Manchester United midfielder Marouane Fellaini is expected to play in a splint for Belgium in their World Cup qualifiers against Croatia and Wales.
Fellaini missed United’s 2-1 league win at Sunderland due to an injured wrist, with the Old Trafford club subsequently saying the problem could keep the 25-year-old out for “at least a few weeks’’.
Fellaini has linked up with the Belgium squad, though, and trained with a protective cast on his wrist this week.
Belgium coach Marc Wilmots has been quoted as saying that Fellaini requires surgery but is set to be able to play tomorrow.
Nuremberg options
Christian Gross has not been appointed as the new coach of Nuremberg – at least not yet.
The Swiss is the frontrunner for the vacant position following the dismissal of Michael Wiesinger on Monday, but Nuremberg’s director of sport Martin Bader has refuted a claim by Bild newspaper that he had been appointed.
“Nothing is definite with Mr Gross... we’re currently considering several options,” Bader said.
Gross is currently out of work since being dismissed by Young Boys Bern in April 2012 while he would be no stranger to the Bundesliga having coached Stuttgart between December 2009 and October 2010.
Young Zouma joins France squad
France head coach Didier Deschamps has handed a late call-up to 18-year-old St Etienne defender Kurt Zouma for the upcoming home matches against Australia and Finland.
Zouma had initially been selected for the France Under-21 squad by coach Willy Sagnol but steps up to the seniors “to cover for any eventuality”, the French Football Federation announced on its website.
The uncapped youngster made his league debut as a 16-year-old in 2011 and has become a regular presence in his club side.
France play Australia on Saturday, before taking on Finland next Tuesday.
Atl. Mineiro fined heavily for flares
South American champions Atletico Mineiro have been fined $50,000 for crowd indiscipline during the second leg of the Libertadores Cup final in Belo Horizonte in July.
The sanction on Ronaldinho’s club was imposed “for lighting of flares (by fans) and a lack of proper security guarantees,” the regional governing body CONMEBOL said.
Brazil’s Mineiro beat Olimpia, of Paraguay, on penalties after an aggregate 2-2 draw over two legs to win the South American club crown for the first time.
Flares are a common sight at matches in South America where supporters sneak them into stadiums past lax security controls.
Klopp will not appeal UEFA ban
Borussia Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp (picture) has accepted a two-match ban by UEFA for an outburst during their 2-1 defeat to Napoli in the Champions League last month and will not appeal, the club said yesterday.
“My main motive is that I do not want to trivialise my behaviour and deflect attention from it,” Klopp said.
“I fully stand by my responsibility and accept the decision with a heavy heart.”
Klopp, who has already sat out one game when he watched from the stands last week as his team crushed Marseille 3-0, will also be in the tribune for their Group F game at Arsenal on October 22.
Protesters disrupt FIFA WCup visit
A group of protesters demanding more spending on health and education disrupted a visit by FIFA officials to the 2014 World Cup stadium under construction in Cuiaba this week.
Dozens of demonstrators carried banners saying ‘FIFA Go Home’. Some made it into the Pantanal Arena and then tried to invade a news conference held by Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s general secretary.
Security pushed the protesters back and the event went ahead as planned.
“People are free and (pro-tests) are part of democracy,” Valcke told reporters, before praising Cuiaba’s preparations for the tournament.
League rejects FA commission seat
Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has announced the Premier League will not have a representative on his commis-sion looking at how to improve the England team.
Dyke also confirmed that former England manager Glenn Hoddle, who was sacked by the FA in 1999, will join him and Football League chairman Greg Clarke on the commission, but the Premier League – arguably the organisation best placed to effect change – has turned down a seat.
Dyke said: “The Premier Lea-gue decided they didn’t want to be on it. They will help us all they can and give access to any figures and statistics but they decided they didn’t want to be on it and I can understand that.”