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BROWN RETURNS SOON

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The Sunderland manager Martin O’Neill has revealed that he expects the defender Wes Brown to return from injury in the next few weeks. The defender has been out of the first team action for a long time, but he has recently started training with the first-team. The former Manchester United defender has been suffering from the knee injury that has kept him out of action for more than a year. The 33-year-old was amongst the three Manchester United players signed by the former manager Steve Bruce. Due to the poor form experienced by Sunderland, O’Neill could certainly do with the presence of Brown in the back.

O’Neill has now revealed that Brown is close to getting to first-team action after seeing a specialist back in October in a bid to solve his injury problem. Another injury problem for O’Neill has been the fitness of John O’Shea, who has missed the last two matches. He will once again be out of the first team action according to the manager. Chelsea will be the visitors to the Stadium of Light during the weekend. O’Neill could have certainly done with the presence of a player like John O’Shea given his incredible experience, but he will know how to face the European champions without the former Manchester United man.

“Wes is making good progress, although the number of times I’ve said that is unbelievable. He’s not that far away again from getting back into training. He’s had a few setbacks, but he’s working exceptionally hard. It’s been a frustrating time for him and it must get you down when you’re out for that length of time. He’s responding well at this minute, quite well. We were worried about it, but he is getting better by the day,” said Martin O’Neill, whose Sunderland are closer to the relegation zone.

HAPPY WITH PLAYOFFS

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The England national team manager Roy Hodgson has said that he would be happy even if the England national team made it to the 2014 World Cup only in the play-offs. England are one of the favourites to qualify for the competition from the group stages after they have made a good start to the qualification campaign, but the presence of several high-profile teams like Belgium and Ukraine mean that qualification is not guaranteed for the team. Further, they are already in the second place behind Montenegro, who currently at the table by four points ahead of England.

Roy Hodgson’s men recently suffered draws against Ukraine and Poland, which have meant that we have not been able to occupy the top spot going into the new year. England were also recently defeated 4-2 by the spectacular Swedish team. Hodgson has said that the most important thing is to play in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and it does not matter whether the team qualifies through the play-offs or directly from the group stages. England lost failed to qualify for a major tournament back in 2008 when they did not appear for the Euro 2008. Hodgson has suggested that the current crop of England players do not need any additional motivation apart from the prospect of playing in the World Cup.

“If we don’t succeed in being No1, I’d be more than happy to go into the play-offs. The important thing is we get one of those two positions. The group we are in was quite underestimated but that is often the case. I can assure the England football fans there is nothing the players want more. They don’t need motivation, they need to perform,” said Hodgson. England will be playing against the world cup host Brazil in a friendly match in February.