Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has voiced cautious optimism that Tomas Rosicky will be back in action before Christmas but admitted that the Czech midfielder´s injury has been far more complicated to treat than first anticipated.

Managerless Newcastle´s problems deepened on Friday when it was confirmed former England forward Alan Smith will be sidelined for three months with a stress fracture in his foot.

Former AC Milan and Real Madrid star Ronaldo, one of Brazil´s most decorated footballers, wants to play for French side Paris St Germain, according to press reports Friday.

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Juventus striker David Trezeguet is to have surgery on a recurring knee injury, according to the Italian club Friday.

French international midfielder Franck Ribery will not be fit to play in Bayern Munich´s encounter with Werder Bremen on Saturday owing to a thigh strain just as he had got over ankle ligament trouble, his club said Friday.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has described Steven Gerrard as "the best midfielder in the world" ahead of a weekend which could see the Reds skipper lead his side to the top of the Premier League.

While five teams remain in the hunt for the 2008 J. League crown, several of the league's most recognisable clubs are in serious trouble at the wrong end of the table. There's an epic relegation six-pointer at Ecopa Stadium in Round 25, where three-times J. League champions Jubilo Iwata host another three-time champion in the form of Yokohama F. Marinos. Jubilo sacked coach Atsushi Uchiyama after a recent scoreless draw at home to JEF United and replaced him with veteran tactician Hans Ooft, but the Dutchman's second spell in charge of Jubilo got off to a shaky start when the Shizuoka outfit were beaten 2-0 away at Kyoto Sanga FC, with striker Gilsinho missing a penalty for the visitors. Yokohama F. Marinos also had a change of coach mid-season, but Kokichi Kimura is yet to find a winning combination after taking over from Takashi Kuwahara - ironically a former Jubilo man. Marinos needed a last-minute own goal from Leandro to eke out a 1-1 draw at home to Vissel Kobe last time out, and both teams will be desperate for the three points on offer, with Jubilo currently occupying the relegation/promotion playoff place on 26 points, as they look to leapfrog fifteenth placed Yokohama F. Marinos, who are on 27 points. Looking to make up ground on the promotion/relegation playoff place are JEF United. One of just six teams to have played every season in the Japanese top flight, the Chiba side gave themselves renewed hope of avoiding the drop by beating Tokyo Verdy 2-0 at home last weekend. Alex Miller's side may be second-from-bottom, but they take on last placed Consadole Sapporo in Hokkaido in Round 25, with Consadole yet to win a league game at their summer home Atsubetsu Stadium this season. Australian defender Eddy Bosnar remains confident that his team can stay up, and the Sydney-born stopper has made plenty of sacrifices for the cause, turning down an opportunity to represent his country in favour of focussing on his club's relegation dogfight. "He (Australia manager Pim Verbeek) wanted to give me a chance to get back into the squad and I didn't go back. I don't regret it at all. It is nice to play for the national team but JEF is the one that puts food on the table," Bosnar told The Japan Times. Elsewhere Shimizu S-Pulse will be forced to endure a nervy trip to the dilapidated Kobe Universiade Stadium, with Kenta Hasegawa's side sitting on 31 points for the season - the same total as Vissel Kobe. S-Pulse will be itching for revenge after a 1-0 home defeat to Kobe back in Round 16 prompted calls from furious Shimizu fans for Hasegawa to be sacked. At the other end of the table, league leaders Nagoya Grampus opened up a three point lead over Kashima Antlers last weekend when a Yoshizumi Ogawa strike was enough to see off Gamba Osaka at a packed Expo '70 Stadium. Grampus next host Albirex Niigata at Mizuho Stadium, with Dragan Stojkovic's side aiming for their first J. League title. There's a derby of sorts at Todoroki Stadium, where FC Tokyo will cross prefectural lines to take on neighbours Kawasaki Frontale. Last season Kawasaki handed out 5-2 and 7-0 thrashings to the team from just twenty kilometres up the road, but FC Tokyo gained a modicum of revenge by beating Frontale 4-2 in an ill-tempered affair at Ajinomoto Stadium earlier in the season, and Hiroshi Jofuku's side will be aiming to do the double over Frontale as they look to make up ground on the top five. The Saitama derby takes centre stage on Sunday, but unlike in previous seasons Omiya Ardija will not be giving up home advantage in this one. Omiya have angered city rivals Urawa Reds by opting to play this match at the newly renovated 15,300 capacity Omiya Park Stadium, instead of the 62,300 capacity Saitama Stadium - home of the Reds. That means thousands of Reds fans will be locked out of this clash, but with Omiya in no mood to do their bitter local rivals any favours, security for this fixture is likely to be tight in light of the crowd trouble that marred Urawa's home defeat to Gamba Osaka earlier in the season. In J2 relegated Sanfrecce Hiroshima are coasting to the title, having hammered second-placed Montedio Yamagata 4-0 last time out in front of 14,392 fans at Yamagata Park Stadium. Japan international Hisato Sato scored his nineteenth goal of a profitable season in that clash, as Hiroshima look set to return to the top flight at the first time of asking. Elsewhere Shonan Bellmare beat Yokohama FC 1-0 in a Kanagawa derby, while Kyushu outfit Avispa Fukuoka beat Shikoku side Tokushima Vortis 3-1, with on-loan Omiya Ardija defender Daiki Niwa opening the scoring, before former Japan youth-international Mike Havenaar and midfielder Kiyokazu Kudo added further goals for the home side. The pick of the action in Round 36 sees Vegalta Sendai entertain FC Gifu at Yurtec Stadium, while Cerezo Osaka host Montedio Yamagata at Nagai Stadium and Yokohama FC welcome Sanfrecce Hiroshima to Mitzusawa Stadium. Mixed results in the AFC Champions League It was a night of mixed results for Japanese clubs in the AFC Champions League, with the three sides sharing a win, a draw and a loss between them on September 17. Gamba Osaka came from a goal down to beat Syrian side Al Karama 2-1 in front of 17,000 fans at Khaled Ibn Al Waleed Stadium, with captain Satoshi Yamaguchi and substitute Masato Yamazaki scoring the vital goals for the Osakans. Kashima Antlers were held to a 1-1 draw by A-League side Adelaide United in steamy conditions at Kashima Stadium, where a pockmarked pitch seemed to aid Kashima, as Adelaide defender Robert Cornthwaite turned an Atsuto Uchida cross into his own net. That goal came after Adelaide skipper Travis Dodd had given the visitors the lead with a well-taken header, with Antlers striker Shinzo Koroki and United midfielder Paul Reid both missing good chances to score the winner. Defending Asian champions Urawa Reds went down 3-2 to Kuwaiti side Al Qadsia, with a double from Edmilson - including a goal in stoppage time, keeping the Saitama outfit in the tie. The return legs take place on September 24. Japanese players overseas Takayuki Morimoto : Catania Former Tokyo Verdy striker Takayuki Morimoto scored twice as Catania hammered Serie C side Padova 4-0 en route to booking a quarter-final showdown with Juventus in the Coppa Italia. Morimoto has fallen down the pecking order at Catania, but after his Coppa Italia goals coach Walter Zenga praised the young Japanese striker, telling reporters; "The plaudits must go to Morimoto for his two goals and I'm delighted for him because he is an honest and hard-working lad." Makoto Hasebe : VfL Wolfsburg Overnight ex-Urawa Reds midfielder Makoto Hasebe won a penalty converted by Grafite in VfL Wolfburg's 1-0 win over Rapid Bucharest in the UEFA Cup. Hasebe also played the full ninety minutes in Wolfsburg's most recent 2-2 Bundesliga draw away at Hertha Berlin. Shinji Ono : VfL Bochum Shinji Ono may have won a recall to the Japan squad, but the former Urawa Reds midfielder has struggled in the Bundesliga, with Ono coming on for the final fourteen minutes of VfL Bochum's most recent 2-0 win over Westfalen rivals Arminia Bielefeld. Shunsuke Nakamura : Celtic Japan star Shunsuke Nakamura recently declared his desire to return to the J. League in January, and the free-kick specialist came off the bench in Celtic's most recent 4-2 win over Motherwell in the league, before playing the full ninety minutes of Celtic's scoreless draw with Danish champions Aalborg BK in the UEFA Champions League in midweek. Daisuke Matsui : St Etienne Having joined St Etienne from Le Mans during the close season, Daisuke Matsui has settled in at the one-time European giants, playing the full ninety minutes of Les Verts' most recent 2-0 league defeat away at Caen. Copyright © Michael Tuckerman & Soccerphile.com J.League News Tags Bet with Bet 365 World Soccer News Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football J-League K-League Betting

