Amir Khan reveals Anthony Joshua rang him after he accused world champion of having a relationship with his wife

Khan reveals he and Joshua have spoken since he apologised for wrongly writing that he and Makhdoom had been seeing each other before their split

Amir Khan has revealed Anthony Joshua called him to clear things up (Getty)

Amir Khan has buried the hatchet with Anthony Joshua and is awaiting a date for a return to the ring so that he can finally put his miserable year behind him.

During his time away following the knockout defeat by Saul Alvarez, he has twice overhauled his team, struggled with a persistent hand injury, split from his wife Faryal Makhdoom, and wrongly accused her of cheating on him with world heavyweight champion Joshua.

Khan reveals he and Joshua have spoken since he apologised for wrongly writing that he and Makhdoom, who reportedly could receive half of his £30m fortune through their divorce, had been seeing each other before their split.

"He rang me," said the 31-year-old, whose 2017 was also undermined by the collapse of a fight with Manny Pacquiao. "Everything's cool. I said 'Look, everything was a misunderstanding'. He goes 'I want to be able to come over and shake your hand, champ. We want to keep that respect and love'."

Khan recently met with adviser Al Haymon and hopes to fight again before the year's end as he begins what he believes will be the final three years of his career. He is also willing to consider an eventual fight with rival Kell Brook on the condition Brook is not working with promoter Eddie Hearn, but only after he has again won a world title and pursued rematches with Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia.

Khan's old team is again by his side after the fighter had previously decided to work without father Shah, his uncle Taz and close friend Saj Mohamed, who were once his closest aides. He is also again punching after his right hand required a third operation, and therefore finally looking towards the future.

Khan last fought in May 2016, when he was knocked out by Canelo Álvarez (Getty)

"It's always tough," Khan responded when asked how difficult the past few months had been. "This has only given me the chance now to focus more on boxing. I'm going to have to prove people wrong. I need my old team back, those hard days of training, be dedicated. These are the last few years in my career, where I focus and don't make no more mistakes.

"From these fallouts, you learn to know yourself as well, and see everything around you. You get to see the real people around you, who's really looking out for you and who's not. I've got to see a lot of those things that make a lot of sense to me. There's a lot of people saying 'We can help you, we can do this for you, we can do that for you'. Your family's always going to be there looking out for your best interests.

Joshua rang Khan to clear things up (Getty)

"There was a lot of people who wanted to help but wanted to be looked out for themselves a lot more. I want to fight end of November, or early December. I know it's been a long time since the hand (injury), I had to have a third operation, but the hand's good now.

"I want to keep busy for the next three years, work hard, and then relax. (The ring is) where I'm comfortable. I need one fight, get it over, and then it's back to normal again. I want to win another world title and I want to get at least four to five fights, then call it a day. I'm left with that now and that's what I'm going to do."

A fight will Brook will long remain an option, but he said: "The only way I would take that fight is if he left Eddie Hearn. I just don't like Eddie Hearn, he's very disrespectful and he's never come clear with me.

"Eddie Hearn said to me he knows I'd beat Kell Brook; there are levels in boxing. I don't really rate Kell Brook. I could take that fight and beat him but why should I give him the opportunity when he just talks trash all the time?"