surgery

Major League Baseball says it has no concerns about Dodgers and Rams head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache working with players.

ElAttrache was questioned by MLB on June 12 following a detailed report by the New York Times that the renowned surgeon and sports medicine expert supported the therapeutic use of performance-enhancing drugs by UFC star Conor McGregor.

“MLB took our responsibility to conduct due diligence in this matter seriously. We interviewed Dr. Neal ElAttrache last week, covering multiple topics, and he answered our questions thoroughly,” MLB said in a statement obtained by The Times Tuesday night.

“Based on our interview, the review of relevant records, Dr. ElAttrache’s long history of support for and cooperation with the Joint Drug Program and the fact that no Therapeutic Use Exemption requests of this nature have been submitted by Dr. ElAttrache or anyone else, we do not have any concerns regarding Dr. ElAttrache’s treatment of MLB players, or his adherence to the Joint Drug Programs and related rules.

“We consider this matter closed.”

ElAttrache performed surgery on McGregor in July 2021, inserting a rod, plates and screws into his left leg after the fighter broke his tibia and fibula during a mixed martial arts bout against Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas.

McGregor’s recovery was lengthy and arduous. ElAttrache told the New York Times that while he did not prescribe steroids for McGregor, he referred him to a specialist who did. Furthermore, ElAttrache wrote a letter supporting McGregor’s request for a therapeutic use exemption from UFC drug policies.

“I felt it would be appropriate to consult other physicians with expertise in bone healing/bone metabolism,” ElAttrache told the New York Times via text. “I recommended the consultations but not the course of treatment.”

ElAttrache said he told McGregor to check with UFC drug testers about prescriptions the consultant gave him. “I purposely wasn’t involved with his evaluation by the consultant nor with prescribing medication,” ElAttrache said.

The exemption request was denied by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the drug testing organization the UFC used at the time, triggering a split between the two organizations. McGregor withdrew from the UFC anti-doping program shortly thereafter and no longer was required to undergo testing for banned substances.

The report prompted MLB to talk with ElAttrache about his approach to treating players.

ElAttrache, operating primarily out of the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, has performed elbow or shoulder surgeries on prominent Dodgers past and present, including Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin and Walker Buehler as well as former Rams stars Cooper Kupp and Cam Akers.

Among the hundreds of surgeries performed over three decades by ElAttrache, his patients include the four 2024 MLB most valuable player and Cy Young Award winners — Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal. ElAttrache’s patients include 18 of 29 players who won the MVP or Cy Young awards over the past 10 years.

“I have spoken with MLB and I am very comfortable with the process that the league and I will complete to assure the public that I have followed every rule and regulation in my medical treatment of athletes without exception,” ElAttrache said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times earlier this month. “My record is completely clean, including in this case.”

Times staff writers Steve Henson, Bill Shaikin, Sam Farmer and Gary Klein contributed to this report.

MAFS Australia stars Bec Zacharia and Awhina Rutene have revealed they’re going under the knife to have their ribs “recontoured” in a procedure that’s illegal in Australia.

Bec, who became one of the most controversial stars of the latest series, said she had been flooded with hate by nasty trolls commenting on her appearance.

The reality star, who tied the knot with Danny Hewitt on the show, has previously been open about her drastic weight loss, losing over 4st.

In a new video with influencer Joshua Fox, Bec admitted she still had a lot of loose skin that she was desperate to get rid of as she flew to Bali for the procedure.

Speaking to the influencer, she said: “I’ve got a lot of loose skin, this is the most vulnerable I’m ever going to be because there are parts of me that I can’t stand looking in the mirror.

“Your body, your choice, what you feel confident with and what you feel comfortable, f***ing do it.

“So why are all these Karen’s coming at me. Let me get my ribs done.”

The TV star said: “No one wants to look like me, see this sloth over here.

“Get your teeth done, get your jaw done, get your skin done, get your nose done, trust me if I could I would.”

Joshua shared his fears, saying: “It’s not available in Australia yet because it take a long time for things to be approved there.

“I just worry it sets this new standard.”

Meanwhile, second bride Awhina, who starred on the show in 2025, said she was also planning to undergo the same procedure to achieve a more “hourglass” figure.

She said: “There was no way I was going to be removing ribs from my body where it’s protecting vital organs, I was really worried about all of that.

“But I looked into it, it’s rib contouring, where they are going to angle my rib inwards to give me that natural hourglass silhouette.

“I’m not worried that I’m a blue print for anyone else.”

Joshua captioned the post: “In a matter of hours, Bec, Awhina and the other influencers on this trip will all undergo the ‘rib recontouring’ procedure here in Bali. But why are they doing this? And do they think they’re setting a dangerous example?

