slam title, has never been beyond the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

Louis Oosthuizen's albatross on the final day of The Masters is the European Tour's Shot of the Month for April. The South African, who went on to lose a play-off to Bubba Watson, holed out with a 235-yard four-iron on the second.

Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova and 10th seed Angelique Kerber are among those into the third round of the women's singles at the French Open. Kvitova beat Poland's Urszula Radwanska 6-1 6-3 while Germany's Kerber defeated Olga Govortsova of Belarus 6-3 6-2. Britain's Heather Watson faces Germany's Julia Goerges later this afternoon in her second round match.

England's Lee Slattery holds the lead on the opening day of the Wales Open at Celtic Manor. Slattery, who won his first European Tour title in Madrid last October after eight trips to the qualifying school is on four under - one ahead of Germany's Marcel Siem and Sweden's Joel Sjoholm, who still has two holes to play.

Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given would welcome Paul Lambert's appointment as the new manager of Aston Villa amid speculation that he is in line for the job. "If Paul was to come in, he would be a great appointment because he is a fantastic manager," said Given, 36. "Since he took the hot-seat at any club he has been at, he has just gone all the way up all the time, so hopefully if they can get that done, that would be great news for the club. The sooner the manager is in place for next season - because he will have targets and players he will want to get in himself - the sooner that's done, the better."

Egyptian modern pentathlete Aya Medany has had more than disappointment in Beijing to cope with - revolution, religion and injury have all led her to a situation where she might not even make the London Games. Read more of her story on the BBC Sport website.#olympicthursday

Sussex recovered from 66-5 at one point on Wednesday and 242-8 overnight to finish their first innings against Middlesex on 283. In reply, the home side have reached 31-1 at lunch

Following Dai Greene's withdrawal from Thursday night's Diamond League meeting, UK Athletics also says that Perri Shakes-Drayton has pulled out of the women's 400m hurdles with a slight hamstring strain. However, the 23-year-old hopes to be back racing in a week.

Aston Villa are set to meet with Paul Lambert's representatives amid reports the Norwich manager has resigned from his post at Carrow Road. It is understood that Villa approached Norwich on Wednesday for permission to speak to Lambert. Norwich have made no comment but Villa are hopeful they can finalise a compensation package with the Canaries.

The saga of whether world number one Aaron Cook will make Team GB will take another turn on Thursday as the British Olympic Association plans to give an update this afternoon. The BOA has queried British Taekwondo's decision not to select Cook. BBC Sport's Nick Hope will have the latest news as it happens. #olympicthursday

Manchester United could face former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba in a friendly in July. The Premier League giants will travel to China for the Chevrolet China Cup where they will face Shanghai Shenhua, who have already signed Nicolas Anelka and are keen to sign his former strike partner Drogba, plus another leading Chinese team. Dates for the games have yet to be announced.

Former England hooker Andy Long is forced to retire from the sport with immediate effect because of a degenerative neck injury. The 34-year-old, who won two Test caps, was set to leave Northampton this summer and join Gloucester. Long made his international debut in Clive Woodward's first game as head coach against Australia at Twickenham in 1997 and also had spells with Bath, Munster, Rotherham and Newcastle.

Germany's Marcel Siem and England's Lee Slattery lead the way on the opening day of the Wales Open at Celtic Manor. Siem is five under with two to play while Slattery is four under after 17. You can get the latest scores on the European Tour website.

The worry seems over for Andy Murray as he takes the third set 6-1 against Jarkko Nieminen to take a two sets to one lead at the French Open. Follow the latest with Mike Henson on the BBC Sport website.

France manager PhilippeSaint-Andre recalls fly-half Frederic Michalak to his squad for next month's two-test tour of Argentina. Michalak's last appearance was in the 2010 Six Nations against Wales. Saint-Andre has also named nine newcomers in his squad while captain Thierry Dusautoir is rested.

The ECB says that the terms of the central contract state that any player making himself unavailable for either of the one-day formats automatically rules himself out of consideration for both formats of the game as planning for both formats is closely linked. But Pietersen added: "For the record, were the selection criteria not in place, I would have readily played for England in the upcoming ICC World Twenty20."

Kevin Pietersen has played 127 ODIs and 36 international T20s for England, making his international debut in 2004 against Zimbabwe in Harare. "With the intensity of the international schedule and the increasing demands on my body, approaching 32, I think it is the right time to step aside and let the next generation of players come through to gain experience for the ICC World Cup in 2015," he said.

A Jarkko Nieminen double fault hands Andy Murray the second set 6-4 in their French Open encounter. Can Murray's back hold out? Follow the latest with Mike Henson on the BBC Sport website.

Second row Paul O'Connell is ruled out of Ireland's upcoming tour to New Zealand after failing to recover from a knee injury.

Despite his back problems, Andy Murray is still battling away on court at Roland Garros against Jarkko Nieminen and is 4-2 down in the second set. You can follow the latest with Mike Henson on the BBC Sport website.

The England and Wales Cricket Board announces that it has created a new seven-strong team of anti-corruption officials to monitor the vast majority of matches in this season's Friends Life t20 and CB40 competitions.

A reminder that it is #olympicthursday across the BBC. Among the offerings today are an interview with Britain's triathlon stars, the Brownlee brothers, praise for British gymnast Louis Smith from his main rival, and a preview of tonight's Diamond League meeting in Rome, which features Usain Bolt.

