Sporting briefs

Walcott: Arsenal winger Theo Walcott is facing three months out of the game after dislocating his right shoulder during training for England in Berlin on Tuesday. The 19-year-old, who has a hereditary shoulder problem, was immediately taken to hospital where he had the shoulder put back into place. Walcott had his left shoulder pinned in 2007 and had to be stretchered off during Arsenal's recent game with Stoke after he fell on it and suffered spasms as a result.

QPR coach: Former Portugal international Paulo Sousa was named first-team coach of Queens Park Rangers yesterday. The 38-year-old Sousa, a cultured midfielder who was part of Portugal's "golden generation" and was capped 51 times by his country, has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract. "It is an honour to be part of this project," Sousa, whose club career included stints with Benfica, Juventus and Inter, said.

Modric: Croatian Luka Modric will be sidelined for two weeks with a groin injury, his club Tottenham Hotspur said. The international midfielder was substituted at half-time of the 2-1 defeat by Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.

Ze Roberto: Bayern Munich's Brazilian midfielder Ze Roberto is interested in becoming a pastor once his career is over. "I can well imagine becoming a pastor," the 34-year-old told Sport Bild magazine. "I've looked into it and I would need to study theology for four years. It would be very fulfilling. Religion is very important to me."

Aussies win: Mark Bresciano's last-gasp goal gave Australia a 1-0 victory in Bahrain yesterday to maintain their perfect start to the final round of World Cup Asian qualifiers. The midfielder pounced on a rare defensive mistake by Bahrain inside the penalty box to lift the ball into the roof of the net three minutes into injury time.

Horse riding: German equestrian chiefs have appealed to the CAS to extend the four-month doping ban imposed on their rider Christian Ahlmann to eight months. Ahlmann's horse Coester tested positive for the banned substance capsaicin at the Beijing Olympics. Capsaicin is an active ingredient in chilli peppers, which is sometimes applied as a paste or lotion to a horse's forelegs to encourage them to lift their smarting shins over fences.

Rugby league: Australia and New Zealand have both named unchanged teams for Saturday's World Cup final in Brisbane. The Australian selectors unsurprisingly stuck with the same squad that thrashed Fiji 52-0 in last weekend's semi-finals. New Zealand retained the same line-up that accounted for England 32-22.

Tennis: Amelie Mauresmo is planning to launch her Australian Open campaign at the Sydney International in January. Mauresmo has enjoyed great success in Australia in the past decade, winning the Australian Open (2006) and Sydney International (2000) as well as finishing runner-up in both tournaments on different occasions.