“Ep 2 of the investigative pod series out now. Follow here for part 3 and our journey in the hospital.”

In May, Bec returned to social media after her ‘ban’ over a dress scandal as she’s mocked by her show rival.

The TV star endured an explosive time during her Married At First Sight stint with groom Danny amid clashes with bride Gia Fleur.

Just weeks after Bec was dumped at Final Vows her actions caused her Instagram account to be deleted from the platform entirely.

Bec claimed that her main profile was removed after she was reported by other users because she was involved in drama with an Australian designer bridal rental company reports Heart.

Now, Bec is back on Instagram and captioned a series of images: “Sticks and stones may break our bones, but names will NEVER hurt us.”

The images included a smiling Bec posing alongside MAFS bride Alissa Fay who was also blindsided at the end of the series.

Brides Gia and Bec clashed several times throughout the season after failing to hit it off just minutes into meeting during the hen party.

And after the dress scandal, Gia took to social media and mocked Bec saying: “In the light of what’s going on just now with some people losing their Instagrams and people acting at fashion week above people.

“Let’s be humble.”

Gia then modelled a $12 dollar outfit and explained that nobody knew them before the show as she appeared to then impersonate Bec.

Gia’s followers flocked to comment and one said: “Still attacking Bec.”

Another said: “Let’s be humble. Then goes on to talk about someone else… that’s also not being humble.”

A third added: “The impression at the end was funny.”

Awhina and show husband Adrian had a highly turbulent relationship.

They chose to stay together at final vows, but split just a few days later.

Kone is expected to make full recovery after breaking his left leg, with multiple fractures, in the match against Qatar.

Canada midfielder Ismael Kone underwent surgery to repair severe fractures in his lower left leg that occurred in Thursday’s match against Qatar.

“Last night, Ismael Kone underwent successful surgery to repair a lower limb fracture,” Canada Soccer said in a statement on Friday. “He is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of FIFA World Cup 2026.”

Kone underwent surgery to repair the tibia and fibula bones in Vancouver, the site of Canada’s 6-0 victory.

Kone was injured in the 51st minute of the Group B match. Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo attempted a tackle, but his right foot brought Kone to the ground. Trainers were immediately called onto the pitch as Kone was in visible discomfort before being stretchered off moments later.

Sitting up on the stretcher, Kone gave a thumbs-up sign to the fans while taking oxygen.

After the match, Canada coach Jesse Marsch said he “could hear the bone snap.”

On Friday, Marsch described the scene at the hospital.

“By the time we got to him, he’d already had some drugs to help sedate him a little bit,” Marsch said at a news conference. “He was being prepared to go into the operating room. But he was in really good spirits and he was adamant that he’s going to be fine.

“[The surgery] took about an hour and a half and they had three surgeons. I think what happened is the surgeons watched it on TV and they saw what happened and they knew right away. And so they brought their top three surgeons to the hospital immediately to take care of him.

“So by the time he got there, the surgeons were there and they were ready. And then we just had to communicate with our medical team and make sure that the surgery was the best option that we thought. But I could see by meeting them and hearing what they had to say about the situation that they he was in really good hands. So the surgery they said went really well.”

A video review of the play resulted in Madibo being shown a red card, Qatar’s second of the game, leaving the team with nine players to finish the match. Madibo later apologised to Kone.

Canada meet Switzerland in Vancouver on Wednesday, with both teams having four points apiece after their first two fixtures. Their third match will determine the winner of Group B.

Nathan Saliba, who replaced the injured Kone and scored Canada’s fourth goal, celebrated by racing to the sideline to hold up a replica of the stricken Kone’s Canadian shirt and pointing to his shirt number, eight.

MUSIC icon Jon Bon Jovi has revealed that he’s “fully recovered” four years after having vocal surgery to fix a damaged cord.

The Livin’ on a Prayer hitmaker, 64, previously said he would quit music if his singing continued to struggle after a vocal injury.

But now the singer has shared that after four years of vocal coaching and exercising his voice, he has “fully recovered”.

Bon Jovi said: “It was longer than I’d ever expected, but it had to be right. We never lost faith.”

He told People: “I’d often joked and said the only thing that’s ever been up my nose was my finger. I never did anything to hurt the cords; I didn’t have any excesses. I’m a trained vocalist. I’ve practiced the craft.

“So when a doctor had to explain to me that one of the cords was literally atrophying, it was confusing.”

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He praised keyboardist David Bryan, percussionist Everett Bradley, bassist Hugh McDonald, guitarist John Shanks, drummer Tico Torres and guitarist Phil X for standing by his side during his recovery.