We are not expecting news of England midfielder Frank Lampard's thigh injury until later this afternoon.

Republic of Ireland injury doubts Shay Given and John O'Shea both trained with the team at Borgo A Buggiano this morning.

Andy Murray loses his serve again in the opening game of the second set against Jarkko Nieminen.

More from British Olympic hope Jess Ennis on BBC Radio 5 live, responding to bizarre alleged comments from a senior figure in UK Athletics suggesting she is overweight. "It is Olympic year and everyone is interested and things do get blown out of proportion and this is one example of it. I am really happy with my figure and I train really hard to be in the best shape I can. I don't want young girls to think I view myself as overweight and they then view themselves as similar because that is not a great way to be. It is different in sport as you have to get the most out your body and you have to be toned and you have to be muscular. I am just going to continue doing what I am doing and I know that I will be in great shape for the games."

Andy Murray clearly still struggling at the French Open, his serve particularly affected by his back injury, and he loses another service game, before Jarkko Nieminen serves out to take the first set 6-1 in 37 minutes.

Favourite Camelot will head the smallest Epsom Derby field for more than a century as nine runners line up in the big race on Saturday. Aidan O'Brien, who trains the market leader, will also run stablemate Astrology but withdrew Imperial Monarch, Father of Science and Tower Rock on Thursday.

Huge problems for Andy Murray at the French Open, broken again to trail 0-4 and in pain with what looks like a back injury. The British number one has called for an injury time-out. You can follow all the developments at Roland Garros with Mike Henson's live text on the BBC website.

Britain's Olympic hopeful Jess Ennis on BBC Radio 5 live: "It is definitely a really unique experience. It is all new for us British athletes to have a home Olympics and the pressure is quite big. For me it is a nice position to be in because I was injured for the last Olympics, so to be a part of this one and be in the position I am in with everyone supporting me is really nice."

Britain's Andy Murray loses his opening service game against Jarkko Nieminen at the French Open to trail 0-2. Follow the match with Mike Henson's live text on the BBC website.

Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand is the leader at the Wales Open at Celtic Manor on three under after nine holes, Scots Colin Montgomerie and Paul Lawrie, plus Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal are two over.

South African flanker Pedrie Wannenburg, part of the Ulster side recently beaten in the final of the European Cup by Leinster, signs a two-year deal with Castres.

Boxer Amir Khan will carry the Olympic torch today as it continues its journey around the UK. The 25-year-old, who won a boxing silver medal at the Athens Games in 2004, will take the flame into his home town of Bolton on the last leg of the relay's 13th day.

Former Leicester and Leeds centre Seru Rabeni, 33, signs for Mont-de-Marsan, who recently won promotion to the French Top 14 championship.

Sports agent Mazhar Majeed and former Essex bowler Mervyn Westfield, who were jailed in separate match-fixing cases, lose challenges against their convictions at the Court of Appeal, the Press Association reports.

Warm and sunny in Paris for the French Open today following last night's heavy rain and British number one Andy Murray is on court in his red shorts for his match against Jarkko Nieminen. Follow the match with Mike Henson on the BBC website, and stay with us for updates.

So on Court Philippe Chatrier at the French Open Andy Murray will begin against Jarkko Nieminen shortly, followed by former world number one Caroline Wozniacki against Jarmila Gajdosova, giant American John Isner v Paul-Henri Mathieu and glamorous Russian Maria Sharapova plays Ayumi Morita. You can follow all the action with Mike Henson's live text on the BBC website now.

The early leaders at the Wales Open are Lee Slattery, Marcel Siem and Marcus Fraser, who have all reached two under after just a handful of holes. Colin Montgomerie not going so well, after a birdie at the first he has dropped four shots in the next three holes.

Olympic champion Usain Bolt takes on Asafa Powell in the Diamond League 100m in Rome tonight and you can listen to commentary on BBC Radio 5 live from 1900 BST.

Leeds second row forward Carl Ablett, 26, signs a new five-year contract.

At the Wales Open Paul Lawrie birdies his first hole but Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal is one over after one and Colin Montgomerie is two over after three holes.

Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington vows to avoid the internet during the London 2012 Games after being taunted over her looks and personality on Twitter. She tells the Daily Mail "It is awful. Even if there are ten nice comments you get one idiot. I've now given up. It upsets me or gets me angry."

We're underway in the Wales Open at Celtic Manor and former Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie has birdied his first hole. Current skipper Jose Maria Olazabal is also playing this week, as well as Thomas Bjorn and Miguel Angel Jimenez and we'll have updates for you throughout the day.

Reading chairman Sir John Madejski has praised the efforts of Brendan Rodgers, who is set to take over at Liverpool. Rodgers parted company with Reading in December 2009 after a string of disappointing results. "I've always considered Brendan Rodgers to be a first-class manager and a great guy," Madejski told BBC Radio 5 Live. "He is a very straightforward person and I think his determination and unbridled honesty would have impressed the Liverpool club owners."

Also today we await news on Frank Lampard's thigh scan, and British number one Andy Murray takes on Jarko Niemenen at the French Open from 1000 BST

So, Brendan Rodgers set to be appointed Liverpool boss, Paul Lambert rumoured to be leaving Norwich, uncertainty over Wigan's Roberto Martinez and Aston Villa and West Brom still searching for new managers. It's a lot to digest, but send us your thoughts on what is already proving to be an eventful close season via Twitter with the hashtag #bbcsportsday