Football: Gascoigne speculation grows: Lazio president losing patience with England midfielder

PAUL GASCOIGNE missed Lazio's 3-0 Serie A win over Napoli yesterday, amid renewed speculation in Italy that he will be returning to Britain soon.

Gascoigne had to sit out the match with a recurrence of the rib injury he incurred in the Rome derby a fortnight ago. He played for England against Denmark three days later but was clearly not fit and has not played since. He dropped out of training on Saturday after just 10 minutes, complaining of a pain in his side. The club were unhappy that he did not show up at the Olympic stadium yesterday to watch the game.

'We will decide (his future) at the end of the season, but it is clear that someone who plays one week and not the next three is no use for us,' the club president, Sergio Cragnotti, said. 'I would like to give Gascoigne a telling-off, but to do that I have to find him first. He's a lad with a lively personality who can be hard to control, but he must realise that his first duty is to Lazio.'

Richard Thompson, the chairman of Queen's Park Rangers, yesterday said that he hopes to resolve the future of the club's manager, Gerry Francis, soon. Francis is out of contract in the summer, and is a target for Wolves. 'I wish to reassure (the fans) that we are still talking to Francis about his position and hope to resolve the matter as soon as possible,' Thompson said. Supporters demonstrated against the chairman after Saturday's home win over Wimbledon.

Scotland will be without the injured pair of Ian Ferguson (Rangers) and Scott Booth (Aberdeen) for Wednesday's friendly against the Netherlands at Hampden Park, but the manager, Craig Brown, will not call up any replacements.

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