“They never doubted [me] and never looked for work or decided to retire,” Bon Jovi said.

“The sacrifices that each one of them have made to be there for me is on a whole another level.”

The musician previously said that he would retire from music if his voice never recovered.

In 2024, he shared: “If the singing is not great, if I can’t be the guy I was, I’m done.

“And I’m good with that.”

Bon Jovi added: “There is a big difference between being in a studio and going out on the road.

“We have just recorded a new album. I sing in vocal therapy every day.

“But I want to perform for 2½ hours a night, four nights a week — and put it this way, I don’t ever need to be the fat Elvis.”

Dodgers and Rams head team physician Neal ElAttrache was questioned by Major League Baseball investigators Friday following a detailed report by the New York Times that the renowned surgeon and sports medicine expert supported the therapeutic use of performance-enhancing drugs by UFC star Conor McGregor.

MLB spoke with ElAttrache, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to comment publicly. The league considered the interview informational, not an investigation. The NFL, Rams and Dodgers declined comment.

“I have spoken with MLB and I am very comfortable with the process that the league and I will complete to assure the public that I have followed every rule and regulation in my medical treatment of athletes without exception,” ElAttrache said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “My record is completely clean, including in this case. I will leave it to MLB officials to provide any further comment as they see fit.“

ElAttrache performed surgery on McGregor in July 2021, inserting a rod, plates and screws into his left leg after the fighter broke his tibia and fibula during a bout against Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas.

McGregor’s recovery was lengthy and arduous. ElAttrache told the New York Times that while he did not prescribe steroids for McGregor, he referred him to a specialist who did. Furthermore, ElAttrache wrote a letter supporting McGregor’s request for a therapeutic use exemption from UFC drug policies.

“I felt it would be appropriate to consult other physicians with expertise in bone healing/bone metabolism,” ElAttrache told the paper via text. “I recommended the consultations but not the course of treatment.”

ElAttrache said he told McGregor to check with UFC drug testers about prescriptions the consultant gave him. “I purposely wasn’t involved with his evaluation by the consultant nor with prescribing medication,” ElAttrache said.

The exemption request was denied by USADA (the drug testing organization the UFC used then), triggering a split between the two organizations. McGregor withdrew from the UFC anti-doping program shortly thereafter and was no longer required to undergo testing for banned substances.

ElAttrache, operating primarily out of the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, has performed elbow or shoulder surgeries on prominent current and former Dodgers including Shohei Ohtani, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin and Walker Buehler as well as former Rams stars Cooper Kupp and Cam Akers.

Among the hundreds of surgeries performed over three decades by ElAttrache, his patients included the four 2024 MLB Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winners — Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Chris Sale and Tarik Skubal. ElAttrache’s patients include 18 of 29 players who won the MVP or Cy Young awards over the last 10 years.

Other prominent athletes who became his patients include former Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and star NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Joe Burrow.

ElAttrache was a boxer long before he became a renowned surgeon and team physician. He attended Notre Dame, where organized boxing was first introduced by Knute Rockne as a conditioning program in the 1930s. An intramural tournament known as the Bengal Bouts was formed and decades later ElAttrache became a champion, winning the 185-pound division in 1978.

Before world lightweight boxing champion Vasiliy Lomachenko returned from shoulder surgery to defend his title in 2019, ElAttrache counseled him against using his left hook because he wasn’t mentally ready to do so.

“When that arm goes into that position, the brain remembers that was the position where that dislocation occurred,” ElAttrache told the Los Angeles Times at the time. “It takes time to overcome that apprehension.”

It has taken McGregor five years since his injury to return to the octagon. He is scheduled to do so July 11 in a welterweight bout against Max Holloway at UFC 329 in Las Vegas as the main event of International Fight Week.

His recovery and startling physical transformation hardly a year after his injury became a frequent topic on social media. Fellow UFC fighter Anthony Smith said on Michael Bisping’s “Believe You Me” podcast in November 2022 that the reason McGregor pulled out of the UFC drug testing pool was obvious.

“There’s only one reason you would do that,” Smith said. “He’s looking jacked as s—. You keep seeing videos of him flexing in front of mirrors and screaming and he’s huge. He healed really fast. Like, really fast.”

On his show in December 2022, podcast host Joe Rogan noted McGregor’s impressive physique and the USADA testing loophole.

ElAttrache told the New York Times that he stopped treating McGregor after steering the fighter to someone who could obtain banned substances.

“I purposely wasn’t involved with his evaluation by the consultant nor with prescribing medication,” ElAttrache told the Times. He said “expert opinions” could help McGregor and “optimize his chance of solid union and healing of his fractures.”

