France striker Hugo Ekitike will miss the World Cup after suffering a rupture of the Achilles tendon during Liverpool‘s Champions League defeat by Paris St-Germain on Tuesday.
Ekitike left the pitch at Anfield on a stretcher after slipping in the first half and Liverpool fear a long absence for the 23-year-old, which could also rule him out of the start of next season.
He went for scans on Wednesday, which confirmed the extent of the damage.
In a statement on Thursday, Liverpool did not give a timeline for the recovery.
“Scans on the issue have subsequently confirmed a rupture of the Achilles tendon,” the club said.
“Ekitike will therefore be sidelined for the remaining weeks of the club season and unable to participate at this summer’s World Cup with France.
“Further updates will be provided at the appropriate time.”
On Wednesday night, France manager Didier Deschamps said in a statement published by the French Football Federation that Ekitike was out of this summer’s tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada.
He said: “Hugo is one of the dozen young players who have made their debuts with the national team in recent months. He had perfectly integrated into the group, both on the pitch and off it. This injury is a huge blow for him, of course, but also for the France team.
“His disappointment is immense. Hugo will regain his top form, I’m convinced of it. But I wanted to express all my support to him, as well as that of the entire staff. We know he’ll be fully behind the France team, and we’re all thinking of him very strongly.”
Away form has held Swansea back this season, but in downing ailing Leicester they showed once again some great promise under Vitor Matos – a head coach who will demand more next season.
The goal that settled the contest at the King Power Stadium owed so much to a desperately misguided free-kick from Leicester’s Divine Mukasa and the home side’s inability to defend the resulting burst upfield, but my goodness Swansea stole the eye with their skill and composure in the build up.
Led by Jisung Eom, who was in sole charge of that burst, sprinting from box to box, maintained balance and presence of mind to set up Zan Vipotnik.
The Slovenian striker – the Championship’s leading scorer with 21 goals now – hit his shot with such brute force it underlined how confident he is in front of goal.
And he’s not a bad defender either – as a superb goal-line block to deny Oliver Skipp suggested at a crucial moment just before half-time.
Swansea need to hold on to these protagonists. Eom and Melker Widell both tormented Leicester from midfield and Vipotnik almost lurks in the background – but to great effect. He can finish with razor-sharp accuracy.
The Welsh side look to be on the right path after a solid win in the East Midlands. There’s no doubt they have a basis of talented players to build around this summer if they can.
England might not play again until the summer but Thursday night would have brought a smile to Thomas Tuchel’s face.
The England manager watched his side labour for goals without captain and record goalscorer Harry Kane during last month’s friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
It once again underlined Tuchel’s limited options when it comes to an alternative for 32-year-old Kane, with the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico a little more than two months away.
So he would have been very happy to find out Ollie Watkins had come up with two more goals for Aston Villa in their 3-1 win against Bologna in the Europa League quarter-final first leg in Italy.
The Villa forward was left out of the expanded 35-man England squad by Tuchel in March, having scored just one goal in his previous nine Premier League matches.
“Watkins is not with us but this is more down to the fact that I know what he can bring to the group – I know him very well,” Tuchel said during the squad announcement.
Despite the comments, the striker’s hopes of making it to the World Cup were left in doubt.
Watkins’ response to the setback has been nothing short of emphatic, with the 30-year-old adding to the goal he scored against West Ham in the Premier League just before the international break.
“It’s the back end of the season and I’m raring to go,” Watkins told TNT Sports after Villa moved one step closer to a place in a European semi-final.
“I could play another 90 minutes. I’m excited for the next few games. I’m hungry.”
After Ezri Konsa’s opener against the run of play in Bologna, Watkins eased Villa’s nerves with a second early in the second half as he pounced on a mistake from Torbjorn Heggem and finished through the legs of goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia.
After the Serie A side then scored a late goal through Jonathan Rowe in the 90th minute, Watkins restored Villa’s two-goal advantage in the 94th minute from a corner, before the return leg at Villa Park next Thursday (20:00 BST).
Two future high major-league draft picks, Anthony Murphy of Corona and Striker Pence of Corona Santiago, showed off their talents Tuesday. Corona rallied for a 9-7 victory.
Pence, who touched 99 mph, struck out Murphy for one of his six strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. He left the game with a 3-2 lead. Then Murphy hit a home run off Pence’s replacement, Thomas Padilla, to tie the score. Murphy was on the mound in the seventh to strike out Pence and get the save. Pence finished with two RBI singles.
“Those are two amazing baseball players and what a treat for them to get after it,” Corona coach Andy Wise said.
Striker Pence of Corona Santiago gets excited against Corona.
(Craig Weston)
The two went to middle school together. Murphy, a senior center fielder, is shaping up as a potential first-round pick. Pence, a sophomore, might reclassify to be eligible for the 2027 draft.
Errors played a big part in the game. Corona committed three errors, making it 20 errors in its last three games. An error by Santiago opened the door for a six-run sixth by the Panthers. Danny De La Torre had the big hit, a two-run double.
Corona’s defense is expected to get a lot better come Friday when infielders Joseph Flores and Kobee Finnikin become eligible after the sit-out transfer period ends.
Southern California teams got their first chance to show how good Southern California baseball is during Wednesday’s opening games of the National High School Invitational in Cary, N.C. Three came away with dominant wins.
Orange Lutheran received 16 strikeouts from Gary Morse, tying a tournament record, in a 3-0 win over Colorado Regis.
Unbeaten St. John Bosco (8-0) got two hits and two RBIs from Jack Champlin in a 14-1 win over Tennessee Nolensville.
Harvard-Westlake took care of North Carolina Wakefield 16-0 in five innings. Justin Kirchner struck out 10 and Ethan Price had three hits.
In the quarterfinals on Thursday, Harvard-Westlake will play Florida Venice, Orange Lutheran will face Florida Trinity Christian Academy and St. John Bosco will take on Arizona Casteel.
Servite 11, Santa Margarita 2: Eli Rubel had a triple, double and three RBIs for the Friars.
Tesoro 2, Aliso Niguel 1: Corwin Allard threw a complete game with six strikeouts and one walk for Tesoro.
Newport Harbor 8, Edison 2: Keaton Anderson struck out four in six innings. Grant Horsley had two hits.
Huntington Beach 8, Edison 4: Dane Cunningham, Ely Mason and Jaxon Greer hit home runs for Huntington Beach. Cunningham had three hits.
Villa Park 13, Foothill 0: Aiden Young went four for four with five RBIs and Logan Hoppie threw the shutout.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 11, Crespi 1: AJ LaSota struck out five, walked none and gave up two hits in five scoreless innings. Troy Trejo and Benett Pace each had two hits and two RBIs. Freshman Anthony Daniel had three hits.
Bishop Alemany 5, St. Francis 1: Matthew Serrano gave up two hits in six innings and Alex Noble contributed three hits for the Warriors.
Sierra Canyon 11, Chaminade 2: Brayden Goldstein went three for three with three RBIs.
Hart 3, Ventura 2: Jaiden Chan had the walk-off hit for Hart. Malachi Wobrock threw a complete game.
West Ranch 11, Canyon 1: Blake Johnson hit a three-run home run for West Ranch. Josh Price had two hits and four RBIs.
Saugus 11, Valencia 2: Joey Nuttall finished with three hits for Saugus. Logan Feldman added four RBIs.
Simi Valley 11, Camarillo 1: Ryan Whitson and Kai Stones each had three RBIs for Simi Valley.
Rancho Christian 3, Valley View 2: Jake Brande struck out 10 in a complete game.
Corinthians striker Memphis Depay has explained why he was using a mobile phone while on the substitutes’ bench during a Brazilian top-flight match.
The Netherlands forward was pictured by television cameras using a phone in the second half of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Flamengo.
Depay, 32, had been taken off in the 22nd minute of the game and has said he was providing the Dutch camp with an update on his fitness before the international break.
“Just to clarify my moment with the phone was pure to communicate with the medical staff in the Netherlands at that moment,” Depay wrote on X, external.
“I came outside to show support to my team while I could’ve stayed inside the dressing room with the injury.”
Depay added that he was “upset with the result of the game” and will “keep working for better days”.
The former Manchester United and Barcelona forward, who has been capped 108 times by the Netherlands and is their record goalscorer, joined Corinthians in September 2024.
Wrexham striker Kieffer Moore has been ruled out of Wales’ World Cup play-offs with a hamstring injury.
The 33-year-old had been a major doubt since sustaining a tendon split during the FA Cup defeat against Chelsea earlier this month.
Having missed subsequent Championship matches against Hull City and Swansea City, Moore is not expected to return to action until April.
That means he will be unavailable for Wales’ World Cup play-off semi-final against Bosnia-Herzegovina on 26 March and, if they win that game, their play-off final against Italy or Northern Ireland five days later.
“Kieffer’s not going to be right for the internationals, which is a blow for him and for Wales,” said Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson.
“He’s got this tendon injury which he feels OK with, but he’s shown up on the scan and it’s one of those injuries that, up to 80-85% you’re fine, but if you extend beyond that you make yourself susceptible to muscle injuries.”
