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Former Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has ruled out a return to the Bundesliga club this winter and has vowed to instead make the grade with Real Madrid.

Real Madrid midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo expects he will have recovered sufficiently from an ankle injury to be able to return to training by the middle of this week.

Arsenal will be breathing a huge sigh of relief after it was confirmed that striker Robin van Persie will only be sidelined for “approximately six weeks’” after partially tearing an ankle ligament on international duty.

French midfielder Lassana Diarra says that the Republic of Ireland were ”looking for trouble” at the end of Saturday’s World Cup play-off match at Croke Park, after Nicolas Anelka’s deflected goal secured a slender 1-0 advantage for France.

FIFA should have postponed Saturday’s tense World Cup qualifier between Egypt and Algeria after the visiting team bus was attacked in Cairo, Algeria midfielder Khaled Lemmouchia said.

Manager Rafael Benitez has urged his struggling Liverpool side to start the Premier League season afresh when his players return from the international break.

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini will undergo wrist and pelvic surgery on Friday following a motorcycle accident in London.

Fabio Capello remains optimistic that England captain John Terry will recover from an ankle injury in time to lead his side in Saturday’s friendly with Brazil in Doha.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has revealed that Inter Milan made an audacious attempt to buy Argentina striker Lionel Messi during the summer.

The thigh injury that forced Frank Lampard to withdraw from the England squad ahead of Saturday’s friendly with Brazil will sideline the Chelsea star for three weeks.

Liverpool have suffered a double blow ahead of Saturday’s trip to Fulham with the news that both Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson will not make the journey to London.

Real Madrid have pencilled in Cristiano Ronaldo for a return to action against AC Milan in their crucial Champions League clash at the San Siro in November.

Atletico Madrid have announced the sacking of coach Abel Resino following a poor start to the season. The struggling Primera Division outfit decided to act in the wake of Wednesday night`s 4-0 Champions League drubbing by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Barcelona captain Carles Puyol has “agreed in principle” to a new contract with the European champions that will keep him at the Camp Nou until 2013.

Chelsea a manager Carlo Ancelotti is hoping to back in the Stamford Bridge dugout on Saturday after rushing home to Italy to be with his seriously ill father.