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Star Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves could return from injury sooner than expected, with the Portugual international absent from action for the last month.

What’s the latest?

Wolves manager Bruno Lage told the media earlier this month that Neves’ injury ‘was not as serious’ as previously expected.

Moreover, injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries website, is ‘hopeful’ that the 25-year-old could be back playing earlier than planned – speaking to Football Insider, he said:

“My understanding initially hasn’t changed a great deal even with this new info.

“We’re talking about an MCL here. The indication that it was a grade two.

“I was working on the premise that we could maybe see a return around early to mid-May. I am still fairly hopeful that is the case.

“It happened against Leeds. He tried to continue but he couldn’t. He then went out to Portugal for some rehab and recovery.

“The target was always going to be around game week 35. I think there is a strong possibility that he’ll play again this season somewhere around there.”

The midfielder hasn’t featured for Wolves since the 3-2 defeat against Leeds last month and there was certainly concern amongst the Molineux faithful that they wouldn’t see the 25-year-old play for the Golden Boys again amid speculation of a summer transfer.Supporters will be delightedWith securing European football next season still possible for Lage’s men, the Portuguese manager will be desperate to have as many players fit for the run-in, particularly key men like Neves.The midfielder has been excellent this term, averaging a 7.2/10 match rating in the Premier League, according to SofaScore.Moreover, with Wolves eighth in the league and two points behind West Ham in seventh with six games to go, the 25-year-old’s return will be very welcome.Granted, it’s incredibly unlikely that Neves will be fit in time for the West Midlands outfit’s trip to Burnley on the 24th of April, however, Brighton at home on the 30th could be a potential return date.With plenty of speculation surrounding the Portuguese, who is very popular with Wolves fans, we may be experiencing the start of the end for Neves’ tenure with the Black Country club.The 25-year-old remarkably joined from FC Porto in 2017 with Wanderers still in the Championship for a record fee in the second-tier, having become the youngest ever captain for a Champions League game back in 2015.Five seasons later and the midfielder has overseen promotion to the Premier League, two seventh-placed finishes, an FA Cup semi-final and a run to the quarter-final of the Europa League whilst making 207 appearances for the west Midlands club.If Neves is to depart this summer, then Wolves supporters will be incredibly keen to see him in action again whilst also hoping the midfielder can contribute to a late push for European qualification, with the side just a handful of points outside a place in the top seven.AND in other news: Was worth £4.5m, now valued at £21.6m: Wolves had a shocker on “special” 22 y/o dynamo

Manchester United return to action on Friday night against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup fourth round, with Ralf Rangnick leading out his team at Old Trafford after a January transfer window full of squad-trimming.

The club didn’t make any signings last month but let go of eight players, including Anthony Martial and Donny Van de Beek, who are both out on loan for the rest of the season.

Rangnick was also at the centre of a media storm during the transfer window, as it was revealed that there were reportedly up to 17 players who wanted to leave the club amid dressing room upset, with Dean Henderson named as one of those.

The goalkeeper has fallen out of favour in the United first team after David de Gea returned to phenomenal form this season, leaving the Englishman with no Premier League starts and just two senior appearances in total across all competitions.

The £16.2m-rated ace was hailed as “exceptional” by his former Sheffield United team-mate Sander Berge, who gushed: “He’s so confident. He knows he is good and he exploits that too. He is exceptional.”

Henderson was linked with a move away from Old Trafford throughout last month, with reported interest from Newcastle United, but nothing materialised and the ‘keeper has remained in Rangnick’s Red Devils squad for the rest of the season.

The 24-year-old played a huge part in United’s second-placed finish in the league last season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with much more game-time than he is currently experiencing, making 26 appearances across all competitions. In 2020/21, he kept clean sheets in three of four of the Europa League knockout games that he started, and United only one lost game out of 13 when he appeared in their Premier League starting XI.

Henderson clearly proved last season that he deserves first team football, but with De Gea doing so well in his position this season, the 24-year-old’s reported push for a move away from the club speaks volumes that he wants to be the first choice and clearly feels he can only achieve this by leaving Old Trafford.

Tonight’s FA Cup clash is the perfect opportunity for Rangnick to show Henderson that he is still a valued member of the squad and in the manager’s future plans by unleashing him in the starting line up instead of De Gea.

