London  - Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien hopes to be back in action within a month, according to press reports Wednesday.

The Ghana international damaged knee ligaments in September, and it had been feared he would miss the rest of the season.

But his recovery has progressed ahead of schedule.

"According to rehabilitation physio Thierry Laurent, it should not take more than one month for me to play actively again," Essien told 90minutes football magazine.

London  - Carlos Tevez is unlikely to discover whether he will remain a Manchester United player until the summer, he told an Argentine radio station on Wednesday.

The Argentina forward is on a two-year loan to United from West Ham.

United have first-refusal to sign him when that expires in June.

Tevez is keen to stay, but will have to wait on his future.

"I have the headstart in Manchester and my idea is to stay here for a few more years," Tevez told Radio del Plata.

"It would be very difficult to have to leave one of the biggest clubs in the world.

Madrid - Andres Iniesta will be out of action for at least two weeks, Spanish leaders Barcelona announced Wednesday.

The Euro 2008 hero pulled a muscle in his left thigh in training on Tuesday, and underwent medical tests on Wednesday morning.

Iniesta, 24, will therefore miss the upcoming Liga matches against Espanyol and Atletico Madrid, the King's Cup semi-final second leg against Mallorca - as well as the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 away to Olympique Lyon.

He will struggle to be fit for the second leg against Lyon on March 11.

Johannesburg - Tickets for the 2010 football World Cup in South Africa go on sale on Friday on the fifa. com website at 11 a. m. GMT.

Following is the procedure for obtaining a ticket:

-- Register on the FIFA Club free of charge on http://www.fifa.com/theclub/index.html

-- Then fill out the ticket application form. You can apply for one of two ticket types: a ticket to a specific match or a team specific ticket
(TST) series.

Germany - Borussia Dortmund defender Lee Young-Pyo was given a two-match ban by

Johannesburg - World football body FIFA aims to prevent a black market trade in cheap tickets for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa by making tickets for the tournament only available for collection in the country, FIFA announced Wednesday.

Tickets for the tournament go on sale to the general public on Friday on FIFA's website, fifa. com, and through nationwide branches of South Africa's First National Bank (FNB), a national World Cup sponsor.

This sale starts online at 11 a. m. GMT (1 p. m. South African time) and runs until March 31.