BITTER SWEET RETURN TO TRAINING FOR BABEL

Ryan Babel has returned to training after recovering from the ankle injury that forced him out of Euro 2008.

While that's good news, it could mean we face another problem because if fit, he will almost certainly be selected to represent Holland in the Beijing Olympics.

Confirming the situation, Rafa said: "Obviously, we are really pleased that Ryan is coming back to training because he is an important player for us and he has worked hard to recover from the injury he suffered with Holland.

"But we are really worried because after getting him fit it is likely that we could lose him again if he is selected for the Olympics. This is a big problem – we prepare him and then he goes away with the national team.

"This season is very important for him. In his first season he was settling in but this time he has more experience and we are looking for him to give something from the beginning, so it is really important for him to start working with his team.

"This is a strange pre-season because we have to wait for players to return from the Euros at the start and then at the end we are going to lose players to the Olympics."