West Ham sign Johnson on loan

West Ham United have signed defender Roger Johnson on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers for the rest of the season, the Premier League club said on their website on Monday.

West Ham have slipped to second bottom of the table after a poor run of results that has coincided with injuries to several of their most experienced defenders.

The 30-year-old Johnson won the League Cup with Birmingham City in 2011 and helped Cardiff City reach the FA Cup final in 2008.

He joined Wolves in 2011 for a reported fee of 7 million pounds ($11.5 million) and made 42 Championship (second-tier) appearances for them last season before moving to Sheffield Wednesday on loan.

Johnson could go straight into the West Ham squad for Wednesday's League Cup semifinal first leg at Manchester City.

Walcott ruled out for six months

Arsenal and England forward Theo Walcott has been ruled out for at least six months after rupturing knee ligaments and will miss this year's World Cup, the club said on Monday.

Walcott suffered the injury late in the 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup third round on Saturday and he left the field on a stretcher after appearing to jar his knee in a challenge with Danny Rose.

The 24-year-old did not appear in too much discomfort and caused controversy by indicating the score to Tottenham fans behind the goal as he was carried off.

The Football Association took no action over Walcott's gestures but any relief at avoiding disciplinary action was quickly overshadowed by the medical bulletin which revealed he had ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee.

"Theo will have surgery in London in the near future and is expected to be out for at least six months, therefore missing the remainder of the season and the World Cup in Brazil in the summer," Arsenal said on their website.

Walcott, capped 36 times by England, missed two months of this season with an abdominal injury and had looked in great form since returning, scoring five goals in five games before Saturday's derby.

His absence will be keenly felt by Premier League leaders Arsenal as they try to maintain their title challenge and will also be a major blow for England manager Roy Hodgson.

"Everyone at Arsenal wishes Theo a speedy recovery and we look forward to seeing him back on a football pitch as soon as possible," the club said.

Walcott, aged 17, was an unused member of England's squad for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany and was surprisingly left out of the squad for the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

United, City kept apart in semis draw

Manchester United and Manchester City were kept apart in the League Cup semifinal draw made on Wednesday.

Champions United will take on the Premier League's bottom club Sunderland in a two-legged last-four clash in January and City face West Ham United who knocked out Tottenham Hotspur in the quarterfinals.

United, who won 2-0 at Stoke City to reach the semis, are bidding to win their first trophy under new manager David Moyes.

Draw:

Sunderland v Manchester United

Manchester City v West Ham United

Two-legged semifinals to be played w/c January 6 and 20

Sherwood unsure about Spurs future

Tottenham Hotspur caretaker manager Tim Sherwood said he was in the dark about his future as the sense of crisis at the north London club intensified following their 2-1 home League Cup defeat by West Ham United on Wednesday.

Tottenham, who sacked manager Andre Villas-Boas on Monday following a humiliating 5-0 home Premier League loss to Liverpool, are yet to meet with former midfielder Sherwood to discuss his ongoing role.

"I got a call at 10:15 on Monday from the chairman asking me to take the first team training but the immediate future beyond that is up in the air," Sherwood, who was an animated figure in the technical area during the game, told reporters.

"I'll have to have a chat with the chairman.

"There are lot of big names being bandied about as you would expect because it's a huge club but the chairman needs to make the right decision and find the manager that is compatible to take this club forward."

Asked if he wanted the job, Sherwood, who has been in charge of the development squad, said: "It would have to be right for me and right for the football club."

He was not sure if he would be in charge for Tottenham's trip to Southampton on Sunday.

With their season coming apart at the seams, however, Sherwood feels a decision should be made soon.

"Confidence has taken a battering and whoever is in charge on Sunday and for training on Friday needs to get the team prepared. If it's me I won't go in all doom and gloom.

"I haven't spoken to the chairman but it would be good to get it resolved for the club. I'm in the frame but it's not my decision unfortunately."

It is the season of goodwill, but charity was in short supply as West Ham fans mockingly chanted, "You're getting sacked in the morning" at Sherwood as the final whistle sounded.

"I'm not used to sleeping two hours a night thinking about football players," Sherwood, a Premier League winner with Blackburn Rovers, said of his sudden elevation.

"It's madness, isn't it really? But I've always been up for a challenge."

From the meticulous build-up play under Villas-Boas, Tottenham were far more energetic in the opening 20 minutes against their London rivals, carving out several chances.

When Emmanuel Adebayor, brought in for his first start of the season by Sherwood, finally opened the scoring with little more than 20 minutes remaining it seemed the rookie manager would enjoy a dream night.

However, West Ham hit back with goals by Matt Jarvis and Modibo Maiga to send Spurs fans trudging away into the north London rain.

"We ran out of steam," Sherwood said.

"They are fit enough to play a certain way but I wanted to change the way we played. It's a complete change of mindset. I wanted a bit more gung-ho and up-and-at-them but you need to acclimatise for that."

Despite being five points off the top four in the Premier League, there is a sense of despondency pervading the club.

The optimism with which they began the campaign after spending more than 100 million pounds ($163.9 million) on seven players, albeit money recouped by selling Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, has long since disappeared.

Salvage job for Man United in semis

Manchester United will turn to the League Cup to salvage their desperate domestic season when they visit Sunderland on Tuesday for the first leg of their semifinal.

Having fallen 11 points off the pace in the Premier League, United saw another potential route towards silverware curtailed on Sunday when they were stunned 2-1 at home by Swansea City in the FA Cup third round.

Although United remain in contention in the Champions League, the League Cup now represents their best hope of rescuing a trophy from a campaign that threatens to turn into an outright disaster.

An extra incentive is the fact that derby rivals Manchester City are their most likely opponents in the final, with Manuel Pellegrini's side due to host West Ham United in the first leg of the other semifinal on Wednesday.

United manager David Moyes reached just one major final in his 11 years at Everton, losing to Chelsea in the FA Cup in 2009, but with Wembley Stadium now within sight again, he has urged his players to roll up their sleeves.

"If you lose games at any club, it's always difficult. At Manchester United, it's even bigger," Moyes said after Wilfried Bony's 90th-minute header earned Swansea victory at Old Trafford on Sunday.

"But that's the job. We'll get on with it, we've got a big game coming up on Tuesday, and we'll get the team ready for that."

Sunderland are at the bottom of the Premier League table, but they had gone four games unbeaten prior to losing 1-0 at home to Aston Villa on New Year's Day.

They also enjoyed victory in the FA Cup on Sunday, winning 3-1 at home to third-tier Carlisle United to set up a fourth-round tie at home to either Kidderminster Harriers or Peterborough United.

"We are going to become a cup team," joked Sunderland manager Gus Poyet after the win against Carlisle.

City are fighting for honours on four fronts and their schedule became even more congested on Saturday when they were taken to a replay in the FA Cup by Blackburn Rovers following a 1-1 draw at Ewood Park.

With league games against Newcastle United, Cardiff City and Tottenham Hotspur also on the horizon, City will play six times in only 22 days this month, but Alvaro Negredo believes that the squad can cope.

"The main thing is to recover well after all the games," said the Spanish striker, who claimed City's goal at Blackburn with a close-range volley.

"A good thing about this club is we have a big squad with a lot of players, so we can rotate without the change changing the way we play.

"Hopefully we can get a good result in front of our fans to take to West Ham."

West Ham go into the game on the back of an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at second-tier Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.

The east London club are also currently second from bottom in the Premier League table, but manager Sam Allardyce will expect a reaction against City after resting nine players for the defeat at Forest.

"I picked the team (to play Forest) so it is my responsibility," he said following Sunday's loss at the City Ground.

"You know what my priorities are: the priorities are the Premier League first and then Capital One (League) Cup.

"It's leg one on Wednesday and we need to get back to the second leg with an opportunity to get to Wembley and then get some points at Cardiff (in the league).

United, West Ham out for redemption

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher says the team owe their supporters a huge response following their FA Cup defeat to Swansea City on Sunday and have the perfect opportunity to make amends against Sunderland in the Capital One Cup.

West Ham United, who themselves crashed out of the tournament after being hammered 5-0 by Nottingham Forest, will also be looking to recover quickly but have a much harder task when they travel to Manchester City on Wednesday.

The Premier League champions lost 2-1 at home to exit the FA Cup at the first hurdle for only the fourth time in 34 years with Swansea winning at Old Trafford for the first time and inflicting United's fourth home defeat in six matches.

