Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has revealed that N Golo Kante and Thiago Silva have tested positive for COVID-19.
The pair were left out of Chelsea s starting line-up for Wednesday s EFL Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham and will now serve a period of self-isolation.
Kante has featured in 17 of the Blues 31 matches this season, while Silva – who signed a one-year contract extension on Monday – has been used 22 times.
It is the second time in a little over three months that France international Kante has tested positive for coronavirus.
Asked about the duo s absence from the side to face Tottenham, Tuchel told Sky Sports: Unfortunately, Thiago and N Golo have tested positive.
It s huge for us because they are two huge players. We h…
Vincent Kompany has thanked Pep Guardiola and Manchester City team-mates past and present after it was confirmed he will be leaving the Premier League champions.
Kompany led City to a remarkable domestic treble this season, but the 33-year-old announced on Sunday that his appearance in the 6-0 FA Cup final win over Watford would be his last for the club, ending an 11-year stay.
Guardiola suggested in the build up to Saturday s game at Wembley that he would sit down to discuss Kompany s future at the end of the season.
Injuries have limited Kompany s game time over recent years, with the Belgian playing 26 times in all competitions for Guardiola s team in 2018-19.
He still made a crucial contribution, however, playing in City s final four league games an…
Manchester United are interested in signing Declan Rice from Premier League rivals West Ham United in the summer of 2022, according to . United have already discussed about a potential deal to bring the former Chelsea prospect to Old Trafford.
Rice is under contract at West Ham until 2024 and is not expected to put to paper on a new deal. The England international midfielder has been at the books of the Hammers since 2014 and has established himself as an important player in manager David Moyes’s team.
The 22-year-old, who can also play as a central defender, has established himself as an important player for England. The 22-year-old scored two goals and gave one assist in 32 Premier League appearances for the Hammers , and scored one goal and gave three assists in 38…
David Aganzo was once a teenage strike partner to Raul for Real Madrid in the Champions League, and now the Spaniard has become FIFPro s youngest president.
The 40-year-old head of Spanish players union AFE, Aganzo takes on the FIFPro post from Philippe Piat, who served two four-year terms as head of the global body.
His appointment was confirmed at FIFPro s general assembly in Paris on Tuesday, after Aganzo was put forward by the executive committee.
It means Aganzo will head up FIFPro for the next four years, leading the body that serves as an international players union.
He said, quoted on AFE s website: Without footballers, there is no football, let it be clear to everyone. I take the position with enthusiasm, knowing that it involves a great respo…
Tottenham interim head coach Ryan Mason reiterated any talks between the club and loanee Gareth Bale will not take place before the end of the season following his hat-trick performance.
Bale – on loan from LaLiga giants Real Madrid – improved his scoring run to eight goals in eight Premier League games with a treble in Sunday s 4-0 rout of relegated Sheffield United.
The Wales star forward has had an indifferent campaign, having been largely under-utilised when fit by former boss Jose Mourinho, who was sacked last month.
Bale has previously indicated he will return to Madrid next season where he is contracted until mid-2022 but performances like Sunday may sway Spurs to push harder to retain him.
I think that is a conversation at the end of the seas…
Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill has shrugged off speculation linking him with the vacant job at Aberdeen but said he could not rule out a return to club football in the future.
O’Neill, 54, is among the names mentioned as a possible replacement for Neil Warnock, who stepped down as Dons boss on Saturday less than an hour after guiding the club to the Scottish Cup semi-finals, becoming the fifth manager to leave Pittodrie in the last three years.
After naming his Northern Ireland squad for the upcoming friendlies away to Romania and Scotland, O’Neill was braced for questions on his future.
“I don’t really give it much thought,” O’Neill told the PA news agency.
“As I’ve said, I was at Aberdeen against St Mirren two or three weeks ago…
England´s ´inspirational´ win at ´amazing´ Women´s Euros evidence of development, says Finland great
England s triumph at Euro 2022 was inspirational and the tournament showcased the significant improvement of women s football, according to Finland great Laura Kalmari.
Sarina Wiegman s Lionesses ended 56 years of major tournament hurt for England with a 2-1 victory over Germany last month, with Chloe Kelly s close-range finish in extra time proving decisive in front of 87,192 people at Wembley Stadium, setting a new attendance record for any European Championship match (men or women).
England scored 22 goals throughout the tournament – also a record for a men s or women s European Championship – as they sparkled on home soil, while Wiegman became the first coach to lift the trophy with two different sides after triumphing with the Netherlands in 2017.
Sp…
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Julian Draxler has joined Benfica on a season-long loan deal.
The Germany international will spend the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign at Estadio da Luz, where he will wear the number 93 shirt.
Draxler is Roger Schmidt s eighth signing of the window as he seeks regular playing time ahead of the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
The 28-year-old is yet to appear this season for PSG, for whom he has scored 26 goals in 198 appearances across all competitions since arriving from Wolfsburg in 2017.
Bem-vindo, Draxler!
Welcome! ||
— SL Benfica (@SLBenfica)
However, a series of injuries have prevented Draxler securing a regular place in the starting line-up in recent seasons.
Indeed, a knee p…
Market: Bournemouth win
Odds: 1/1 @
Looking to make an immediate return to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, Bournemouth will welcome Brentford to the Vitality.
Starting with the hosts, eventually falling to a 3-0 loss away at title contenders Arsenal last weekend, Bournemouth will be seeking an immediate response here. While the Cherries might have opened up the 2023/24 campaign in the midst of a public struggle, Andoni Iraola’s men have come roaring back in an eye-catching fashion. Continuing to receive a string of plaudits from across the Premier League this season, they are still sat in pole position to claim a top-half finish over the next fortnight. Signing off April with a thumping performance as they cruised their way to a 3-0 romp against Brighton, …
Mario Mandzukic has retired at the age of 35, and the former Juventus and Bayern Munich striker signed off with a reminder of his World Cup winner against England.
A mainstay of the Croatia national team, Mandzukic hit an extra-time winner in the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Gareth Southgate s team, before scoring at both ends in the 4-2 final defeat to France.
He became the first player to score an own goal in a World Cup final to give France an early lead, before capitalising on a Hugo Lloris mistake to give Croatia late hope.
His retirement announcement, issued on Instagram, was in the form of a letter to his younger self, with Mandzukic saying he should just be ready around [the] 109th minute should he ever face England at the World Cup.
That wa…