Fashanu fear

John Fashanu's playing career could be over irrespective of the outcome of match-fixing allegations which led to his arrest on Tuesday.

The Aston Villa striker suffered extensive ligament damage to his right knee in a collision with the Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs at Old Trafford last month. He has had keyhole surgery to determine the extent of the damage and saw a specialist in Bristol on Monday.

The former Wimbledon player has another date with the specialist in a month, but the injury could end his career.

Brian Little, the Villa manager, would make no comment yesterday when asked about 32-year-old Fashanu's position.

Fashanu has been dogged by injury problems since his £1.3m transfer to Villa and was out for four months with an Achilles tendon problem. He has started only 14 matches and scored three goals for Villa.

The Wolves defender John de Wolf has suffered a setback in his recovery from cartilage surgery in the Netherlands.

The Dutch international, who underwent an operation on his knee after sustaining the injury against Sunderland last week, has been rushed back into hospital, suffering thrombosis in his right leg.

He complained of feeling unwell after leaving hospital in Rotterdam on Sunday and doctors are working to thin his blood to remove the clot in the lower half of his leg. He may be released from hospital tomorrow.

Graham Taylor, the Wolves manager, admitted: "It was a shock to hear that he has had to go back into hospital especially after the earlier good news we had that there was no ligament damage in his right knee."