Seeking the exemption, however, was viewed by USADA and some UFC officials as McGregor trying to find a way to use banned drugs. McGregor re-entered the drug-testing pool on Oct. 8, 2023, the same day UFC notified USADA that it would end the partnership.

Because McGregor had long been suspected of taking banned substances to revive his career, the mixed martial arts community reacted to the New York Times investigation with a measure of closure.

“OK, it’s confirmed now,” co-host Conner Burks on the popular MMA podcast “The Boys in the Back” said. “None of this came as a massive shock to me.”

“It seemed like the worst kept secret in combat sports,” co-host Eric Jackman said.

In a written response to a question posed by the New York Times, McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, did not say whether McGregor had used banned substances. He said that “even with surgery there was a real risk Conor might not walk again, a high likelihood he would face numerous lifelong side effects that would limit his mobility and serious doubts he would ever return to the octagon.”

Attar said McGregor withdrew from the UFC drug-testing pool “to focus fully on his recovery” under the care of “his team of world-renowned physicians.”

“They oversaw a combination of a gruesome surgery, intense physical therapy and appropriately prescribed medicines,” Attar said. “It is an unfathomable breach of health and privacy protections that my client’s purported personal medical records would be disclosed.”

McGregor attempted to return to fighting in June 2024, but a scheduled bout against Michael Chandler was canceled because McGregor broke a toe during training.

Combat Sports Anti-Doping officials were unable to locate McGregor for testing on the day the fight was canceled, and he missed tests on two subsequent occasions. Under the UFC Whereabouts Policy, the three failures constituted an anti-doping violation equivalent to a failed drug test.

The UFC suspended McGregor in October 2025 for 18 months because of testing violations. The suspension expired in June, clearing him to compete.

Times staff writers Bill Shaikin, Sam Farmer and Gary Klein contributed to this report.

PALM SPRINGS — Barry Manilow steers a golf cart to the end of a long driveway, pulls to a stop and flings a plush toy goose across a manicured lawn to the delight of his two Labrador retrievers.

“OK, where we doing this?” the 82-year-old singer asks about our interview. Dressed in a khaki shirt and slim-fitting rust-colored trousers, he’s got the look of a man prepared to undertake some très chic brush clearance; in reality, he’s motored down here merely to answer questions about his fabulous life and career.

Manilow and his husband and longtime manager, Garry Kief, moved to this sprawling desert estate from Los Angeles in the late 1990s. “We kept coming out, and it’s so beautiful that eventually we said, ‘Screw it — let’s just stay,’” he says. By then, Manilow had long since established himself as one of music’s premier showmen, with a Grammy Award, 11 Top 10 hits and a storied 15-night run at L.A.’s Greek Theatre under his belt.

So you might’ve taken Palm Springs as a sign that he was ready to slow down. Instead, he launched a residency at the Las Vegas Hilton in 2005 that eventually surpassed the length of Elvis Presley’s show there; in 2006, he released “The Greatest Songs of the Fifties,” which went platinum and spawned a series of successful follow-up albums.

Last month, Sabrina Carpenter interpolated a bit of Manilow’s iconic “Copacabana (At the Copa)” into her headlining set at Coachella just days before he was honored by the American Advertising Federation for his work writing commercial jingles. The range of those achievements said something about his blend of music-nerd craft and pop-star razzle-dazzle.

“Barry loves music as much as anyone I’ve ever known,” says Bette Midler, who hired Manilow as her pianist for the name-making gig she played at New York’s Continental Baths in the early 1970s. Performing, Midler adds, “isn’t a job with him — it’s a vocation, a calling.”

Yet now that calling faces a threat. In December, Manilow announced that he’d been diagnosed with lung cancer and that surgery would require him to postpone a number of concert dates; five months later, he has yet to return to the stage — the longest break, COVID-19 aside, he can remember taking in decades.

Fortunately for Manilow, he has a new album, “What a Time,” with which to occupy himself. Due June 5, it consists mostly of original material — his first such LP in nearly 15 years — though it opens with a sumptuous rendition of Peter Allen and Dean Pitchford’s “Once Before I Go.” Manilow notes proudly that the song, which was produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, recently made Billboard’s adult contemporary chart, extending his run on that tally beyond the half-century mark.

Barry Manilow performs in Beverly Hills in 2025.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Still, performing is clearly on his mind as he leads me into a tile-roofed gym equipped with weights, a treadmill and a massage table. Manilow has been working out here every morning, he says, to regain the strength needed for his show; he’s got Vegas dates on the books for July but admits he’s unsure whether they’ll happen or not. We settle into two leather club chairs, his dogs Jake and Abby at his feet.

“Please be brilliant,” he tells me. “Don’t be boring.”

