Germany captain Philipp Lahm is unconcerned by Bastian Schweinsteiger s fitness ahead of Euro 2012.
Lahm said even if the influential midfielder is forced to withdraw, the 2008 runners-up have adequate cover.
Schweinsteiger is not training with his team-mates as he struggles with a calf problem, but he is still expected to be fit for his country s tournament opener against Portugal on June 9.
Lahm, therefore, is not unduly worried about the uncertainty surrounding the participation of his Bayern Munich teammate in the context of their campaign in Poland and Ukraine.
Of course you want players as experienced as Bastian fully fit going into this tournament, the full-back told reporters on Wednesday.
But I m assuming that he will be fit for the Eu…
Australia made Women s World Cup history after stunning Brazil 1-0 in their last-16 clash on Sunday.
The Matildas had never won a knockout fixture at a World Cup, despite progressing beyond the group stages in 2007 and 2011.
The Socceroos their male counterparts have only ever contested one sudden-death World Cup match in 2006 and lost.
Alen Stajcic s women broke new ground for Australia in remarkable fashion thanks to substitute Kyah Simon, who netted the match-winning goal with 10 minutes remaining at Moncton Stadium in New Brunswick.
Simon a second-half replacement for Michelle Heyman scored a close-range rebound as Australia shocked their highly-fancied opponents for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Australia will play the winner of Japan versus …
Newcastle United are interested in signing Nathaniel Phillips from Liverpool in the January transfer window, according to . It has been reported that Newcastle are looking for a new central defender, and that Phillips is on their radar.
Phillips got his chance at Liverpool last season due to injury problems. Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all had injury problems. Phillips made 15 starts and two substitute appearances in the Premier League last season, scoring one goal and providing one assist in the process.
The 24-year-old made three appearances in the Champions League for Liverpool last season. Phillips has played one minute in the Champions League and 45 minutes in the Carabao Cup for Jurgen Klopp’s side so far this campaign. Newcastle are at the foot of…
Chelsea will be without Enzo Fernandez for their final six games of the season due to a groin issue.
Fernandez was forced off with an injury during Chelsea s 5-0 defeat at Arsenal on Tuesday.
And it has now been confirmed the 23-year-old World Cup winner has undergone surgery, and will subsequently miss the final month of Chelsea s campaign.
Fernandez has made 28 Premier League appearances this season, scoring three goals. Chelsea did not put a timeframe on his return, though Argentina will be hoping the former Benfica star is fit to feature in the Copa America, which begins in late June.
The Blues sit ninth in the table, though they do have games in hand on all of their rivals for European qualification.
Mauricio Pochettino s team take on Champio…
Belgium international midfielder Marouane Fellaini that this could be his final season in the Merseyside, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid reportedly keen on the Belgian.
The 24-year-old kicked off the new season with a 5-star, man-of-the-match performance against Premier League giants Manchester United at Goodison Park on 20 August 2012.
Five days later, Fellaini bagged another goal against Aston Villa, continuing his early season purple patch.
I have started my fifth season at Everton, Fellaini told Het Nieuwsblad.
This will be one of my last seasons. I have seen everything.
In January, or at the end of the season, I will look for another club or league.
FIFA deny Odjidja-Ofoe loan move to Everton
…
Eduardo da Silva has declared it feels like he has never been away after completing his return to Shakhtar Donetsk.
The Croatia striker spent four years at Shakhtar between 2010 and 2014, winning the Ukrainian Premier League in each season, as well as the domestic cup on three occasions.
He left for Flamengo in July last year but after just one season in Brazil, the former Dinamo Zagreb and Arsenal man has now completed his switch back to Shakhtar, agreeing terms on an 18-month deal.
Firstly, I am very happy to have finally returned, Eduardo told the club s official website. To be honest, the time has passed by so fast that it feels like I never left! I will give my all to Shakhtar.
At the beginning of last week, I received a phone call. Hones…
Hector Bellerin has admitted he had very little to offer defensively when he joined Arsenal from Barcelona in 2011 and has hailed assistant manager Steve Bould s role in his development.
The 20-year-old has become Arsenal s first-choice right back this season and he feels he would not be where he is now if it were not for Bould s guidance.
When I first came to Arsenal, I didn t know how to defend, Bellerin was quoted as saying by The Sun.
If there was a person who I had to identify as helping me a lot, that would have to be Bould. I was a winger but from the Under-18s up, I remember him just showing me the basics.
Even then, I remember him sometimes holding his head like, What is Hector doing? . He s been one of the key people in my career. He s one …
Watford and Crystal Palace edged closer towards Premier League survival after playing out a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
The point moves Watford nine above 18th-placed Southampton, while Roy Hodgson s side now sit six points above the drop zone.
Victory for either would have all-but secured their position in the top flight for another season, which perhaps explains the tense, fraught nature of the match.
Javi Gracia s team dominated the first half and saw an early Stefano Okaka header bounce back off the crossbar, while Craig Cathcart also came close.
Palace belatedly sprung into life in the second period and twice hit the woodwork through Luka Milivojevic and James Tomkins, but were unable to find a winner that would have pulled th…
Brazil great Pele has been discharged from hospital but his treatment for a colon tumour is set to continue.
The three-time World Cup winner required an operation to remove the tumour in September and subsequently started chemotherapy as part of the rehabilitation process.
He was re-admitted to the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo on December 8, his condition at the time described as stable .
The following day he moved to calm fears over his health as he wrote on Instagram that he was simply back in hospital for the last [chemotherapy] session of 2021 and that he was taking the chance to do a new battery of exams, so I m going to stay here for a few days .
Pele insisted fans had no need to worry and the Santos legend confirmed on Thursday that he ha…
Mathieu Flamini is set to depart Milan after refusing a new contract at the Serie A club.
The Frenchman joined the San Siro outfit on a free transfer from Arsenal in 2008 but was frustrated by the offer of a two-year extension.
Flamini will now consider his options ahead of his next move.
I m not going to accept the offer of only two years, Flamini told Corriere dello Sport.
At 29, after five season with the Rossoneri, and after the four important goals I scored last season, I deserved different treatment.
I am disappointed, and I m going on my own way.
My future? Anything is possible.
…