Tottenham midfielder Sandro says he is on course to recover from a serious knee injury in time to be fit for next season.
Last month, Sandro returned to his native Brazil to undergo rehab with former club Internacional on the injury he sustained against QPR in January.
"I've got three months to go," said Sandro. "I've started to run, I'm developing. Sometimes I try too much and the knee swells up. I have to listen to the doctor. I have to give the injury enough time, but I dream that I am playing."
The 24-year-old says he hopes he can regain the excellent form he showed before his injury on his return so he can earn a place in Luiz Felipe Scolari's Brazil squad for the 2014 World Cup in his homeland.
"I was in the best phase of my life as a player, so it was hard when I had the injury," he said. "Hopefully I'll be back playing with my club and then I can think about the national team. When I return I will be stronger."
Sandro also hopes to be returning to a side playing in the UEFA Champions League, although that is far from certain.
With six games to go, Tottenham are fourth in the table, but Arsenal are two points behind them with a game in hand.
"We have to fight to stay in fourth place," Sandro told Globo Esporte. "Last year was complicated. We did not classify because Chelsea were the champions of Europe.
"The Champions League is a different competition (to the Europa League). Everything the fans see is what the player feels... the entrance music, the stadia, the fans... everything is amazing.
"I made first played in the competition in 2010 when we beat AC Milan at the San Siro. We beat Inter Milan, too, and we only lost in the quarter-finals to Real Madrid.
"It was a really great experience. Hopefully the club will compete in the competition again."
The Royals host Liverpool at the Madejski Stadium on Saturday and while mathematically they are capable of bridging the eight-point gap to safety, in reality they are doomed to relegation.
Gerrard is the Liverpool player Adkins admires most - not least for the superb conditioning that has enabled the 32-year-old to play every minute of every Premier League game this season.
"You need to watch Steven Gerrard live to see how quickly he picks a pass out," Adkins said.
"His vision is superb but he also has the technique to deliver a full range of passes.
"He's a talisman for Liverpool and always has been. He drives them on and is a leader, taking a grip on the match when he needs to.
"When you talk about midfielders there are different types, but he's one you'd consider being in a starting XI of any all-time Premier League team.
"The fact he's played so much football shows how professional he's been in looking after his body. It's a testament to him.
"If you want to play games, then you need to look after your body."
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was sacked by Reading in 2009 after just six months in charge, but Adkins doubts there will be any special desire to demonstrate to his former employers that they made a mistake.
"Brendan doesn't have anything to prove to us. He's a fantastic manager," he said.
"He was here, was very successful at Swansea and is doing a fantastic job at Liverpool. He's a footballing man who improves his players.
"He has teams that are really exciting to watch, so I don't believe he has anything to prove to anybody."
Adkins hinted that his players have the six matches left in Reading's season to prove they should remain in his plans for next season.
"Every player knows that the transfer window opens at the end of the season and that all clubs do business, moving people around. Here will be no exception," he said.
"The players have been spot on in training and the attitude of the players tells me they want to stay at Reading."
A statement on the club's official website on Wednesday made an appeal for ?1million of external funds to prevent the club from closing.
The League One outfit then released a statement from the board of directors on Thursday afternoon revealing they had held "positive discussions" with potential investors to secure the long-term future of the club.
And a new statement on Friday afternoon read: "As we did on Thursday, we have had another series of 'positive' meetings with potential investors into the football club on Friday.
"We can also confirm that the potential investors are also genuine Bury supporters and are as committed to the long-term future of the club as the board of directors are.
"Although discussions are still at an early stage, the board of directors are feeling positive that these discussions will bear some fruit towards the long-term future of this football club."
Bury currently lie bottom of League One and will have their relegation confirmed if they lose at home to neighbours Oldham on Saturday.
The were placed under a second transfer embargo this season in February after once again approaching the Professional Footballers' Association for a short-term loan.
Cod Army midfielder McGuire was a part of the Fleetwood side that progressed through the non-league pyramid to earn a Football League debut this season and enjoyed some memorable tussles with the Crawley sides Evans led along a similar path.
The 50-year-old Scot is now in charge at the New York Stadium, with an League Two play-off place that appears to have slipped through Fleetwood's fingers in recent weeks firmly in his sights.
"Steve Evans was at Crawley and won the league when we were in our first year in the Conference," McGuire said.
"He's a big character. We used to have a bit of banter with him - he'd be shouting stuff on to us, he's always on to the referee.
"He did well with his Crawley teams - FA Cup runs, they won the Conference, they got up (to League One) last year and that was basically his team. He's done well again, Rotherham are up in the play-offs.
"It'll be a good game. We've got a good squad, they've got a good squad so it'll be a competitive game. We've just got to make sure we turn up and do well."
The Shakers posted a dramatic statement on their official website earlier this week to publicly seek ?1million of public funds to prevent the club from folding, with subsequent "positive discussions" reported on that front.
Relegation to League Two would be confirmed by defeat to neighbours Oldham on Saturday, while a second transfer embargo of the season remains in place at Gigg Lane.
As such, Blackwell has been forced to bring in players on incredibly modest terms to fight what looks set to be a futile battle against the drop.
"One of the things I've been really inspired by this year is players have come here and played for nothing to get their careers back on track," he said.
"Everybody thinks that players earn a fortune, mega-fortunes and whatever. That is not the case now in the lower leagues and the worry is, we're talking about Bury, but it could be a few other clubs (in financial trouble).
"A lot of lads have shown that their desire to play the game is greater than the money aspect of it."
Former Derby and Preston centre-back Mawene was one of the Cod Army's leading performers during the opening months of the season, but a broken foot and subsequent setbacks during rehabilitation mean he is yet to play since Alexander arrived as Micky Mellon's successor at the Highbury Stadium early in December.
"We're unsure with Youl because he comes back and trains with us for a few weeks and then just gets a little setback," said Alexander, a former team-mate of the 33-year-old at Deepdale.
"It's difficult for Youl at the minute because he's a person who does everything right, professionally, away from the pitch.
"It's just that he keeps on picking up little injuries and it's through no want of trying to be fit. He's a fantastic professional but he's just been extremely unlucky.
"We're still waiting to see if he'll be able to play a part before the end of the season."
