Injury has forced Keane to change

Roy Keane has admitted he is not the player he once was since he returned from a hip injury

Roy Keane has admitted he is not the player he once was since he returned from a hip injury. The Manchester United captain has conceded he has been forced to change his dynamic style of play because of the injury and adopt more of a defensive role.

The switch was evident in Wednesday's Champions League win over Juventus at Old Trafford and the Irishman said: "That's the way I'll probably have to carry on playing from now on. But I think that suits me now and it suits the team. You can't have everyone going gung-ho all the time.

"Before I ran around and tried to do everything. Now I'm trying to use my head a bit more. Injuries are part and parcel of football and I've had my fair share. But I feel quite good now. I might not show it at times, but I feel okay."

Tottenham boss Glenn Hoddle has denied that Robbie Keane is out injured for six weeks.

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The Republic of Ireland ace will miss Monday's home Premiership fixture with Fulham and the trip to West Ham the following Saturday, but Hoddle is so upset by "wide-of-the-mark" speculation over his joint top scorer's knee ligament injury.

"It is always difficult to put an accurate time estimate on this kind of injury but six weeks is way wide of the mark," insisted Hoddle .

Bayern Munich are engulfed in controversy after the 2001 European Cup winners yesterday admitted signing a secret TV rights deal which gives them an undisclosed edge over their Bundesliga rivals.

FIFA confirmed yesterday they are examining a proposal to put a referee behind the goal during official games.

FIFA last night also ruled on the Steve Marlet transfer rumpus - but Fulham and Lyon were told they must wait for up to a fortnight before discovering the written verdict from world football's governing body.

FIFA's players' status committee met yesterday and probed Fulham's refusal to pay the French club the final £2.5 million chunk of Marlet's £11.5 million move in August 2001.

Celtic goalkeeper Magnus Hedman has been ruled out for eight weeks with the knee injury which kept him out of the UEFA Cup win over Stuttgart.

The former Coventry City number one twisted his knee during a training session on Wednesday and a subsequent arthroscopy revealed limited ligament damage to his left knee.

Everton's plan to leave Goodison Park for a 55,000-seat stadium at King's Dock is likely to be formally scrapped within a month because of spiralling costs. A study has projected the cost including residential, commercial and leisure developments at £170 million rather than the original £155 million.

Birmingham City's club captain Steve Vickers has been told he will not be offered a new contract when his current deal expires in the summer.

Brazil's World Cup-winning striker Romario has agreed to join an Arab club for 100 days on a $1.5 million contract, Brazilian news agency Globonews reported yesterday.

The unnamed club in question is likely to be from the United Arab Emirates or Qatar, Globonews added.