In other news: The Man Utd board blocked this prospective deadline day exit

Graham Gooch has described the prospect of Essex playing some of their future home matches at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford as a ‘win-win scenario’, after their involvement in a joint bid with West Ham Football Club and Newham Council was confirmed

Andrew Miller01-Oct-2010Graham Gooch has described the prospect of Essex playing some of their future home matches at the Olympic Stadium in Stratford as a “win-win scenario”, after their involvement in a joint bid with West Ham Football Club and Newham Council was confirmed by the club chairman, David East, following the submission of the application to the Olympic Park Legacy Company on Thursday.Gooch is a lifelong fan of both Essex and West Ham, having been born and brought up in nearby Leytonstone, and believes that the prospect of a high-profile cricket venue in the East End of London can only be good for the county’s future. “For us it makes complete sense,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “We’re obviously developing our ground at Chelmsford, so it’s not intended to be a home for Essex cricket, but as a county that stretches right down to the city of London, it makes sense for us to try and have a base in the boroughs there.”Two London football clubs, West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur, are in the running to take up principal residence at the Olympic Stadium in the aftermath of the 2012 games, having both registered their interest with the OPLC ahead of Thursday’s deadline. However, Tottenham’s late application is widely regarded as a back-up plan in the event that their £400million redevelopment of White Hart Lane fails to materialise.West Ham’s bid remains the strongest contender, not least because the club’s current ground, Upton Park, is just a few miles down the road in the same borough of Newham. Their bid received tacit backing from the Government on Thursday when the application was delivered to 10 Downing Street by three of its players, Carlton Cole, Mark Noble and Scott Parker.Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, East stressed that Essex’s part in the bid was low-key at present, and would be subject to the overcoming of certain technical constraints – the most significant of which is the OPLC’s current insistence on a running track around the venue’s perimeter, a problem which a West Ham spokesman suggested could be overcome through the use of synthetic grass. Should those obstacles be surmounted, then the venue would in theory be available to Essex during the football off-season between May and August, and would make an attractive base for Twenty20 cricket in particular.”Our plans are at a very early stage,” said East. “We’ve expressed our interest and have formed part of the bidding process for West Ham, who are seeking to demonstrate that they can operate, not just football, but a multi-sport delivery stadium. There’s a good strategic fit for us, in that we have responsibility for five London boroughs in terms of cricket development, and one of those is Newham. But at this stage we are very tentatively dipping our toes in the water.”Essex and West Ham have forged close links over the years, not least through the exploits of Sir Geoff Hurst, who played 23 times for Essex seconds in the early 1960s, and once for the first XI in 1962, before making his name as a centre-forward for West Ham and earning immortality by scoring a hat-trick for England in the 1966 World Cup final.”There’s been a long tradition between the two professional clubs,” said Gooch, who regularly conducted his pre-season training with the football squad at Upton Park. “And for me personally, it’s a fantastic proposal, because as a lifelong supporter of Essex cricket and West Ham football, it seems a natural tie-up. A joint bid would dovetail nicely, because the months we’d want to use the ground for Twenty20 cricket would be midsummer, when the football season is not on.”A further benefit of bringing cricket to the Olympic Stadium would be the focal point it would provide for cricket in East London, not least the sizeable but largely untapped Bangladeshi community in nearby Tower Hamlets. “We’ve got to look to promote the interests of our club,” said Gooch, “and it would be great to have a visible base where we play some professional matches, and tap into the ethnic communities living there. It’s a win-win for us.”Aside from Gooch, many prominent Essex players have come from East London, including Nasser Hussain (Ilford), Ravi Bopara (Forest Gate) and Varun Chopra, who moved on last season (Barking). However, since the loss of the Ilford Festival, for financial reasons, in 2003, there has been no significant Essex cricket played in Greater London, which is something that East is keen to rectify.”We like the idea of the bid,” said East. “The Ilford festival was our foothold in East London in terms of first-class cricket, so if we were able to find a base back in the area, where we could drop in a few Twenty20 matches and capitalise on a community from which we draw a lot of players, it would be fantastic. That was our motivation behind supporting the bid, but it’s still early stages, and we will pick it up with West Ham as and when they get a green light to proceed, or at least a bright amber light.”East added that he had not been aware of any interest from Tottenham until their bid for the stadium had been made public. “I haven’t given it any thought at all,” he said. “The attraction for us was the clear strategic link [through Newham Council]. At the moment we are where we are, we’ve supported the West Ham bid, and we’ll see what the outcome is.”

Ravi Bopara has been recalled to England’s squad for the final ODI against Bangladesh on Monday in place of the injured Ian Bell

Cricinfo staff11-Jul-2010Ravi Bopara has been recalled to England’s squad for the final ODI against Bangladesh on Monday in place of Ian Bell, who injured his left foot during Bangladesh’s five-run win in Bristol.Bopara has not played an ODI for England since their Champions Trophy defeat to New Zealand last September and had originally missed out on the squad for this series. The selectors opted for Jonathan Trott ahead of Bopara, a choice Trott justified by top-scoring with 94 in England’s defeat.The injury to Bell was particularly unlucky after he had only just returned into England’s one-day side having not played since November 2008. He marked his comeback in style with a Man-of-the-Match-winning unbeaten 84 to guide England to a six-wicket victory in the first ODI at Trent Bridge, but now faces up to seven weeks out of the game after fracturing the fifth metatarsal in his left foot.Bopara has been in good form with both bat and ball for the England Lions but is unlikely to feature in the final ODI at Edgbaston unless England opt to repeat the formula that brought them defeat – playing six batsmen and leaving out the second spinner.

Adama Traore’s move from Wolves to Tottenham will be completed in the coming ‘hours and days’, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Traore exit looking certain

The Spaniard has been linked with an exit from Molineux numerous times in recent weeks, with a host of clubs thought to be keen on snapping him up.

Spurs have emerged as the clear front-runners, however, with Antonio Conte seeing Traore as someone who can add much-needed firepower to his squad.

The 25-year-old’s current Wolves deal expires in the summer of 2023 and there has been no sign of a new contract being agreed.

The Latest: Romano provides update

Taking to Twitter on Saturday morning, Romano gave a key update on the situation, saying Wolves and Spurs are still working on a likely deal being completed:

“Adama Traore deal not done/fully agreed yet but Tottenham are confident to reach the agreement soon. Negotiations with Wolves will continue in the next hours and days. Personal terms already discussed with Adama. Spurs are on it.”

The Verdict: Matter of time

Traore’s exit from Wolves now feels inevitable, bringing to an end an up-and-down spell at the club, in which he has too often blown hot and cold.

While the wide man’s effort levels, blistering speed and immense power cannot be questioned, his end product has left a lot to be desired. A tally of just 11 goals and 18 assists in 153 appearances is not good enough for such an attack-minded player.

Should Wolves receive around £20million for Traore, it will be a shrewd piece of business, allowing them to sign someone more tailor-made to excel under Bruno Lage.

In other news, Tim Spiers has reacted to a fresh claim that will affect Wolves. Read more here.

Gareth Cross smashed a six off the penultimate ball to give Lancashire Lightning a dramatic Friends Provident t20 victory over Warwickshire Bears at Old Trafford

20-Jun-2010
ScorecardTom Smith anchored Lancashire’s chase with a calm half century•Getty ImagesGareth Cross smashed a six off the penultimate ball to give Lancashire Lightning a dramatic Friends Provident t20 victory over Warwickshire Bears at Old Trafford.Despite a half-century from Tom Smith Lancashire still needed 12 from seven balls chasing the visitors’ 126 for six when the wicketkeeper strode to the middle. He despatched the first delivery for four and after Keith Barker conceded just two off the first four balls of the final over, Cross sent the second ball he faced sailing over the boundary to wrap up a five-wicket win and condemn the Bears to only their second North Division defeat.Lightning had struggled to chase totals during defeats to Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire and although Imran Tahir claimed three for 18 they were always up with the rate. Paul Horton (23) shook off a blow to the chin from Neil Carter to smash a six and a four in three balls off Chris Woakes in the second over.He and Smith worked the spinners well and put on 48 before Horton was bowled trying to sweep Tahir in the spinner’s first over. The leg-spinner then struck with the last ball of his next two overs as Stephen Moore was stumped by Tim Ambrose for three and Steven Croft holed out to Darren Maddy for five.But Smith kept his head with his fifth score over 40 in seven matches. He and Simon Katich took Lancashire to the verge of victory before the Australian holed out to Maddy for 17 at the end of the 18th over with 14 still needed.But when Smith was trapped lbw by Carter off the last ball of the following over Lancashire were 115 for five and needed Cross’ last-ditch heroics to see them over the line. Only Jim Troughton had any significant impact with the bat for the Bears making an unbeaten 42 off 34 balls.Having decided to bat they were put under pressure with some tight bowling from Nathan McCullum and Smith – restricting them to just 12 runs off the first three overs. Sajid Mahmood then struck with the second ball of the fourth over and Katich took the first of three catches as Jonathan Trott went for just four.Carter and Maddy tried to up the rate, with Maddy hitting McCullum for the only six of the innings. But spin proved the undoing of the pair as Stephen Parry first bowled Carter for 20 in his first over and then Simon Kerrigan struck twice in two balls.The 21-year-old got Maddy with his second ball thanks to a great full-length diving catch by Katich at backward point. He then trapped Varun Chopra lbw first ball as Warwickshire slumped to 63 for 4. Croft continued an impressive display in the field for Lancashire as he took a tough catch to dismiss Rikki Clarke off Glen Chapple. And Katich claimed the last of his victims to get Ambrose off the first ball of the final over, leaving Mahmood with 2 for 27.

Shahid Afridi the Pakistan captain, has asked for the infusion of youth for the Asia Cup starting in Sri Lanka on June 15

Cricinfo staff01-Jun-2010Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan captain, has asked for the infusion of youth for the Asia Cup starting in Sri Lanka on June 15.”We should have three to four new players along with the seniors so that we can strike the right balance in the one-day side. I think the time is right to start grooming and giving exposure to some of our young lot because we also have to keep the 2011 World Cup in mind,” Afridi said.Afridi was reacting to a query over the omission of 19-year old allrounder Hammad Azam from the 35-member long list of probables for the Asia Cup and the tour of England. He said that neither he nor team coach Waqar Younis had a say in the selection of the probables.”The selectors had picked that squad but as a matter of policy myself and the coach want to give exposure to young players so that they can provide stable support and back up to the seniors in future,” he said.Afridi refused to comment on the controversial inclusion of Shoaib Malik in the list, following the reversal of his ban after being accused of causing unrest within the side. “It is something that concerns the board. As far as I am concerned whoever is eligible for selection is an important player for me,” Afridi said.Yawar Saeed, the manager of the squad, was confident that the team would not face any problems over Malik’s return. Saeed was not with the team during the tours of Australia and New Zealand, after which Malik came in for harsh criticism from Afridi, former captain Mohammad Yousuf, former coach Intikhab Alam and tour manager Abdul Raquib, for his attitude.”All these players have played before when I was manager and I faced no problems at all from them. They know each other well so I don’t think it is a big thing if Malik or even Younis Khan is selected in the side,” said Saeed, who was a member of the PCB inquiry committee over the side’s performance in Australia.”There is no personality clash involved anymore and the New Zealand and Australian tours are past. The code of conduct on tour is the same for any player. I am confident no player will give me or PCB any cause for complain.”

Newcastle’s abysmal Premier League campaign continued as they lost 4-0 to Manchester City at St James’ Park on Sunday.

The game got off to the worst possible start as miscommunication between Martin Dubravka and Ciaran Clark allowed Ruben Dias to nod in from close range. Joao Cancelo then scored a thunderbolt from distance to double the lead, before goals from Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling rounded off the scoring.

Lightweight

One player who let Eddie Howe down badly in the game was Joe Willock. He was left out of the starting XI against Liverpool in midweek and was brought back into the limelight by the ex-Bournemouth manager, but the 22-year-old was unable to repay his boss’ faith as he put in a poor display against Pep Guardiola’s side.

The summer signing from Arsenal was hooked at half-time with the score at 2-0, with Howe seemingly not happy with the midfielder’s performance.

Defensively, he offered next to nothing. As per SofaScore, he lost 80% of his individual duels in midfield. He was also dribbled past twice, whilst failing to complete a single tackle, block or clearance and making just one interception.

This shows how lightweight he was in the middle of the park, as he was too easily beaten by Manchester City players off the ball. He did not get his foot in to make a successful challenge and was taken out of the game by the opposition dribbling past him with ease.

On the ball, Willock also struggled. As per SofaScore, he had far fewer touches (13) than Magpies goalkeeper Martin Dubravka (42). He also completed just seven passes and failed in his one attempted dribble. This shows that he did not do enough to make himself available in possession to get Newcastle up the pitch whenever they got the ball back off the visitors.

The 22-year-old let his manager down with a disappointing display as he failed to make a positive impact either on or off the ball, leading to his withdrawal at the start of the second half. He will need to drastically improve his performances if he wants to be a regular starter throughout the rest of the campaign, as this was a dreadful outing for the Arsenal academy graduate.

AND in other news, Journalist drops transfer news which will leave NUFC fans buzzing, he can be the next Shearer…

Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen is confident the Kensington Oval pitch will favour the team’s fast bowlers when they take on Bangladesh on Wednesday

Cricinfo staff05-May-2010Australia’s coach Tim Nielsen is confident the Kensington Oval pitch will favour the team’s fast bowlers when they take on Bangladesh on Wednesday. However, the chances of Australia taking an extra fast man in to the game have diminished with Mitchell Johnson in doubt due to an infection in his right elbow.There had been a possibility that Australia would name Ryan Harris to join Johnson, Dirk Nannes and Shaun Tait in a powerful pace attack, at the expense of the spinner Steven Smith. However, Harris appears more likely to replace Johnson with the Australians hesitant to risk their most experienced bowler with their path to the Super Eights almost assured.”[Johnson] could probably play if it was the World Cup final tomorrow, but there’s a lot of the tournament to go,” Alex Kountouris, the team physio, told AAP. “We just want to make sure we knock it on the head and get it right. It’s not affecting his muscles or his joint itself.”The surfaces in St Lucia and Guyana have proven sluggish over the past week but the Australians always felt Barbados would provide more pace and bounce. “The conditions in Barbados will suit our quicks,” Nielsen said, “so I hope they’ve been practising against fast bowling.”Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, conceded that an all pace attack was not a bad idea against his team, who prefer facing up to slower men. However, Siddons was not convinced that Barbados would provide as much zip and carry as the Australian squad anticipated.”It’ll be quicker than most other wickets, definitely quicker than St Lucia,” Siddons said. “But it’s also spinning and that will suit us. Firing away with four quicks is probably a good plan against Bangladesh but it can also backfire if the wicket’s not as fast or bouncy as they think it might be. We’ve played practice matches here. There’s nothing lightning quick about it.”Bangladesh must beat Australia to have any chance of progressing to the Super Eights. They would need to win by enough to pass Pakistan on net run-rate, while a much bigger victory would be required for Australia to drop below Pakistan and out of the tournament.

Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, has been fine 10 percent of his match fee after his angry response to the umpiring during the third day of the second Test against England at Dhaka

Cricinfo staff23-Mar-2010Jamie Siddons, the Bangladesh coach, has been fine 10 percent of his match fee after his angry response to the umpiring during the third day of the second Test against England at Dhaka.On a day where a number of decisions went against Bangladesh, Siddons’ frustrations became apparent after Ian Bell had been given not out to an lbw appeal. He marched to the front of the dressing room and signalled onto the field that he thought it was out. He also went and spoke to the match referee, Jeff Crowe, but it’s the public show of his emotions that has caused the problem.”There were probably three or four decisions I was unhappy with,” Siddons told the BBC after the third day. “Hindsight makes it easy for me to be critical but that’s the game. Umpires do make mistakes, but it made it hard for us today but we’re still in the game, it’s still pretty even.”He has been charged with a Level 1 one offence of “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during an international match” and immediately pleaded guilty during a hearing with Crowe on Tuesday.”Jamie became increasingly frustrated and let his emotions out during the second session of day three which was obvious for all to see,” said Crowe. “Clearly he behaved inappropriately and he agrees that such actions and gestures must be kept behind closed doors. He is disappointed with himself that he was so public and he did not hesitate in pleading guilty and accepting the proposed sanction.”The Umpire Decision Review System hasn’t been in place for the series due to the cost of implementing the system and Shakib Al Hasan felt the match would have gone differently if the reviews had been available.”We would have been in a very good position if [UDRS] was in use here,” he said. “I think we would have asked for a referral four times with full confidence, and three of them would have come to our way for sure. It’s really bad for us that we did not use the referral system, which we could have done.”