Sporting briefs...

Terry's return: Chelsea captain John Terry should return from back surgery in their home Premier League game against Wigan Athletic on January 13, his manager Jose Mourinho said yesterday. Terry had surgery in France last week to cure a back problem and has been sidelined since a league win over Newcastle United on December 13. Speaking before last night's game at Aston Villa, Mourinho told Sky Sports: "This will be the last Premiership game Terry will miss."

Bundesliga: Brazilian playmaker Diego was voted the best player during the first half of the Bundesliga season in a Kicker magazine poll of 270 team-mates and league rivals. Kicker said yesterday 49.6 per cent had voted Werder Bremen's Diego, 21, as the best performer of the first half, well ahead of his team-mates Miroslav Klose in second (32.7 per cent) and Torsten Frings (4.1 per cent) who was third. Robert Enke, of Hanover 96, was voted best goalkeeper in the first half with 37.1 per cent ahead of Bremen's Tim Wiese (24.9 per cent).

Taarabt: Tottenham Hotspur have reached agreement with Ligue 1 side Racing Lens to sign French teenage midfielder Adel Taarabt on loan. Taarabt, who has represented France at U-16, U-17 and U-18 level, can also play as a second striker or on either wing.

Ronaldo: If Ronaldo gets in shape and commits himself to the cause Real Madrid will be able to end their four-year trophy drought according to club president Ramon Calderon. "He is an exceptional player and if he dedicates himself to the project we will win a trophy because he can provide us with 15 to 20 goals," Calderon told reporters yesterday. The Brazilian striker has hardly featured for Real this season having struggled to regain fitness after knee surgery following the World Cup. He has been in the starting line-up in only three of the team's 16 league games and has found the net just once.

Mascherano: Juve have given up on signing West Ham's Javier Mascherano. Coach Didier Deschamps wanted to add the Argentine to his squad but club sporting director Alessio Secco told reporters that the deal was too complicated, apparently due to the fact Mascherano is owned by investment group MSI. "That (Mascherano deal) will not be possible. We have pursued this until the day the market opened, but we have had to renounce because of the complicated contract situation," Secco told La Stampa.

Money Talk: Soccer players should stop talking publicly about their salaries and instead keep in mind their responsibilities as role models, German FA president Theo Zwanziger said yesterday. "Soccer has to take care that money isn't the only thing anyone talks about," Zwanziger, the president of the German Football Association (DFB), said. "The players have a special responsibility. They serve as idols for millions of children. I urge the players to be more aware of their role model function. Children don't care at all who earns how much. They want to see exciting football."

Udinese: Former Italian international left-back Luigi De Agostini has been named as the new team manager of Udinese. The Serie A side made the surprise announcement yesterday as the club's backroom staff reconstruction continues. De Agostini, who played for Udinese, will act as a middleman between the squad and coach Giovanni Galeone.

League One: Played yesterday - Cheltenham vs Crewe 1-1.