Football news

Juventus playmaker Diego is likely to miss the next four matches for the Turin club after hurting his thigh in last Saturday's 2-0 victory over Lazio in Rome.

Diego has already undergone a series of tests which have ruled out a significant problem, but the setback will only keep him out of action for two weeks.

As a consequence the Brazilian will miss today's Champions League game against Bordeaux and Serie A encounters versus Livorno, Genoa and Bologna.

Diego is now likely to return for the match against Bayern Munich on September 30 or in the Serie A away to Palermo four days later.

Gers defender vows to keep his cool

Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra has vowed there will be no repeat of the outburst that earned him a red card in last weekend's goalless draw with Motherwell.

Bougherra received two yellow cards for dissent within a minute as he "lost control" while disputing a penalty awarded by referee Dougie McDonald.

The Algerian had been penalised for bringing down Lukas Jutkiewicz but Allan McGregor came to his rescue with a penalty save from Jim O'Brien to maintain Rangers' unbeaten record in the league.

Bougherra said: "I have a lot of regrets now because I wanted to play the whole game.

"Rangers had a better chance of winning with 11 players so I hope those two dropped points don't hurt us this season."

Milan showing interest in Alex

Milan are looking to strengthen their defensive lines in January with the signing of Brazilian Alex from Chelsea.

Alex, 27, plays in central defence and his contract expires in summer of next year. Chelsea are fearing that Alex could go for free after stalling on a new contract at Stamford Bridge.

Milan have been interested in the 27-year-old since he was at PSV in the Dutch league, but are set to face competition from other clubs.

In-form Ibra ready for Inter return

Zlatan Ibrahimovic goes into tomorrow's Champions League group opener at Inter in high spirits after collecting maximum points from the first two league outings.

Ibrahimovic joined Barca from Inter and will be full of confidence for his return to the San Siro having scored two goals in as many games. The Swede is still not fully fit as he recovers from surgery on a hand injury so Barca fans will hope there is much more to come.

"I have scored two goals and I am really happy," said Ibrahimovic.

"I am still not 100 per cent fit but the most important thing is to be getting games under my belt.

"The Inter game will be difficult but very special for me because I played there for three years and have some fond memories of my time there. I am coming back in a different shirt and couldn't be happier."

No malice in Ade challenge - Hughes

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes insists there was no malice in Emmanuel Adebayor's controversial challenge on Robin van Persie at Eastlands on Saturday.

The FA are expected to come down hard on the Togo star, whose boot made contact with the side of Van Persie's face in what TV replays indicated was a deliberate stamp.

"Ade sustained a tremendous amount of personal abuse from the kick-off but strongly maintains that there was no malice intended in the challenge on Van Persie and apologised to him," Hughes said.

Much will now depend on the view provided to the FA by referee Mark Clattenburg.

Zenga recovers after health scare

Palermo coach Walter Zenga will be taking over the team's training session as normal today after feeling unwell at the end of Sunday's match with Bari which finished 1-1.

Zenga had to be excused from attending the post-match press conference after his side left it late to rescue a point against newcomers Bari.

"Walter is fine," Massimo Pedrazzini, the Palermo assistant coach, said.

"His blood pressure dropped a bit and he was told to take it easy."

Palermo also issued a statement saying the former Italy keeper is back to his normal self.

"The coach recovered quickly. He will be directing squad training as normal," Palermo said.

Zenga shocked the fans on his arrival from rivals Catania by making claims of going for the scudetto. The team is currently eighth with four points from three games.

Park agrees new deal with United

Manchester United have agreed a contract extension with Park Ji-Sung to keep the South Korean midfielder with the English giants for another three years, his agent said.

Kim Jung-Soo refused to disclose details of the contract, but reports said Park would earn £3.6 million a year.

Park, who moved to Old Trafford in 2005 from PSV Eindhoven, became the first Asian to contest a Champions League final when he played in United's 2-0 defeat to Barcelona last season.

Park has been crucial to United building a huge fan base in South Korea. He has made 126 appearances and scored 12 goals for the English champions in four seasons.