Soccer Shorts

A round-up of other soccer stories in brief...

Kinnear will return next season

NEWCASTLE United manager Joe Kinnear will return to the club after his recent illness in time for training ahead of next season, Newcastle’s managing director Derek Llambias was quoted as saying yesterday.

The club are currently being coached by former player Alan Shearer who agreed to return as manager for the last eight matches of the season as Newcastle battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Kinnear has been recovering from triple heart bypass surgery in February.

“Joe had his tests on Monday and the doctors were pleased with him,” Llambias told the Northern Echo newspaper.

“He’s lost two stone in weight and has passed all his tests with flying colours. He’s on the mend – in two months’ time he should be fully fit.”

Llambias said there was no possibility that Kinnear would work again this season.

Gallas knee injury rules him out for remainder of season

ARSENAL defender William Gallas will be out for the rest of the season after being injured against Villarreal in Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg.

Manager Arsene Wenger confirmed yesterday that the knee ligament damage Gallas suffered during his side’s 1-1 draw at Villarreal meant he would play no further part in Arsenal’s challenge for the Champions League and FA Cup trophies.

Gallas was injured when he collided with Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi shortly before half-time.

Arsenal will also be without goalkeeper Manuel Almunia for three weeks due to an ankle injury which he suffered in Tuesday’s match in a collision with Rossi while full back Gael Clichy will miss two weeks with a back injury.

Almunia’s absence means second-choice goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who replaced Almunia after 27 minutes in Spain, will have an extended run in the team for the first time this season.

Hope for banned Scottish players

SCOTTISH FA chief executive Gordon Smith yesterday refused to rule out a dramatic U-turn over the decision to ban Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor from representing Scotland ever again.

Ferguson and McGregor were hit with lifetime suspensions for their behaviour while on international duty in the past fortnight. The Rangers pair had been caught indulging in an early-hours drinking session following Scotland’s World Cup qualifying defeat in the Netherlands almost two weeks ago.

They then reacted to being dropped to the bench for last Wednesday’s clash with Iceland by flicking V-signs at photographers during the victory at Hampden.

As well as being punished by the SFA, the players were also suspended by Rangers for two weeks without pay, while Ferguson was stripped of the captaincy.

And they may yet pull on the national team jersey again after Smith repeatedly refused to confirm they would never play for their country again.

Kaka pledges future to Milan 

AC Milan forward Kaka has again pledged his future to the Serie A club amid renewed speculation he could join Real Madrid in the summer. Earlier this week, the Spanish media reported Florentino Perez was close to signing the Brazilian on a pre-contract agreement as part of his bid to return as Real president. Milan vice-president, Adriano Galliani, immediately rejected the claims and Kaka himself has now said he has no plans to leave the Rossoneri.

Case is dropped against Mourinho

NO action will be taken against Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho over allegations that he punched a supporter outside Old Trafford, police sources said yesterday.

A fan claimed he was hit in the face by the Portuguese manager following last month’s Champions League tie between the Italian team and Manchester United.

The source said: “The complainant does not wish to pursue the matter and a decision was then made not to continue with the case following a review of the matter.”

Mourinho was said to have clashed with a man close to the Inter team bus shortly before midnight on March 11th after his side’s 2-0 defeat. The fan alleged common assault, although he was not thought to be seriously injured, and Greater Manchester Police approached the Old Trafford club to view CCTV footage of the area.

Inter Milan denied any altercation took place.

Vennegoor admits interest in PSV

CELTIC striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink admits he would be interested in a return to PSV Eindhoven at some point in the future.

The 30-year-old will be out of contract at the end of the season, and is in talks with Celtic over the possibility of staying another 12 months in Glasgow.

But PSV are also a tempting prospect for Vennegoor of Hesselink, although he stressed he is in no hurry to return to the Eredivisie side he represented between 2001 and 2006.

“If I were to ever return to Holland, I would immediately settle at a club where I’ve already played,” Vennegoor of Hesselink told www.psv.nl.

“I had a great time at PSV and there is a lot of history for me there. But I’m not thinking of a return now. If you start talking about it, people start drawing conclusions.”