What are you doing on a day you’re not working?
Working.

I see.
Since the surgery, I can’t go on the road. Ninety minutes of screaming in tune, which is what I do for a living — I’m not up for that yet. I will be, but it’s taking a long time to get my voice back. They warned me that I’d have to learn to breathe again. So these days, I get up, I go to my piano and I try to be creative. Before I know it, the afternoon’s over.

Was the diagnosis a shock?
Imagine your doctor saying, “You’ve got lung cancer.”

Fair enough.
I’ll tell you the story. I have terrible hips — bursitis and everything — and they hurt so bad that I thought maybe I broke a bone or something. So I asked my wonderful family doctor, I said, “Can you just do one of those MRIs and see?” Now, before that, I’d had two bad bouts of bronchitis, one after the next. Have you ever had bronchitis?

I have.
It stinks. So I asked him if he could check my hip, and he told the guys that were doing it, “Why don’t you check his lungs?” And I think he might have saved my life because they found a big black thing in my chest. One doctor said it was probably remnants of the bronchitis, the other doctor said it could be cancer. I voted for the bronchitis. But they went back in to see and it was a cancerous tumor.

How’d you react?
When they told me, I was on the road, and I just went back to sound check. What else could I do? I never thought cancer would get me — it wasn’t in the cards. They wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible, so we made a deal: I’d finish the couple of weeks of shows that I had, then I’d go to the hospital and they’d remove it. It was supposed to be a no-brainer — it hadn’t spread yet, thank goodness. But then my AFib kicked in and acid reflux kicked in and pneumonia kicked in. They rushed me to the ICU for seven days.

Barry Manilow with Dionne Warwick in Los Angeles in 1985.

(Paul Harris / Getty Images)

Sorry to be morbid, but were you close to death?
They said at one point — I didn’t hear them say this but I heard that they did say it — “We don’t want to lose him.” It’s all a total blur now. When they finally brought me back to my lovely room at the Eisenhower [medical center], I weighed 128 pounds.

How long you figure it had been since you weighed 128 pounds?
I don’t remember ever being 128.

You said you never thought cancer would get you. Why?
I’m too busy. Pretty stupid. What I realized is that I’ve always been the leader — leader of the band, leader of an audience — but I wasn’t the leader of this one. That was a big lesson for me. I had to rely on everybody else. Nurses, doctors, friends — you should see some of the notes people have sent.

What’s it been like to be offstage for so long?
Agony. Make an album, go on the road, come back, make an album, go on the road — that’s what my life’s been for years. And I like it. Now I just have to get better and do what the doctors are telling me. It’s the only way out.

Well, there’s one other way.
I’m not ready to croak. But I wasn’t ready to stop performing either, and it just went like that [snaps fingers]. The day before surgery, people are screaming, standing ovation, band sounds great. Next day I’m packing to go to the hospital.

Are you working with a vocal coach?
Yep. But I get winded just walking down the hallway. I turn on my old records and sing along, and three songs in I’m like [pants].

Could you do a show where you skip the uptempos? No “It’s a Miracle” or “Copacabana”?
I’m trying ballads too — my ballads end big.

Are you allowed to smoke or drink?
I stopped smoking many, many years ago. I vape but hardly — I just like holding it. I was a great smoker. Brooklyn in the ’50s? Please. I started smoking when I was 9. I got up to three packs of Pall Mall non-filters a day, and it never bothered me — never had any problem breathing. I was just a skinny piano player who smoked. That’s who I am. That’s who I was.

Before he was a skinny piano player, he was a skinny accordion player.

Manilow grew up poor in Brooklyn, the only son of a Jewish mother and an Irish father who split up right after he was born. As a kid he entertained his mom and his maternal grandparents by squeezing out the Jewish folk song “Hava Nagila”; later, his stepfather brought home records by Gerry Mulligan and Judy Garland that opened his mind to jazz and pop.

He says today that he never saw himself as a performer — he wanted to write, arrange, produce. His first success came with jingles for brands like State Farm — “Like a Good Neighbor” is his handiwork — and Band-Aid.

“My ideas were good for pop music because of the commercials,” he says. “The rules are pretty much the same — you need to grab the listener as soon as possible. For a commercial, you’ve got about five seconds. For a pop song, you’ve got 10.”

In 1971, Manilow got the job with Midler and ended up working on her million-selling debut, “The Divine Miss M,” which led to a deal of Manilow’s own with Clive Davis’ Arista Records. Despite Manilow’s insistence that he was a behind-the-scenes guy, he scored a No. 1 hit out of the box with the plaintive “Mandy,” then quickly followed that with another chart-topper, “I Write the Songs” — a pop-philosophical epic, as nobody’s tired of pointing out ever since, that Manilow didn’t actually write.

