FORMER England captain Gary Lineker of the Nagoya Grampus Eight will be sidelined for the rest of the season for intensive treatment of a broken right toe, a team spokesman said.

The 1986 World Cup top goal-scorer, who underwent surgery on the toe in England last December, returned to Britain yesterday en route to Chicago for the treatment.

In June, the injury forced Lineker out of the inaugural J-League, Japan's first professional football league, for three months. He was back in action in the second stage of the tournament in September.

His return in September helped the Grampus Eight to beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima, lifting his team from the bottom of the 10-team competition.