Football news

Gary Neville has admitted he may not make his return to the Manchester United first team until next season. The United captain has not appeared for United since suffering an ankle injury against Bolton over a year ago.

Neville is back to full training and has played three reserve-team matches. "It's going to take time for me to get back to full match sharpness after being out for so long," he said.

"Hopefully I'll get a game somewhere but that could prove difficult with the significance of the matches we have over the next few weeks."

Mascherano charged by FA

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano was charged with improper conduct by the FA yesterday following his refusal to leave the field after being sent off in last Sunday's 3-0 defeat by Manchester United.

The Argentina midfielder was shown a second yellow card after he ran 20 metres to to question referee Steve Bennett who had cautioned Liverpool striker Fernando Torres.

Mascherano then lost his temper and berated the referee, despite several attempts from team-mates and Liverpool officials to calm him down, before being dragged from the pitch.

Mascherano has until today to respond and the case will be heard on April 4.

Boruc set to quit Celtic

Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc is contemplating quitting the Parkhead club in the summer. The 28-year-old Poland international revealed he could be ready to leave Glasgow despite signing a new contract which runs to 2011, just two months ago.

Boruc, linked with Bayern Munich and Milan, was quoted in the Scottish Daily Express saying: "I feel very good in Glasgow but I would like to change environment. I would like to try something new."

Inzaghi has faith in Milan strikers

Veteran Filippo Inzaghi has urged Milan not to look abroad for forward options this summer but to trust the men they have.

Milan are being linked with a host of foreign stars as they look to increase their firepower. However, Inzaghi believes that the best options may lie closer to home with men already under contract at San Siro.

"Milan only need to make a few slight modifications this summer," the 34-year-old claimed. "There's no need for any revolution in attack. We already have Pato, Gilardino and Paloschi guaranteed to be here."

Worries over Ibrahimovic injury

Fears are growing over the fitness of Zlatan Ibrahimovic as the towering striker could miss Inter's crunch game against Lazio on Saturday because of a nagging knee problem.

The injury seems to have worsened lately and the 26-year-old opted to skip Sweden's friendly against Brazil yesterday in order to see respected sports medic Hakan Alfredsson.

The underlying fear is that playing through such an injury could be storing problems up for the striker's future and surgery may be necessary at the end of the campaign.

Genoa keen to retain Borriello

Genoa are set to begin negotiations for the permanent signature of striker Marco Borriello.

Borriello joined Genoa in a co-ownership arrangement with Milan. The 25-year-old has undoubtedly been the surprise package of the season and is the Serie A top scorer with 17 goals to his name.

"President Enrico Preziosi has said that he wants to negotiate for Borriello," Giovambattista Pastorello, the Genoa vice-president, said, "Preziosi gambled on him at the start of the season and he repaid us with 17 goals."

Palermo ready to sell Barzagli

Palermo are ready to sell defender Andrea Barzagli, the player's agent has revealed. The Sicilians are set for a summer clear-out after a disappointing season.

With UEFA Cup football out of the question, striker Amauri is ready to move on and it seems that Barzagli will join him in heading for the exit.

"I can say that unlike last year, Barzagli is officially for sale and the club are ready to deal," agent Claudio Orlandini was quoted as saying.

Guilty of fraud in Mikel case

Morgan Andersen, former director of Norwegian club Lyn, was handed a one-year suspended jail sentence by an Oslo court yesterday for forging contracts relating to Nigerian midfielder John Obi Mikel in 2005.

The court said the falsified documents linking Lyn and Mikel, who went on to become embroiled in a transfer row between Man. United and Chelsea, effectively enabled Lyn to gain a slice of the player's transfer fee.

McFadden out for three weeks

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish said James McFadden's knee operation has been a success and hopes the striker will return within three weeks.

McFadden underwent keyhole surgery to repair a meniscus tear in the joint following the draw with Newcastle last week.

"The operation went very well and James feels fine," McLeish told the club's official website. "It's important that we got him sorted before the final games. Hopefully he'll be back in two or three weeks."

Benni McCarthy scores 30th international goal

Striker Benni McCarthy scored a record-breaking 30th international goal for South Africa as they beat Paraguay 3-0 in a friendly at the Super stadium in Atteridgeville, near Pretoria, yesterday. The Blackburn Rovers forward, playing in his 70th international, rose above two defenders to head home a cross from Surprise Moriri just two minutes into the second half. The strike took him past the previous record of 29 set by former striker Shaun Bartlett.