Napoli will have to do without wing-back Juan Camilo Zuniga for a few weeks to give the Colombia international enough time to recover from surgery to his knee.
Napoli coach Rafa Benitez was hoping to field Zuniga in Friday’s 2-0 upset to Roma at the Olimpico but the club said the player had to be sidelined.
Zuniga will have keyhole surgery at the Villa Stuart clinic in Rome tomorrow. The operation is to eliminate problems caused by another intervention eight years ago, which have been aggravated by a recent knock.
“The recovery time will be determined after the operation has been completed,” Napoli said.
No England talk with Terry – Mou
Jose Mourinho has not broached the subject of the World Cup with John Terry.
The Chelsea skipper, who retired from international football amid the Anton Ferdinand affair, is back near his best in Mourinho’s second spell in charge. At present, Terry and David Luiz are keeping England first-choice centre-back Gary Cahill out of the starting XI.
Mourinho has no doubts about Terry’s quality but so far discussions with the 32-year-old have focused on fitness.
“I’ve not spoken with him about it (England),” Mourinho said.
“I just tried to recover his status as an important player. John Terry… when you play for a big team, you are ready for the national team.”
Loew’s future
Germany coach Joachim Loew says he still fancies a return to club football when he eventually does bring an end to his term as national team coach.
Speaking after signing a contract which will see Loew reach a decade of service at Euro 2016, the 53-year-old said he will not be able to walk away from the game if he does not sign another contract as Germany coach.
“Looking to the future, you know that this collaboration will come to an end sooner or later,” he said.
“I can imagine coaching a club again at some point. I love this job too much to think about retiring, although at the moment I am focused on the Germany job.”
Herrera named Mexico coach
Miguel Herrera became Mexico’s fourth coach in less than six weeks when he was chosen to lead the team for their last-ditch bid to qualify for the World Cup.
Herrera, whose club side America are champions and league leaders, was appointed by the Mexican Football Federation (FMF) for next month’s play-off against New Zealand.
“We’ve touched rock bottom... Mexican football has been affected in all its aspects,” said FMF president Justino Compean before adding Herrera’s appointment was temporary.
Herrera replaces Victor Vuce-tich who was sacked last week.
Januzaj signs new United contract
Adnan Januzaj has signed a five-year contract with Manchester United, the Premier League champions confirmed yesterday.
The 18-year-old winger has been one of the breakthrough acts of the season and made his name with a match-winning two-goal show against Sunderland in United’s last fixture before the international break.
That sparked a debate about his international eligibility, with England keen on joining the list of countries he is available to play for.
United boss David Moyes said: “I’m delighted that Adnan has committed his future to United. He is an outstanding talent and has impressed me consistently since I came to United in July.”
Ghost goal raises complaint
Hoffenheim have called for their Bundesliga match against Bayer Leverkusen to be replayed after referee Felix Brych awarded a ‘ghost’ goal that proved decisive.
Visitors Leverkusen went 2-0 in front when Stefan Kiessling was credited with the controversial goal during the second half, and a late reply from Sven Schipplock was only a consolation for Hoffenheim.
Hoffenheim lodged an appeal against Friday’s result after television replays confirmed Kies-sling’s header entered the goal through the side-netting.
Brych, a FIFA referee, said: “I had a bit of doubt, but the reaction of the players was clear… there was nothing to suggest otherwise.”
Angry fans invade dressing room
Dozens of angry Vasco da Gama fans fought their way past security guards and remonstrated with players on Friday, less than 24 hours after the Brazilian club lost another match to deepen relegation fears.
Some supporters invaded the dressing room where the squad were preparing to train and others shouted abuse from the terraces.
Police were called and a group of fans were allowed to meet manager Dorival Junior. None of the players were hurt.
Vasco lost 2-0 at home to sixth-placed Goias on Thursday to leave them third from bottom with nine games remaining.
Four teams go down.