Barry Manilow at home in Palm Springs.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Bruce Johnston, who wrote “I Write the Songs” — and won a Grammy for song of the year thanks to Manilow’s recording — says the key to Manilow’s performance is that “he’s never too cool for school.” A Beach Boy for six decades until he retired from the band this year, Johnston adds that Manilow’s rendition of the song, which was also cut by Captain & Tennille and David Cassidy, “is the only one I care about, honestly. He really grabbed it — he’s just as real as he could be.”

After several more Manilow hits — “Tryin’ to Get the Feeling Again,” “Weekend in New England,” “Looks Like We Made It” — Davis asked the singer to produce a would-be comeback album by his latest Arista signing, Dionne Warwick. Warwick’s initial reaction to that idea: “Really?” she says with a laugh. “Did Barry Manilow really know anything about Dionne Warwick? As it turned out, he knew quite a bit,” adds Warwick, who recalls turning up for their first session to discover that Manilow had laid every one of her albums on his piano. “He was letting me know: I know you,” she says.

“Dionne,” the album they made together, went on to win a pair of Grammys and spun off silky hit singles including “Deja Vu” and “I’ll Never Love This Way Again” that reinvigorated Warwick’s career and helped solidify Manilow’s standing as a kind of soft-rock auteur.

Which isn’t to say that rock’s intelligentsia ever viewed him kindly. Though his best music finds an emotional truth in over-the-top theatrics, critics routinely dismissed Manilow as a lightweight or a schlockmeister; even now, he seems an unlikely candidate for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where he’s been eligible for induction for decades.

Manilow, who entered the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002, insists the slights don’t bother him. “I’ve never been one of the guys,” he says. We’ve been talking for a while, and because of the bursitis, perhaps, he’s hoisted one of his legs over the arm of his chair. “I don’t think about awards and parties and stuff like that. I’m very lucky — I live in the most gorgeous place I’ve ever seen and I have the most wonderful partner that you can imagine. I’m grateful he’s chosen to share his life with me. We’ve been together for over 46 years, and we still laugh and we still love each other. That’s the greatest award I’ll ever get.”

Manilow and Kief married in 2014; the singer came out as gay three years later. (Manilow was briefly married to his high school girlfriend, Susan Deixler, in the mid-1960s.) Has he found that the world looks at him differently since he came out?

“It was a non-event. Nobody gave a s—,” he says. “They all knew. I never really hid it, but in the ’70s and ’80s, that would have killed the career, and I didn’t want to do that. So I just never talked about it.” He smiles.

“Garry and I are just two guys that live in a house on a hill with two dogs that we love.”

Like many of Manilow’s hits, “Once Before I Go” was Davis’ idea.

Allen, the late Australian entertainer portrayed by Hugh Jackman in Broadway’s Tony-winning “The Boy From Oz,” had played the tune for Manilow in the early ’80s. “And I loved it,” Manilow says now. “But I was too young to sing a song like that — that song needs age to be able to pull it off honestly.”

Davis first suggested that Manilow perform it in his set at the post-pandemic We Love NYC concert that Davis put on in Central Park in 2021. After the show, which was called off due to weather as Manilow sang “Can’t Smile Without You,” Davis repeatedly advised the singer to record it.

Clive Davis, left, with Barry Manilow at an Arista Records party in Los Angeles in 1989.

(Lester Cohen / Getty Images)

“I don’t know, he had a bug up his ass,” Manilow says. “He loved it, and he loved it for me. And I’m not even on his record label anymore — he’s just a friend at this point. But he was right once again.”

Given the cancer diagnosis, did Manilow worry that fans might interpret the song — a teary goodbye from a well-wishing lover — as a more permanent farewell?

“Not one time has anybody said, ‘Is he talking about dying?’”

You wouldn’t necessarily call “What a Time” a concept album, though many of the songs ponder the ways memory and history can shape a romance. Manilow knows he’s regarded as a singles act but says that putting together LPs is what he’s always enjoyed best. His favorite is 1984’s jazzy “2:00 AM Paradise Cafe,” on which he collaborated with Mulligan, Sarah Vaughan and Mel Tormé.

“That was one where the critics who’d been killing me, they didn’t know I was capable of doing something like that,” he says. “But frankly, I’d been surprised that I was capable of doing the pop stuff.”

You made records of hits from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. Why’d you stop before “The Greatest Songs of the Nineties”?
Were there songs in the ’90s?

Barry.
Didn’t it start to go downhill?