AC Milan's midfielder Andrea Pirlo may be out for up to two months after suffering a thigh injury earlier this week.

Feyenoord defender Ron Vlaar is sidelined for another six months as result of a knee injury suffered on Wednesday.

Bayer Leverkusen´s Patrick Helmes scored a hat-trick in their 4-0 home victory over Hanover 96 on Friday to shoot them to provisional second spot in the German league table.

Monaco´s Korean star Park Chu-young may have already made a big impact in the French top flight, but the "Asian Baggio" says he still feels like a footballing apprentice.

Harry Redknapp may admit to glancing enviously at Mark Hughes´ spending power but Manchester City are still waiting for their new-found riches to translate into significant success on the pitch.

Luiz Felipe Scolari has lit the fuse on Chelsea´s explosive Premier League showdown with Manchester United by admitting he could make a move to sign Cristiano Ronaldo.

Napoli have begun their European adventure with a 3-2 win over Benfica Lisbon at Naples' San Paolo stadium.

Manchester United´s Ryan Giggs admitted on Friday he was stunned by his achievements in the game, but insists there´s work to be done to kickstart the champions´ lacklustre season into action.

Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy has been appointed to the FIFA World Cup Organising Committee, FFA said Friday.

Tottenham and Everton, once proud members of the English Premiership´s original big five before turning into serial under-achievers, were struggling to salvage their UEFA Cup dreams on Thursday.

Manchester United´s Ryan Giggs admitted on Friday he was stunned by his achievements in the game, but insists there´s work to be done to kickstart the champions´ lacklustre season into action.

American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke has joined Arsenal´s board in a move designed to bolster the club´s defences against a potential takeover by Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov.