5 Arch Manning transfer destinations if Quinn Ewers returns to Texas
Find out where Arch Manning could transfer and shake up the college football landscape.
2023-11-15 09:45
Man City fears grow after Kevin De Bruyne hamstrung by the same old problem
The disconsolate trudge is becoming a disconcertingly familiar sight. Kevin De Bruyne has limped out of grander games than the curtain raiser to a Premier League. He has made an early exit from bigger occasions this summer. His Champions League final, like his evening in Burnley, came to a premature conclusion. A focus on De Bruyne’s body can concentrate on the remarkable right foot he uses to unlock defences, to pass and cross with an ability most can only envy. It may switch to his increasingly fragile hamstrings. For De Bruyne, Inter Milan may be bracketed alongside Burnley in the memory. His last two starts, two months apart, ended with him hamstrung. “He was injured again, unfortunately. A problem in the same position, he said to me as in the final of the Champions League,” rued Pep Guardiola. “It depends on the magnitude of the injury but it will be a few weeks out.” There will be no De Bruyne against Sevilla in the European Super Cup or against Newcastle in the first major test of Manchester City’s defence of their Premier League title. He could sit out the start of their Champions League campaign. A summer sandwiched by injuries suggests De Bruyne was rushed back. He had said after the Community Shield he was way ahead of schedule; he had targeted the Super Cup for his comeback. “It’s a pity because he had recovered well,” Guardiola said. “Maybe it was my mistake [to pick him] but if he is injured after 15-20 minutes it is not something wrong, when it is 65 or 70 it is the fatigue of the muscle. We have to talk with the doctors and him.” His plan, he had said, was to give the Belgian 50 or 55 minutes, rather than the cameo he had at Wembley. Which, as that culminated in the penalty he slammed against the underside of the bar in the shootout, has completed an ill-fated start to the season. “He is disappointed but he is strong and will be back,” added Guardiola. Yet for how long? De Bruyne may be increasingly injury prone. For a player who has never looked like a natural athlete, a red-faced figure who can seem a throwback to earlier eras, he has shown great durability. He has won 99 caps for Belgium – he would have brought up a century in the summer but for injury – and this was the 587th game of his club career. His 32nd birthday only came in June but to play almost 700 matches by that stage means he has plenty of miles on the clock. Or miles on the hamstring. He revealed after the Champions League final he had played for two months with the risk it could snap. By the time he is fit again, he will have spent the vast majority of six months with a hamstring problem of some description. It has prompted fears it will be a constant for the rest of his career. A reunion with City’s other talismanic Belgian could illustrate it. Vincent Kompany, a colleague for club and country, still made huge contributions in the latter years of his time at the Etihad Stadium but did not make 30 appearances in any of the last four campaigns. He played his final game at 33. De Bruyne should show greater longevity but his appearances will have to be rationed. All of which could create a problem, even in a squad as gifted as City’s. De Bruyne is a unique talent – “what a player he is,” gushed Kompany – and, as his total of 29 assists last season shows, reaches extraordinary levels of creativity. He is Erling Haaland’s supplier-in-chief and the shifting dynamics in the City squad has rendered his qualities perhaps still more significant. The departures of Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan have stripped them of two of the likeliest providers of goals and assists amid the band of attacking midfielders and wingers. Mateo Kovacic won’t deliver as many as the German; should Lucas Paqueta arrive, another able technician won’t replicate Mahrez’s contribution in the final third. De Bruyne is irreplaceable in various respects: no one is a like-for-like alternative and, as he ventures further into his thirties, City will have to ponder the question of who his long-term successor is. In the short term, they can console themselves with memories of Phil Foden’s impact when he came on for De Bruyne in the Champions League final and that, when he was sidelined for much of the 2018-19 campaign, they did a domestic treble. But now each injury comes with the sense that it will not be the last, but that De Bruyne is nearer the end. A man who has illuminated many a game may miss more and more. Read More Kevin De Bruyne faces ‘a few weeks out’ after suffering another hamstring injury Pep Guardiola reveals extent of Kevin De Bruyne’s hamstring injury Erling Haaland at the double as Manchester City kick off new campaign in style
2023-08-14 14:52
Henry Kissinger's Cambodia legacy of bombs and chaos
Henry Kissinger died aged 100 this week. His policies caused widespread destruction in Cambodia.
2023-12-03 09:00
Amazon to Spend Over $1 Billion on Microsoft 365 Licenses
An internal document has revealed Amazon is going to pay over $1 billion for Microsoft
2023-10-18 18:51
US Set to Escalate Claim Mexico Corn Policy Violates Trade Deal
The US is preparing to accelerate its complaint that Mexico’s ban on genetically modified corn violates the nations’
2023-08-17 13:19
Ump Show: Power tripping Ramon DeJesus hands out hat trick of ejections to Rangers
Umpire Ramon DeJesus was on a power trip during the Rangers game against the Angels, ejecting three different Rangers including Marcus Semien.Whether we're talking soccer or hockey, a hat trick is an achievement worth celebrating. When it comes to an MLB umpire with a hat trick of ejections...
2023-06-16 11:15
'Seeing is believing': Country Garden's Malaysia project in spotlight
By Xinghui Kok and A. Ananthalakshmi KUALA LUMPUR/ISKANDAR PUTERI, Malaysia As cash-strapped developer Country Garden battles to stave
2023-09-14 07:26
Former soldier who lost both legs in Afghanistan makes history on Everest
A former soldier who lost both his legs in an explosion in Afghanistan has made history by conquering Everest.
2023-05-22 23:17
Record-breaking Golden Knights take dominant lead in Stanley Cup
The Vegas Golden Knights scored early and often in a dominant offensive display in Game 2, defeating the Florida Panthers 7-2 to take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup on Monday at T-Mobile Arena.
2023-06-06 18:16
Josh Lowe's 4 RBIs lead Blue Jays over Rays 7-6 as 20-year Junior Caminero makes debut
Josh Lowe hit a three-run homer and a walk-off single that capped a two-run ninth inning, lifting Tampa Bay over the Toronto Blue Jays 7-6 after the Rays wasted a five-run lead
2023-09-24 08:48
Did Pokimane make budding Twitch streamer cry? Shocked Yeetitsnikki screams 'you're lying', Internet calls it 'insane'
The sheer shock and genuine joy on Yeetitsnikk’s face was palpable, as she struggled to believe what was happening
2023-07-07 21:59
'The Voice' Season 24 coach Niall Horan trolled after Gwen Stefani steals singer Tanner Massey
After Tanner Massey lost the battle, both Gwen Stefani and John Legend pressed their buzzers to steal him from Team Niall Horan
2023-10-18 11:26
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