I can think of a handful of classics by Whitney Houston alone.
You can’t touch those. I’m a good arranger, but you can’t top those records. Maybe four of those albums was enough. I was ready to go back to writing.

You’ve said the problem with modern pop is that there’s no melody anymore.
That’s what I miss. Clive’s been pushing me to do “The Great New American Songbook.”

Like he did with Johnny Mathis a few years ago.
So I’ve been studying the Top 20. The one I like is Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.

“Die With a Smile.”
Love that. But the way they’re writing songs these days is not the way I know how to write songs. They don’t do a verse, a chorus, a bridge, a chorus, a big ending. To me, when I listen, the songs feel like run-on sentences.

Barry Manilow with his dog Abby.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

I was trying to think of artists older than you who are still performing.
Name me one.

Willie Nelson.
Oh, yeah.

Johnny Mathis.
Mm-hmm.

Frankie Valli.
[Rolls eyes].

You’re invoking the widely held assumption that he lip syncs.
I loved Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Who didn’t?

Would you ever lip sync?
I’m terrible at it. I try now and again.

Do you find it morally objectionable?
Depends on the artist. I like being in the moment, not knowing what’s gonna happen in the next bar or at the ending. It’s exciting to me to see if I can make those high notes.

Would not being able to make them mean it’s time to hang it up?
Well, what’s happening right now, I’m on the verge. But I’m getting stronger, so maybe I don’t have to hang it up yet. I look fantastic, but I’m a hundred years old, right? I don’t know how that happened, by the way — I don’t get Botox or anything.

You’ve had no work done?
No! I must say: There was one time when we lived in L.A. that I did do a facelift. But after that it’s just been a little here, a little there.

Wait, I asked you —
“Work” is like a facelift, and I only had one of those. The rest of it — I see something falling down, sure, I’ll do that. I’m as vain as anybody else. One of my old friends, his mother said, “I always knew he was talented, but when did he get so handsome?”

Anaheim Ducks forward Troy Terry needs hip surgery that could endanger his availability at the start of next season.

Terry has a chronic hip impingement, the Ducks revealed Thursday in their postseason injury report. Anaheim’s first postseason since 2018 ended last week in the second round with a six-game loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Ducks haven’t finalized a date for Terry’s hip surgery or a definite time frame for his recovery.

Terry has been Anaheim’s most consistent offensive player for the past half-decade, scoring at least 19 goals and 50 points each year. He scored 57 points last season before adding three goals and eight assists in 12 playoff games — the first postseason contests of his career.

The team also confirmed that goal-scoring forward Cutter Gauthier played with two fractured vertebrae in his back during the postseason. Gauthier was hurt in late March, but only missed five games before returning and eventually scoring 12 points in the postseason.

Captain Radko Gudas sprained his ankle in the Ducks’ playoff opener and didn’t return to the lineup, but he would have been available if Anaheim had advanced to another round. So would forward Ryan Poehling, who has been cleared after incurring a concussion from an illegal hit by Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb, who was suspended for a game.

Defenseman Pavel Mintyukov sprained a ligament in his knee, but he will be ready for training camp.

Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice was taken into custody Tuesday and ordered to serve 30 days in jail after violating the terms of his probation stemming from a 2024 vehicle crash that left multiple people injured.

A spokesperson for the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office said in an email to The Times that Rice had tested positive for THC, the primary psychoactive chemical in marijuana. The fourth-year player out of Southern Methodist will remain in the Dallas County jail until June 16.

Based on that timeline, Rice will miss the Chiefs’ voluntary team workouts May 26-28 and June 1-3 and mandatory minicamp June 9-11.

“We are aware of the reports and have been in touch with the league office,” a Chiefs spokesman told the Associated Press, declining further comment. An NFL spokesperson told The Times that the league is “aware of the report” and also declined further comment.

Also on Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Rice underwent surgery on his right knee last week to remove loose debris that was causing inflammation. Rice is expected to be ready for training camp this summer, according to Schefter.

The Chiefs did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment regarding Rice’s reported surgery.

Rice was sentenced to 30 days in jail last July after pleading guilty to third-degree felony charges of collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. He was, however, granted flexibility as to when to serve his jail time and had not served it yet.

After his recent probation violation, the district attorney’s office spokesperson said, Rice was ordered to serve that jail time immediately.

On March 30, 2024, according to prosecutors, Rice was driving a Lamborghini Urus SUV at 119 mph when made “multiple aggressive maneuvers around traffic” and struck other vehicles, then fled the scene on foot without checking on anyone in the other vehicles.

