LONDON, March 4 (Reuters) - England's back row options for the Six Nations clash at home to Italy this weekend have increased after Leicester's Tom Croft joined the squad on Monday after his recent return from a serious neck injury. The Six Nations had looked an unlikely aim for Croft, who suffered a triple fracture to his neck a year ago but his return to first-team action with Leicester means he could play some role in England's push for a grand slam.

The stadium where British Olympic heroine Jessica Ennis was discovered and still trains will be knocked down as a cost-cutting measure, councillors announced Friday. The £29 million ($44 million) Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, northern England, is being demolished as part of Sheffield City Council's bid to save millions of pounds. The authority, run by councillors from Britain's main national opposition Labour Party, has said it must find £50 million of savings next year in response to spending cuts imposed by the Conservative-led coalition government.

Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin has signed a four-year contract with the Premier League club on Monday. Schneiderlin will remain at St Mary's until 2017 after being rewarded for some influential displays for the Saints this season. The 24-year-old Frenchman has played an important role for Southampton in their first season back in the top flight, missing just one Premier League match and scoring four goals. Schneiderlin joined Southampton in 2008 and has been at the heart of their rise from League One into the Premier League.

A Chinese businessman appeared in a British court on Thursday charged with the killing of a Chinese family, having been extradited from Morocco. Du Anxiang, 54, appeared at Northampton Magistrates Court a day after being flown from Casablanca to London. University lecturer Ding Jifeng, 46, his wife Helen Chui, 47, and their daughters Xing, 18, and Alice, 12, were found stabbed to death at their home in Northampton, central England, on May 1, 2011.