Liverpool goalkeeper Adam Bogdan’s loan spell at Wigan Athletic is expected to be cut short after he suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Bogdan, who joined the Latics in the summer, was carried off on a stretcher during the second half of the goalless draw at Barnsley on Saturday.
Scans have revealed the Hungary international suffered a tear to his anterior cruciate ligament, which usually means at least six months on the sidelines.
Bogdan was allowed to move to Wigan after Liverpool’s acquisition of Loris Karius, coupled with the rise of young keeper Danny Ward, left him surplus to requirements at Anfield.
Lloris puts talks on backburner
Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is willing to put his desire for a new contract on hold in order to concentrate on a vital run of fixtures.
Lloris is keen to remain at Spurs beyond the expiry of his current deal in 2019, but the club are unwilling to pay the reported £100,000 per week he wants.
“There are times during a season when as a player you have to think about yourself and there are times when you have to think about the team,” he said.
“I don’t think this is the right moment to talk about my contract, but I want to repeat my commitment is to the club.”
Ex-player reveals abuse by coach
Six people have come forward to police after a former footballer spoke of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his coach.
Former Sheffield United player Andy Woodward told how he was abused by coach Barry Bennell while at Crewe Alexandra between the ages of 11 and 15.
Bennell was jailed for nine years in 1998 after pleading guilty to sexual offences.
Cheshire Police said: “As of November 21 we have been made aware of six other people who have come forward wishing to speak to the police.”
‘Stupid foul’
Danny Rose has expressed regret over the “stupid” foul against West Ham United which earned the full-back a fifth booking of the season and ruled him out of Tottenham’s clash against Chelsea on Saturday.
Rose was booked for a challenge on Michail Antonio during Tottenham’s 3-2 win at White Hart Lane and incurs a one-game suspension, complicating matters for his team, who are also missing injured defenders Ben Davies and Toby Alderweireld.
“I’m kicking myself because it was so unnecessary and yeah that (the Chelsea game) was the first fixture I looked out for in the summer and I am gutted that I am going to miss it,” Rose said.
“I was aware I was on four bookings... it was a stupid foul.”
Swedish FA plans Ibrahimovic statue
A statue of Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be erected outside the Friends Arena in Stockholm, the Swedish FA (SvFF) announced this week as the giant striker won the Golden Ball award for the country’s best male player for the 10th year in a row.
The 36-year-old Manchester United forward, who retired from international football after Euro 2016, played 114 games and scored 62 goals for Sweden, including a spectacular four-goal salvo against England in the first game at the Arena in 2012.
Ibra has now won the Golden Ball a record 11 times – since its inception in 1946 no other player has won the award more than twice.
His contribution to the game will be honoured with a 2.7 metre statue outside the Friends Arena.
Referees banned, publicly criticised
Two referees and one linesman have been suspended for three months and publicly criticised by African soccer’s governing body while another has been warned, following their performances in recent World Cup qualifiers.
Ghanaian Joseph Lamptey was suspended after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said he wrongly awarded South Africa a penalty in their 2-1 win over Senegal on Nov. 12.
Kenya’s Davies Omweno was also barred for his performance in Tunisia’s 1-0 win over Libya and his assistant Berhe O’Michael, of Eritrea, was banned after CAF said he had denied Libya a valid goal by waving for offside.
CAF’s public shaming of the match officials is highly unusual in international soccer.
Neuer, Robben out of Rostov match
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and winger Arjen Robben were ruled out of Bayern Munich’s trip to face Russian side Rostov in the Champions League this evening.
The 30-year-old Neuer had a tight calf and would stay in Munich for treatment, with Sven Ulreich taking his place, CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said.
Robben has yet to recover from a muscle injury picked up while on international duty with the Netherlands last week.
Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti will also be without injured Javi Martinez, Arturo Vidal and Kingsley Coman for the Group D encounter.