Bobby Robson said yesterday he would remain in hospital for a further two to three weeks to continue his recovery from the operation to remove a tumour from his brain.

"I'm on the mend," he said in a statement carried on a website with which he is associated. "Every day is a better day and I'm getting more movement but the chances are that I'll be in hospital for another two to three weeks."

The comments strongly suggest Robson will not travel to either Cyprus or Dublin (the Czech Republic) for the Republic of Ireland's next two European Championship qualifying games at the start of October.

Following the recent defeats to The Netherlands and Germany, Ireland have slipped five places to 43rd place, alongside Iran, in the Fifa world rankings.

Northern Ireland's wins over Finland and Spain helped them climb to 58th position.

It is the closest Northern Ireland have come to the Republic in the rankings since the system was introduced more than a decade ago.

Brazil still top the list while France have moved into second place ahead of Argentina in third.

England are now fourth while two of Ireland's group rivals, the Czech Republic and Germany, stand at seventh and eighth respectively.

Scotland have moved above Ireland, climbing six places to 34th, while Wales, another of Ireland's opponents in this campaign, are down six to 62nd.

Hungary and Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskas has been admitted to an intensive care unit in a Budapest hospital, according to reports last night.

The 79-year-old, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, scored 83 goals in 84 matches for his country. Hungary, inspired by Puskas, reached the 1954 World Cup final, a game they lost to underdogs West Germany.

Puskas won three European Cups with Real Madrid, scoring four goals in the 1960 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. He scored 512 goals in 528 matches for Real and in 1962 he became a Spanish citizen, playing for them in the World Cup finals later that year.