Injury-plagued Fiorentina striker Giuseppe Rossi is set to miss up to five months of action after undergoing knee surgery.
The news is a further blow to the Italy international, who has been riddled by injury issues over the last three years.
Rossi s bad luck started when he sustained a damaged anterior cruciate ligament to his right knee while playing for former club Villarreal, before suffering a recurrence in April 2012.
The 27-year-old scored 16 goals in 21 Serie A appearances last term, but suffered a sprain to his medial collateral ligament in January and, despite fighting hard to recover, was omitted from Italy s World Cup squad.
Rossi then complained of discomfort during pre-season prompting Fiorentina to send him for keyhole surgery in Colorado, …
Laurent Blanc has urged his Paris Saint-Germain players to overcome Zlatan Ibrahimovic s absence when they face Barcelona on Tuesday.
The head coach had been hopeful that Ibrahimovic would recover from a troublesome heel injury in time to face his former club, but the Ligue 1 champions confirmed on Monday that the Sweden international would not be available.
It represents a blow to PSG ahead of their UEFA Champions League Group F encounter in Paris, with the French club already without captain Thiago Silva and forward Ezequiel Lavezzi with hamstring complaints.
But Blanc sees the clash as a chance for his side to show their strength without their talismanic striker.
It is the game that we will manage to find our level of last year, he said.
We c…
Former Belarus manager Yuri Kurnenin has died at the age of 55, just a month after leading the nation s youth team at the UEFA Under-21 Championships.
Kurnenin was mostly famous for his days as a player, and was part of the FC Dinamo Minsk side that became the first Belarussian team to win the Soviet championship in 1982.
As a manager, Kurnenin coached the Belarus national team in 2005 and 2006, and joined the Under-21 team in 2008 with a spot at the tournament finals as result.
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Fenerbahce have officialy completed the signing of Nigeria international striker Emmanuel Emenike from Spartak Moscow.
The Super Lig outfit had announced a deal had been agreed on Wednesday, and the 26-year-old has now completed his medical and agreed personal terms.
He leaves a Spartak Moscow side that currently sit top of the Russian Premier League after four games, in no short part down to Emenike s three goals.
Emenike previously signed for Fenerbahce in July 2011 but in the same month was sold to Spartak after facing charges of match fixing.
He was later acquitted of all charges and returns to Turkey after also featuring for Karabukspor.
Emenike has 15 international caps and has contributed six goals to the Nigeria national team.
Fenerbahce could…
Lorient have appointed Bernard Casoni as their new coach until the end of the season.
Casoni, who has coached 11 clubs across five countries in his career, takes over from Sylvain Ripoll.
Ripoll was sacked last month with Lorient rooted to the bottom of the Ligue 1 table, the Brittany club having taken just seven points from 12 games.
Casoni s last job was with Hungarian side Videoton in 2015, while he has previously coached Marseille, Cannes, Bastia, Evian, Auxerre and Valenciennes in France.
He has now been tasked with the challenge of keeping Lorient in the top flight and his first game in charge comes against Monaco at the Stade du Moustoir on November 18.
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Diogo Dalot hailed Antony s instant impact at Manchester United and backed the winger to adapt quickly , with the partnership made easier between the pair due to their native Portuguese language.
Former Ajax winger Antony, who United paid an initial £81.3million (€95m) for, scored just three days after moving to Old Trafford as he netted in Sunday s 3-1 win over Arsenal.
That strike made Antony, aged 22 years and 192 days, the youngest Brazilian to score on his Premier League debut for any team.
Dalot operated at right-back behind the 22-year-old, the Portugal international starting his sixth game in succession for United, which suggests he may be Erik ten Hag s preferred option going forward.
While the pair hail from different countries, they both spe…
Roma striker Mattia Destro was thrilled to send his side into the Coppa Italia final at the expense of his former club Inter 5-3 on aggregate.
The Giallorossi went 1-0 down early on thanks to a stunning strike from Jonathan, but two second-half goals from the ex-Nerazzurri forward and a third from Vasilis Torosidis secured the win regardless of Ricardo Alvarez s late effort for the hosts.
Destro left San Siro in 2010 having spent part of his youth career with the Milan giants, and he was thrilled to net upon his return having been absent with injury lately.
I had been out for two months, so I really wanted to score a goal, he told Rai Sport.
We all wanted to win this game. How do I feel as an ex-Inter player scoring here? It was the decision they wanted…
Sport Mediaset is reporting that Manchester United, Liverpool and Roma are all considering moves for Inter Milan goalkeeper Samir Handanovic.
The Slovenian shot-stopper has a contract until June 2016 at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, and, as thing stand now, he is unlikely to sign a new deal.
With the Nerazzurri largely struggling in Serie A and club officials not showing enough desire to keep hold of their star player, Handanovic might be ready to explore other avenues.
According to Sport Mediaset, the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool are showing interest, while Roma are ready to pounce if the goalkeeper decides to remain in Italy.
Handanovic, 30, is widely regarded as one of Europe s top shot-stoppers and it appears he is ready to leave the Nerazzurri…
Robert Lewandowski heads a stellar list of nominees for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award after a golden 12 months for Bayern Munich.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton and tennis great Rafael Nadal are also in contention. Joshua Cheptegei and Armand Duplantis complete the male nominees.
Poland striker Lewandowski enjoyed a memorable 2020 for the German giants, with his impeccable performances helping Bayern to a Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and Champions League treble.
Across the top-five European leagues, no player could match Lewandowski s 45 goals scored in all competitions from January 1 to December 31 with Cristiano Ronaldo his nearest rival on 41.
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Liverpool F.C. have completed the signing of Spain Under-21 international forward Luis Alberto from Sevilla on a long-term contract, .
The deal is subject to international clearance.
Alberto, 20, made his first-team debut for Sevilla on 16 April 2011 against Getafe CF but failed to establish himself at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, making just seven senior appearances for the Sevillistas from 2010 to 2012.
Thus, in August 2012, the 20-year-old was loaned to Liga Adelante side FC Barcelona B on a one-year deal.
While on loan at the Mini Estadi, Alberto bagged 11 goals and 17 assists in 38 appearances, attracting interest from a number of top European clubs.
We are all delighted that Luis has decided to join Liverpool, Liverp…