United now travel to Sunderland on Tuesday for the first leg of their Capital One Cup semifinal with a place at Wembley awaiting the eventual winners, and Fletcher told United's television channel MUTV that the players needed to respond.

"It's a League Cup semifinal, if you can't lift yourself for that then it's no good," he said.

"We have got a great opportunity, we are away to Sunderland and we've got to recover quickly and lift ourselves. It's a massive game now."

The Scottish international, back in the side after a long illness, praised the attitude of United's fans saying: "They're really sticking by us and that's great to see - we've got to repay that.

"When we got to the Stretford End, there were a lot of fans clapping and singing for United. The players have got to see that and know that the fans are behind us and put performances in for the them, the manager and the staff.

"It's got to happen sooner rather than later and there's no better occasion than the semifinal on Tuesday."

United have stuttered for most of the campaign under David Moyes, who took over from Alex Ferguson after he retired at the end of last season, and Monday's newspapers made gloomy reading for the club and its fans with the Daily Telegraph headline reading "Crumbling Empire".

The Times said that Moyes's "problem gets bigger as United sink lower" with the manager himself saying his squad did need strengthening, although he thought they were the better side against Swansea and unlucky to lose.

ALLARDYCE HAMMERED

While United will want to pick themselves up against Premier League strugglers Sunderland, who advanced to the fourth round of the FA Cup with a 3-1 win over League One club Carlisle United on Sunday, so will West Ham United.

The Hammers lost to Championship (first division) promotion contenders Nottingham Forest, with manager Sam Allardyce fielding a significantly weakened team.

Allardyce claimed he had no choice because of a long injury list and with survival in the Premier League his priority, and fielded seven youngsters with three making their debuts.

"What choice did I have?" he queried afterwards.

"I made them (owners David Gold and David Sullivan) aware of what would happen. I'm not in the position to go and do these things without telling everybody internally what is planned for the next few games.

"My hands are tied behind my back every time I see what's available and the team is almost picking itself," he said. "It's a disaster at the moment, a total disaster and in certain areas we've not been able to cope.

"My priorities meant I put too many youngsters in and they were not able to withstand Forest's pressure in the last half an hour.

"I picked the team so it is my responsibility. You know what my priorities are: the Premier League first and then Capital One Cup."

Forest's victory was the biggest by a lower league team over a top division side in the FA Cup since then-second division West Ham beat Arsenal 6-0 68 years ago and the nature of the defeat heaped more pressure on the beleaguered Allardyce.

West Ham, who are second from bottom in the Premier League, travel to second-placed Manchester City for the first leg of their semifinal with the hosts odds-on favourites to advance.

They also failed to reach the fourth round of the cup on Saturday but are at least still in the competition after a 1-1 draw at Championship side Blackburn Rovers and should prove too strong for whatever side West Ham field on Wednesday.

Messi declared fit for Getafe test

Barcelona received a welcome boost on Tuesday when forward Lionel Messi was given the all-clear by medical staff and included in the squad for Wednesday's King's Cup last 16, first leg at home to Getafe.

The Argentine World Player of the Year has not featured for the Spanish league champions since straining his thigh on November 10, the latest in a series of muscle injuries that plagued him throughout 2013.

His return will give the team a lift as they prepare for Saturday's La Liga game at title rivals Atletico Madrid who are level with Barca at the top on 49 points from 18 matches.

Coach Gerardo Martino did not reveal at a news conference whether Messi would feature against Getafe, the team he scored one of the greatest goals of his career against in a King's Cup game in April 2007.

Receiving the ball just inside the Barca half, he dashed through the opposition defence and slotted into the net from a narrow angle, covering 55 metres in 12 seconds.

Many compared the goal to the brilliant effort compatriot Diego Maradona scored against England at the 1986 World Cup.

"If he plays tomorrow hopefully he will score another one just like it," said Martino with a smile.

"He came back (from Argentina) and has been working like any other member of the squad," added Martino who hails from Messi's home town of Rosario.

"Obviously he is lacking a bit of playing time but seeing as we are talking about Leo it is not really an issue. He has told me he is feeling fine and that's why he is in the squad."

Spain midfielder Sergio Busquets is available after he was suspended for Sunday's 4-0 La Liga win at home to Elche but playmaker Xavi is rested.