Football news

Manchester United captain Gary Neville is close to returning for the Premier League champions after confirming that he will be able to play in two weeks' time.

The England right-back, 32, has not played since suffering an ankle injury on March 17. His recovery was further put back after he suffered a thigh problem at the start of the new season.

"I hope to be playing games in the next couple of weeks," Neville told MUTV. "It has been frustrating spell but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I just need to get fit.

" I think the Everton game, on Saturday, is going to come too soon, I think it will probably be after that."

Materazzi offers Zidane apology

Inter defender Marco Materazzi has finally offered to make peace with Zinedine Zidane and claims that he has no enemies in football.

The Italian defender has enjoyed a highly successful career, but has built a reputation as one of the game's bad boys.

This image became indelible after the World Cup final when comments aimed at Zidane led to the Frenchman headbutting the Italy defender in a moment of madness.

"I want to apologise to Zidane because for me he was a football god," the ex-Perugia player told Spanish media. "But, by saying that, I couldn't have behaved any other way and neither could anyone else."

Ronaldo facing doping probe

Ronaldo's injury saga has taken another twist after allegations from the Italian Olympic Committee president that his treatment is a form of doping. Milan's Brazilian forward has been injured since July 31 and is undergoing treatment from Brazil doctor Jose Luis Runco.

The procedure allegedly involves injections of protein strands from healthy blood into damaged tissue to encourage growth of damaged tissue - a process that Luigi Frati believes is a form of doping.

"This kind of therapy is surely doping," Frati said. "I am waiting for news and there is no guarantee that we won't launch an investigation."

Roma-Juve kick-off time changed

The eagerly-awaited Serie A between Roma and Juventus on September 23 will be played in the afternoon rather than at 8.30 p.m. kick-off as the fight over TV coverage in Italy intensifies.

The match between the two Serie A rivals was set to be shown on Sky Italia at 8.30 p.m. on Sunday, but the Lega Calcio has insisted that the Derby della Lanterna between Genoa and Sampdoria is shown instead.

The Stadio Olimpico encounter will now start at 3 p.m. on the Sunday along with the main body of Serie A fixtures.

Kaka tops Serie A rich list

Milan's Brazilian midfielder Kaka has beaten Francesco Totti to win the title of Serie A's top earner.

According to a research published in La Gazzetta dello Sport, Kaka's annual salary of £4 million is unmatched in Italy with Totti following closely with £3.7m.

Inter's trio of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Patrick Vieira and the troubled Adriano are all trailing behind with a modest £3.4 million alongside Juventus goalkeeper Gigi Buffon at Juventus.

Inter's new signing Cristian Chivu is the biggest winner of the summer as his new deal will net him £2.3m, narrowly more than Milan's Emerson and fellow team-mate David Suazo.

Postiga to miss Liverpool clash

Porto have received mixed news on the injury front ahead of next week's Champions League clash with Liverpool.

Former Tottenham forward Helder Postiga will miss his side's opening Group A match against Liverpool after picking up a knock on international duty, but goalkeeper Helton has recovered from injury.

Postiga suffered a knee injury in training with Portugal which ruled him out of last weekend's draw with Poland. Scans have shown that Postiga has damaged knee ligaments and he faces up to a month on the sidelines.

Real turned down Alves move

Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has revealed the Spanish champions passed up the chance to sign Daniel Alves this summer because coach Bernd Schuster was satisfied with the players he had.

Real, along with Chelsea, were closely linked with a big-money move for Alves but in the end the flying Brazilian full-back remained with Sevilla as no deal was finalised before the transfer deadline.

"Real could have bought Dani Alves, but it did not happen because the coach felt he had the best squad in Europe," said Calderon.

Lennon in line for Arsenal match

Aaron Lennon is in contention for a first Tottenham start of the season against rivals Arsenal in the north London derby on Saturday.

Lennon, 20, is yet to play in the new campaign after undergoing knee surgery at the end of last season. Spurs have struggled in his absence with only one win in five matches.

"He trained last week and is looking good, although he lacks a bit of match fitness - so that's a decision we have to make," manager Martin Jol said.

Hibs reveal record £7.4m profit

Scottish Premier League club Hibernian have announced record annual net profits of £7.4m following a highly-successful year on and off the pitch.

The club won the League Cup, reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup and finished in the top six of the Scottish Premier League.

Big-money sales of Scott Brown to Celtic and Kevin Thomson to Rangers yielded a net gain of £6.4m from transfers.

Hibs also confirmed a year-end operating windfall of £1.4m which means that for the third successive year the Edinburgh club has traded at a profit.