Everton full-back Leighton Baines is to miss the final two Premier League matches of the season after undergoing ankle surgery.
The former Wigan Athletic man limped off injured during last weekend s 2-0 defeat to Sunderland at Goodison Park.
It was confirmed earlier this week that Baines would see a specialist to determine the extent of the injury.
And manager Roberto Martinez confirmed ahead of the trip to West Ham that Baines struggled with the issue for the past three years and has undergone a procedure to correct the problem.
Leighton had a bit of instability in his ankle that flared up and it was painful in the last game, Martinez said. It needed repair work so he had surgery on Wednesday.
It was a straightforward operation to clear …
Manuel Pellegrini is not concerned about reports that Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has agreed to take over at Manchester City.
Guardiola – a treble-winner with Barcelona before moving to Germany – has a contract with the Bundesliga champions until the end of the season.
The Spaniard has been linked with the City job, but the incumbent coach feels the work he has done speaks for itself.
The only confidence I have always is about my work, Pellegrini, who led City to the Premier League title in 2013-14, said.
I never have any problem about my work so it doesn t matter what rumours say, if not it is impossible to work in every big team.
I don t analyse different rumours, people can talk or write about them if they want.
It i…
A buzzing Odion Ighalo has thanked Shanghai Shenhua for allowing his loan move to Manchester United to be extended until January 2021.
Ighalo initially joined United in a temporary deal at the end of the January transfer window as the club sought cover in attack for the rest of the season, with Marcus Rashford suffering a long-term injury.
The signing of Ighalo raised eyebrows, but the former Watford man scored four goals in eight matches in all competitions starting just three of those games.
The season s suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic in March led to concerns United would lose the services of Ighalo before the conclusion of the 2019-20 campaign.
But United confirmed they had reached an agreement with Shanghai on Monday, leaving the 30-year-o…
Neymar has been compared to fellow Brazilian Ronaldinho, with Ludovic Giuly believing the Paris Saint-Germain star will never reach his potential.
Like the great Ronaldinho, Neymar has played for both Barcelona and PSG, albeit he moved from Catalonia to Paris, rather than the other way around.
One of the main motives behind Neymar s switch to PSG was reportedly his desire to win the Ballon d Or, which has been dominated by Cristiano Ronaldo and his former Barca team-mate Lionel Messi.
Yet despite helping to secure three straight Ligue 1 titles, Neymar has been unable to propel PSG to Champions League glory – coming closest when the Parisians reached the final last season – and at 29, his chances of winning football s most coveted personal prize look to be get…
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola defended his under-fire forward Thierry Henry on Saturday after fans booed the former Arsenal man for his poor showing in France s 2-0 loss to Spain in midweek.
French supporters and media have rounded on the 32-year-old French captain in recent months over his perceived lack of form and have called for him to be dropped.
We need him, the Barcelona coach said.
Without him we would never have got six titles (in 2009) and without him it will be harder this year.
Henry played a key role in the Spanish giants La Liga and Champions League victories last year, bagging a total of 25 goals in all competitions.
But the Frenchman has scored just three goals so far this season as Barca s young guns such as 22-year-old Pedro s…
Police will question French footballer Karim Benzema over prostitution involving a minor, an official said Wednesday, making him the third star of France s national team named in the scandal.
The judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity according to regular French practice, said a prostitute had told investigators she had sex with Real Madrid striker Benzema in 2008 when she was 16.
In France a person under 18 is considered a minor. Sex with a prostitute under 18 carries a jail term of up to three years.
The woman said she also had relations with Benzema s France team mate Franck Ribery in 2009, when she was 17 but told him she was over 18, the source said.
A judicial official on Monday named Ribery in the case but said the Bayern Munich winge…
Sergi Samper said he did not want to listen to Arsene Wenger as the Arsenal boss tried to sign the Barcelona midfielder.
Samper is on a season-long loan at Granada from LaLiga champions Barca, despite interest from Arsenal in the Premier League.
Wenger wanted Samper at the Emirates Stadium but the 21-year-old ignored the Frenchman s advances.
I did not want to listen to Wenger, Samper told Granada s official website.
I told him clearly that I wanted to stay, I wanted to succeed at Barcelona, and what would make me happy was succeeding at Barcelona in the future.
Samper has only made one senior league appearance for Barca since emerging from the youth ranks in 2014, but the Spaniard has featured in 13 LaLiga matches for Granada this term.
…
Flamengo have announced the departure of left-back Jorge to Ligue 1 leaders Monaco.
Jorge quickly established himself as a key member of the Flamengo squad after making his senior debut in 2014, and the next step in his career sees him move to Ligue 1.
No details of the transfer or the length of contract the 20-year-old has signed at Stade Louis II have been confirmed.
Jorge, who was selected by Tite for Brazil s friendly against Colombia to benefit Chapecoense on Wednesday, made 87 appearances and scored five goals for the Rio de Janeiro club.
…
An irate Thomas Tuchel insisted he is not concerned by Paris Saint-Germain s lack of goals after they completed a domestic clean sweep of trophies on Friday.
PSG added the Coupe de la Ligue trophy to their triumphs in the Trophee des Champions, Ligue 1 and Coupe de France this season when they beat Lyon 6-5 in a penalty shoot-out.
The showpiece at the Stade de France was not befitting the last ever Coupe de la Ligue final as neither team could find a goal across 120 minutes, with PSG clearly missing the brilliance of injured forward Kylian Mbappe.
Since their season resumed, PSG who found the net 75 times in 27 Ligue 1 games in 2019-20 have only scored twice across 210 minutes when Neymar netted the winner in the Coupe de France final last week.
Yet whe…
Memphis Depay believes in Lyon s chances of completing an upset over Juventus in the Champions League.
Lyon will face Juve in Turin on Friday in the second leg of their last-16 tie, more than five months after winning 1-0 at home.
Depay, who has scored five goals in as many Champions League games in 2019-20, is back from a knee injury and the star attacker believes Lyon can upset the Serie A champions.
I must say the record says I ve been quite successful in the Champions League this season, he told a news conference.
I ve played five games and [on Friday] I ll look ahead and try to do my best to do the same thing. I think the whole team deserves credit for the first game that they played against Juve. It was a pity I couldn t play but the team spirit a…