Football news

Napoli are set to make a bid for Bayern Munich striker Luca Toni in the January transfer window.

Toni is down the pecking order at the German club at present and coach Louis van Gaal is forcing him to play for the second team in the Third Division.

Toni, 32, told reporters he is no longer willing to stay out of the squad as he is seeking to win a place in Italy's World Cup squad.

According to press reports, Napoli have already prepared an offer for Toni, lining up a five-month loan agreement with a right to buy inserted in the deal.

The only sticking point appears to be Toni's wages, which total around £5.5m a season. Toni has also been linked with Milan.

Pompey players set to be paid

Portsmouth players are expected to be paid wages owed to them in the next two days, the club have confirmed.

Some players and executive board members at the club were not paid as expected earlier in the week due to "a delay in the transfer of funds" following Sulaiman al Fahim's recent takeover.

"Portsmouth FC can confirm that the first-team squad and executive board was not paid on Wednesday," a statement read.

"The club is currently being refinanced by the owner Sulaiman al Fahim following the recent completion of his takeover. There was a delay in the transfer of funds but the lawyers have received confirmation that this will happen this week."

Hamstring trouble for Elmander

Injury-prone Bolton striker Johan Elmander faces at least 10 days on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.

Wanderers' club record £8.2 million signing sustained the latest knock just 29 minutes into a reserve game against Wigan on Monday.

Elmander had been looking to improve his sharpness in that game as he was on the bench for Bolton's previous two Premier League matches.

But the forward will now not only miss tomorrow's visit to the Reebok Stadium of Tottenham, but also more than likely Sweden's World Cup qualifiers against Denmark and Albania this month.

Aussie coach gives up on Viduka

National coach Pim Verbeek says he has all but given up hope that star striker Mark Viduka will play again for Australia.

Verbeek said the former Newcastle target man has "made up his mind" on his playing career.

Viduka, 33, has not played for Australia since the quarter-finals of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup ."I tried everything to get him to come to the June camp and then he made up his mind not to come and think about his future," Verbeek said.

"And probably he has now made up his mind for the future. But again, never say never in life."

Injury blow for Bayern's Robben

Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben's knee injury is not as bad as first feared but he will still need a minor operation and is expected to be out for three to four weeks.

Bayern said Robben had been examined by a team doctor and a scan had revealed a minor problem with his right knee.

"It's not such a serious injury," coach Louis van Gaal was quoted as saying.

"We're lucky because next week there's a break for the international matches."

The Dutch forward limped out of Wednesday's Champions League goalless draw against Juventus just before half-time, clutching his right knee.

Van Gaal initially said that it could be a serious injury.

Owen ruled out for three weeks

Manchester United striker Michael Owen is set for three weeks on the sidelines after suffering a recurrence of a groin problem in the 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg on Wednesday.

Owen, 29, had been hoping for a recall to Fabio Capello's England squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Belarus next month but the latest injury has shattered his hopes.

"He felt his groin after training on Sunday and he trained a little bit on Monday but had a rest day on Tuesday and he thought he was fine," United manager Alex Ferguson said.

"But groins are groins and on a wet surface he turned quickly and it's gone again so we had to take him off."

Adebayor fined for goal celebration

Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor has been fined £25,000 and given a suspended two-match ban for his goal celebration in the 4-2 win over his former club Arsenal, the English FA said.

The Togo international, who joined City from Arsenal in July, ran the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of Arsenal fans during the Premier League match last month. He later admitted a charge of improper conduct.

"In reaching its decision the Commission took into account his admission of the charge, public apology and the extremely provocative nature of the abuse he received," the FA said.