Henry favourite for players' award

Strikers dominate the nominations for the Professional Footballers' Association Players' Player of the Year award, with the Arsenal midfielder Patrick Vieira failing to make the six-man shortlist.

Vieira has been a dominant force in the Gunners' season but his team-mate Thierry Henry is the favourite to win the award, with Everton's Wayne Rooney expected to be named the Young Player of the Year.

Henry faces competition from Manchester United's Ruud van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes, the Premiership's leading scorer so far this season, James Beattie, plus a pair of veterans in Alan Shearer and Gianfranco Zola.

Manchester United's Juan Sebastian Veron could be back in training later this week after travelling to Italy to see a specialist about his knee injury.

The Argentinian midfielder, who has been out for six weeks, has travelled to Rome's Lazio to see the specialist, the United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, said. "He's got this guru out there who he believes in," Ferguson said. "He has had him at Sampdoria, Parma and Lazio and we get that quite a bit. The French players also have someone they turn to."

Veron may be available for the second leg of United's Champions' League quarter-final against Real Madrid on Wednesday. United lost the away leg 3-1.

The West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper, Brian Jensen, has denied newspaper reports in his native Denmark claiming he is unhappy at the way he has been treated by the Baggies' manager, Gary Megson.

Jensen reportedly accused Megson of treating him like a puppet and stated that he wanted to leave when his contract runs out this summer.

Jensen, in a club statement, said: "Any footballer not getting regular games is not happy and I am no different, which is what I told the Danish reporter in a phone interview. But most of the quotes in the story attributed to me were made up. It was a quick two-minute interview and the same reporter misquoted me two years ago."

Jensen had been quoted as saying: "This season has been one long slip down the hill, and I don't like to be here any more. Of course I'm angry and unsatisfied because I'm not playing. The manager doesn't treat me like a man but like a puppet."

Derby County officials will meet with their suspended manager, John Gregory, next week to reveal the findings of an investigation into serious allegations made against him last month. Gregory, along with the club coach, Ross MacLaren, and the physiotherapist, Stuart Walker, was temporarily relieved of his duties at Pride Park.

The Rams' secretary, Keith Pearson, said: "Like John Gregory, the club is keen to expedite this matter. But, to be fair to all parties, the investigation has to be as thorough as possible and not governed by arbitrary time constraints."

During Gregory's absence, the interim manager George Burley has led the club to successive victories over Norwich City and Wimbledon.

PFA PLAYERS' PLAYER OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS: Beattie (Southampton), Henry (Arsenal), Scholes (Manchester Utd), Shearer (Newcastle), Van Nistelrooy (Manchester Utd), Zola (Chelsea).

YOUNG PLAYER OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS: Bellamy (Newcastle), Defoe (West Ham), Jenas (Newcastle), O'Shea (Manchester Utd), Parker (Charlton), Rooney (Everton).