United hopeful that Cantona is set to stay

The Manchester United chairman, Martin Edwards, has given the clearest indication yet that Eric Cantona will stay at Old Trafford. The saga is unlikely to be resolved until the end of this week at the earliest, but Edwards said yesterday: "We are hopeful that agreement will be reached."

Cantona, banned worldwide until the end of September after his chest- high kick on a Crystal Palace fan in January, had a second round of talks with Edwards and his manager, Alex Ferguson, yesterday.

"Money doesn't come into it, but it is a much wider issue than that," Ferguson said. "Eric has said he would love to stay with United. He likes the club. He likes the fans and he likes England." Internazionale are thought to have first claim should Cantona decide to leave.

Peter Ndlovu has been interviewed by police in Harare after accusations of common assault on a university student on the eve of Zimbabwe's 1-1 African Nations Cup draw with Malawi, during which the Coventry striker scored.

The incident is alleged to have happened during protests by fans against the sacking of the German, Reinhard Fabisch, as Zimbabwe's national coach.

With three Premiership games left, leaders Blackburn Rovers were dealt a blow when their utility player, Paul Warhurst, broke his leg during a reserve-team work-out.

Warhurst's former Sheffield Wednesday team-mate, Chris Waddle, has been approached by the French First Division side, Martigues. During a trip to Marseille last week the 34-year-old former England player, who still season still to run on his Wednesday contract, said he would be willing to return to France if the possibility arose.