Robinho's still not ready for his comeback but the boy from Brazil is always newsworthy, and a potential club versus country story never goes amiss towards the back end of the paper.

The Mail reports that Mark Hughes is "trying to contact Brazil's medical team to pre-empt a row" over Robi's unavailability for their glamour clash with England in Qatar on November 14.

Simon Jones' Screamer column explains: "The forward has been called up by Brazil despite not playing for Manchester City since suffering a stress fracture of the right ankle against Argentina in September.

"City do not expect (him) to be fit for at least two weeks and want to ensure he is not presed into service by Brazil to satisfy their sponsors."

He quotes manager Hughes: "You would like to think they wouldn't want to compromise their own players in a World Cup year."

But after Argentina's recent insistence that Pablo Zabaleta flew south despite being unfit for World Cup duty, the boss is clearly keen to avoid any unnecessary hassle.

Elsewhere, Mirror columnist Robbie Savage, at the Stadium yesterday for an FA hearing, wondered "if any passing City fans clocked me" and thought he'd be Hughesy's first transfer window signing. Dream on, Sav!