A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Ireland to face Greece and Poland in friendlies

Greece and Poland have been revealed as the Republic of Ireland’s next two friendly opponents. Greece, the 2004 European champions, will provide the opposition at the Aviva Stadium on November 14th, while Ireland’s Euro 2012 hosts Poland have been booked in for February 6th.

The announcement comes days after the FAI confirmed a friendly with England in Wembley in May next year.

“These matches provide me with a very important opportunity to work with the squad and test ourselves against strong European opposition in preparation for the pivotal World Cup Qualification double header against Sweden and Austria in March 2013,” said Giovanni Trapattoni today.

Ireland have faced Greece only twice before, having lost one and drawn one. Poland have won 10 and lost five of 23 meetings with Ireland.

Trapattoni’s side will have faced Germany and the Faroe Islands in World Cup qualifiers by the time Greece come to town and the manager will hope to have at least seven points in Group C by then.

Injury rules out Carr for six months

Former Ireland defender Stephen Carr has received a cruel blow with the news that he will be ruled out for six months.

Carr had just got over a thigh injury picked up pre-season that has prevented him playing this season and the Birmingham City captain was ready to be considered for first team football but had to undergo surgery on his knee after it began to swell up in training.

Manager Lee Clark said: “Monday and Tuesday he was training really well prior to the Peterborough United game and we had pencilled him in to play, and he was really positive.

“Prior to the game he felt a little problem in the knee so we ruled him out. And over the course of the next few days it began to get really swollen, so we got him down to London for an appointment with the specialist who worked with him last season. He went inside the knee and found quite a bit of damage.”

Clark did have some good news for Ireland fans. He said midfielder Keith Fahey has trained “magnificently” all week on his return to the full group at training from a groin injury.

No revolt over Malouda demotion

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has dismissed any prospect of a dressing-room revolt over Florent Malouda’s banishment from his first-team squad.

Di Matteo played down comparisons between Malouda’s segregation and those of Nicolas Anelka and Alex last season, which arguably contributed towards Andre Villas-Boas’s downfall as manager.

Chelsea’s squad were said to be angered by what was seen as an attempt by Villas-Boas to assert his authority, with his successor subsequently praised for the way he brought other outcasts back into the fold.

But Di Matteo got tough last week when he and the club decided to banish Malouda to the Blues’ under-21 team following his refusal to accept several offers to move on despite having expressed a desire to leave.

Malouda, whose contract expires next summer, vented his frustration by revealing the news on Twitter but did not succeed in mobilising his team-mates, according to Di Matteo. Asked if he had played his last game for Chelsea, Di Matteo added: “I don’t know, only the future will tell.”

Gibson out for four to five weeks with thigh strain

Everton’s Republic of Ireland international midfielder Darron Gibson will be out for four to five weeks with a thigh strain.

The 24-year-old has figured in all three of Everton’s Premier League matches so far this season but was forced off 20 minutes into the first half of the most recent contest, a 2-0 defeat at West Brom on September 1st.

Manager David Moyes, however, remains hopeful the former Manchester United midfielder could make a quicker-than-expected return.

The Scot explained: “Darron’s got a thigh strain and will probably be out for four to five weeks now.

“He’s had two weeks now so hopefully we are a couple of weeks down the line already because of the international break – so he may have only a couple of weeks to miss.”

Gibson recently told Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni he was still suffering from the disappointment of playing a limited role at the Euro 2012 finals and did not want to be considered for selection in their World Cup qualifying game against Kazakhstan or the recently friendly against Oman.

Ferguson hails possible return of Fletcher

Darren Fletcher returns to the Manchester United squad for today’s Premier League encounter against Wigan with Sir Alex Ferguson believing the Scot is well on course for a successful return to first-team action.

It does not seem likely Fletcher will play any part at Old Trafford, but it is a step forward in the midfielder’s bid to conquer a chronic bowel condition.

It was decided he needed an extended rest from the game, during which time he has been doing some coaching with United’s junior teams.

“He is in the squad, simply because I think it can give him a boost,” said Ferguson. “It charts the progress the lad has made. The next step we should take is when we can involve him in a game in our first team.”