Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given is set to miss his country s Euro 2016 play-off tie against Bosnia and Herzegovina due to a knee injury.
The 39-year-old was absent from Stoke City s matchday squad for Saturday s 0-0 draw at Newcastle United after aggravating a problem with a piece of floating bone in his knee during training.
Stoke manager Mark Hughes expects Given to undergo surgery to address the issue and said he would be surprised to see his player feature in next month s double header for the national team.
It was in training the other day. Unfortunately after training his knee blew up, Hughes said.
He s got a little piece of loose bone in the knee, which we hoped would just settle down.
Obviously it s raised its head against and…
Cristiano Ronaldo s sensational return to Manchester United has been met with palpable excitement inside the dressing room, according to goalkeeper Lee Grant.
The five-time Ballon d Or winner is officially back at Old Trafford for a second spell after completing a £12.9million (€15m) – rising to £19.7m (€23m) – move from Juventus on Tuesday.
Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 appearances during his first spell at the club under Alex Ferguson between 2003 and 2009.
The forward also won three Premier League titles, the Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup before his world-record transfer to Real Madrid.
Grant says he and his United team-mates are relishing Ronaldo s eagerly anticipated return to Carrington following the international break.
A…
Jorginho s first-half penalty got Chelsea s Premier League campaign off to a winning start, as Thomas Tuchel s men overcame a stubborn Everton to claim a 1-0 victory at Goodison Park.
Having been left without a striker through Dominic Calvert-Lewin s knee injury and Salomon Rondon s suspension, Frank Lampard s hosts sat deep and successfully frustrated Chelsea early on.
But Everton s resistance was finally broken when Jorginho converted from the spot on the stroke of half-time, and the Toffees were unable to find a way past Edouard Mendy despite an improved showing after the break.
That meant Chelsea won their Premier League opener for a third consecutive season despite failing to produce a fluid performance on Merseyside.
Everton suffered an early blow w…
Ilkay Gundogan does not believe Erling Haaland is nervous about facing former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Haaland will line up against the team he left for Manchester City in June when Dortmund visit the Etihad Stadium for the Group G encounter.
The Norway international has scored 25 Champions League goals in 20 appearances, the most by any player in their first 20 games in the competition.
Fifteen of those came in 13 matches in the competition for Dortmund, and Haaland could become just the second player to score a Champions League goal both for and against the German side, after Ciro Immobile.
The smart money is on him doing so, given his remarkable start to life at City.
Haaland has 10 goals in just six Premi…
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has declared the experimental format of the next European Championship will not continue beyond Euro 2020.
The amended structure set to see the tournament spread across the continent rather than taking place in one or two nations was put in place by Ceferin s predecessor Michel Platini, with 13 cities across Europe due to stage games throughout the 60th anniversary edition of the championship.
But, speaking at the official launch of the event at London City Hall – with the semi-finals and final to take place at Wembley Stadium – Ceferin, who was elected as the new head of UEFA earlier this month, confirmed the revamped format would not carry on past Euro 2020.
Yes, it s just the 60th anniversary, Ceferin said. It s good for …
Gianluigi Buffon has signed a contract extension with Parma that will keep him at the club until June 2024.
The veteran goalkeeper made his Parma debut back in 1995, aged 17, and after two spells with Juventus and a season with Paris Saint-Germain he returned to the Stadio Ennio Tardini last year.
Italy great Buffon, who has made a record 176 appearances for the Azzurri, has appeared 23 times for Parma in Serie B this season, with Giuseppe Iachini s side currently in 13th.
His efforts have since been rewarded with a one-year extension, meaning he will continue playing football past the age of 46.
Parma president Kyle Krause announced Buffon s renewal at a news conference on Monday.
I have great news, Gigi has renewed his contract until 2024, Kr…
Morocco s celebrations said it all. Having done what many deemed the impossible against Spain, the Atlas Lions went one better by beating Portugal 1-0 in 90 minutes.
They only qualified for the World Cup semi-finals, so to some their jubilation might have even looked over the top.
But the significance of the win was not lost on Morocco s players.
Family members were on the pitch at full-time: goalkeeper Yassine Bounou brought his young son out to have a kickabout on the grass while the toddler adorably ran around wearing his dad s comically large gloves; Sofiane Boufal shared a heart-warming embrace with his mum, who subsequently joined him out on the turf; captain Romain Saiss held his son aloft; coach Walid Regragui was engulfed by a group of relatives in the s…
Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo were the heroes as Manchester United pulled off an upset to beat rivals Manchester City 2-1 in the FA Cup final.
United boss Erik ten Hag s job was reportedly on the line whatever the result in Saturday s game, but a mix-up between Josko Gvardiol and Stefan Ortega was capitalised upon by Garnacho to hand the Red Devils the lead at Wembley Stadium.
Mainoo s fine finish made it 2-0 shortly after, and though Jeremy Doku pulled a goal back late on, United held firm to claim the famous trophy for the first time since 2016 and deny City a double after they secured a fourth straight Premier League title last weekend.
It now remains to be seen whether Ten Hag will suffer the same fate as compatriot Louis van Gaal, who was sacked as Un…
Phallon Tullis-Joyce believes learning from Mary Earps during her time at Manchester United has her well-placed to step up as the Red Devils new number one.
Earps, who spent five seasons with United, joined Paris Saint-Germain in July upon the expiry of her contract at the Women s Super League side.
During her time with the Red Devils, she made 102 appearances in all competitions, keeping 46 clean sheets in the WSL in that time.
The 31-year-old scooped the Golden Glove in the 2022-23 campaign, while also helping United lift the Women s FA Cup in her final season with the club.
Tullis-Joyce spent just one year alongside Earps after arriving from the Seattle Reign last year, with all four of her appearances coming in the League Cup.
But speaking …
Former Sunderland academy player Jak Alnwick kept his old club at bay before Mark McGuinness headed home a late winner to snatch a 1-0 victory for improving Cardiff at the Stadium of Light.
The 30-year-old goalkeeper, who left the Black Cats to join Newcastle in 2008, made a string of fine saves to frustrate Tony Mowbray’s men.
And with three minutes remaining centre-back McGuinness headed in the only goal of the game to make it four wins from five for the Bluebirds.
That was enough to bring an end to Sunderland’s five-match unbeaten and they remain fifth in the Sky Bet Championship standings.
Cardiff, who move up to seventh, had a couple of earlier half-chances but this was a fixture when they were thankful to Hexham-born Alnwick for keeping them in …