Bayer Leverkusen will be without their Finnish forward Joel Pohjanpalo for a lengthy period after he broke his foot in training.

The 22-year-old, who struck a hat-trick on only his second Bundesliga appearance and netted four goals in his first half an hour on the field for the Werkself, picked up the injury while training the day after his side’s 1-1 draw in Monaco.

He has been ruled out “provisionally until into December” by the Bundesliga club, who say he must spend the “next six weeks” with a cast on his foot.

Vardy routine

Jamie Vardy has revealed a bizarre pre-match routine which helped him fire Leicester to their unlikely Premier League title success last season.

That feat was achieved on the back of an unconventional high-caffeine diet in the 24 hours before a match that Vardy says helped him to “run around like a nutjob”.

In addition to drinking port on the night before a match, Vardy would also drink three cans of Red Bull and a double espresso before a match, with his only meal a cheese and ham omelette.

“I can’t say why it started, because I genuinely don’t know, but I decided to drink a glass of port on the eve of every game in the 2015-16 season,” Vardy wrote in his autobiography.

Pizarro gets first Argentina call

Mexico-based midfielder Guido Pizarro was called up for the first time by Argentina yesterday for their 2018 World Cup qualifiers next month.

Pizarro, who plays for UANL Tigres, was one of four players coach Edgardo Bauza added to the squad he named last week for matches against Peru in Lima on October 6 and at home to Paraguay in Cordoba five days later.

The others are River Plate striker Lucas Alario, San Lorenzo left-back Emmanuel Mas and Estudiantes goalkeeper Mariano Andujar, who were all in the squad for the previous qualifiers early this month.

N. Ireland to face Croatia in friendly

Northern Ireland will face Croatia in Belfast in a November friendly which will be their final fixture of a historic calendar year.

Michael O’Neill’s side made the round-of-16 phase in their first ever Euro Championship finals this summer having arrived in France on the back of a record 12-match unbeaten sequence.

They face San Marino at a refurbished Windsor Park next week before travelling to Germany in their World Cup qualifier double header prior to Azerbaijan’s visit to Belfast.

And the Irish FA has confirmed a clash with the Croats on November 15 – four days after hosting Azerbaijan.

Wright sacked over bung allegations

English second tier club Barnsley have sacked assistant head coach Tommy Wright after allegations in the Daily Telegraph that he accepted a cash “bung” of £5,000.

The Telegraph said its secret filming showed Wright accepting the bung after agreeing to help a fake Far Eastern firm which wanted to profit from transfers.

Wright denied any wrongdoing.

Barnsley distanced itself from the allegations saying it was unaware of such matters or involved in any wrongdoing.

“The club will continue to fully investigate the issues at hand and will co-operate with the regulatory authorities as necessary,” it said in a statement.

Hampden trouble –all charges dropped

All disciplinary charges against Hibernian and Rangers over the Hampden crowd trouble have been dismissed.

The Scottish FA confirmed that a judicial panel had thrown out notices of complaint issued to both clubs in the wake of the on-field violence and damage following the Scottish Cup final.

Both clubs had been cited over damage to advertising equipment while Hibs also faced charges over the destruction of the goalposts after their late win sparked a pitch invasion.

The panel dismissed Hibernian’s case as “irrelevant”, meaning that charges against Rangers were also dropped.

Both clubs could still be given a bill for damage to the stadium.

Roma not in talks over stake sale

The majority shareholder in Roma denied yesterday that he was in talks with China’s second-largest property developer, China Evergrande Group, over the sale of a stake in the Italian Serie A club.

“I have never, ever, ever spoken with Evergrande or anyone else in China,” James Pallotta, a US investor and president of AS Roma since 2012, said.

“At AS Roma, we are not in talks with anyone.”

Earlier a source close to the matter, who declined to be identified, had said China Evergrande Group was negotiating to buy an initial stake of around 30 per cent in Roma, with an option to take a majority holding in the future.

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