He was suspended for the first six weeks of the 2025 season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

In 28 games with the Chiefs, Rice has 156 receptions for 1,797 yards and 14 touchdowns. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Blake Snell will have surgery Tuesday to remove the loose bodies in his left elbow, according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

Roberts didn’t know which type of surgery Snell will undergo, but there’s optimism that Snell could undergo a minimally invasive procedure, like the one Dr. Neal ElAttrache performed on Tigers ace Tarik Skubal using new NanoNeedle scope technology, according to people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

However, it may not be possible to determine the details of Snell’s procedure before getting an internal view. The exact location of the loose bodies plays a large role in the technique.

If Snell is indeed a candidate for the NanoNeedle Scope 2.0, it could cut down his recovery time by minimizing the damage to the surrounding tissue, compared to a traditional arthroscope.

Because the technology is new, it would still be difficult to put an exact timeline on the recovery. Skubal would be the blueprint. He had a bone chip removed a week and a half ago and is already progressing in a throwing program.

Either way, the Dodgers should have a clearer picture of Snell’s recovery timetable after he undergoes the procedure Tuesday.

The Dodgers scratched him from Friday’s start, only his second of the season, and they backdated the IL move to May 12. The two-time Cy Young Award winner started the season on the injured list, ramping up later than usual due to what the team called left shoulder fatigue. In his first start against the Braves last week, he only pitched three innings, giving up four earned runs.

KATIE Price has touched down on home turf from her Dubai visit to see husband Lee Andrews.

Though it wasn’t the happiest of trips for the former glamour model, 47, who has been accused of refusing to stump up for her cosmetic surgery bills while in the UAE.

The Sun exclusively revealed she hasn’t settled her debts – despite hubby Lee claiming to be a billionaire.

The mum of five flashed a smile as she arrived in the UK’s Gatwick Airport, wearing a tight-fit grey crop top which clung to her curves and black joggers.

She pulled on a trendy pair of sunglasses and styled her hair poker straight, looking fresh from the long-haul trip.

Katie – who flashed her huge wedding ring in the Arrivals terminal – was accompanied by an assistant who wheeled three bags of luggage alongside her.

PRICE’S PROMISE

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NO PRICE

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There is ongoing speculation that her husband Lee, 43, is unable to leave the United Arab Emirates city after allegedly forging his ex-girlfriend Dina Taji’s signature to secure a £200,000 loan – something he’s strongly denied.

Back in April, Katie appeared to confirm he is subject to a travel ban

As such, she is the one doing the graft with the long haul flights.

Though this time around, Katie’s spouse has been slammed by a popular UAE-based aesthetic clinician for failing to cough up the money for the cosmetic work they’ve had in recent months.

Katie Price surgery boxout

KATIE Price’s love for surgery is no secret – here’s the details

1998 – Katie underwent her first breast augmentation taking her from a natural B cup to a C cup. She also had her first liposuction

1999 – Katie had two more boob jobs in the same year, one taking her from a C cup to a D cup, and then up to an F cup

2006 – Katie went under the knife to take her breasts up to a G cup

2007 – Katie had a rhinoplasty and veneers on her teeth

2008 – Katie stunned fans by reducing her breasts from an F cup to a C cup

2011 – Going back to an F cup, Katie also underwent body-contouring treatment and cheek and lip fillers

2014/5 – Following a nasty infection, Katie had her breast implants removed

2016 – Opting for bigger breasts yet again, Katie had another set of implants, along with implants, Botox and lip fillers

2017 – After a disastrous ‘threading’ facelift, Katie also had her veneers replaced. She also had her eighth boob job taking her to a GG cup

2018 – Katie went under the knife yet again for a facelift

2019 – After jetting to Turkey, Katie had a face, eye and eyelid lift, Brazilian bum lift and a tummy tuck

2020 – Katie has her 12th boob job in Belgium to correct botched surgery and a new set of veneers

2021 –  In a complete body overhaul, she opts for eye and lip lifts, liposuction under her chin, fat injected into her bum and full body liposuction

2022 – Katie undergoes another brow and eye lift-and undergoes ‘biggest ever’ boob job in Belgium, her 16th in total

2023 – Opting for a second rhinoplasty, Katie also gets a lip lift at the same time as well as new lip filler throughout the year

2024 – Katie has her 17th boob job in Brussels after revealing she wanted to downsize. She performed at Dublin Pride just days later and surgeons warned the lack of recovery posed a risk of infection

Lee allegedly refused to pay the bill, however he insists the work was ‘complementary’.

The clinic specialises in facial contouring and liquid rhinoplasty among other surgical and non-surgical treatments.

In response to a recent Sun post about Lee using fake money to scam women, the clinician has shared his own experience with the couple.

Just days ago, the beauty clinic owner claimed that he had not received any money and was still chasing the couple.

But in a surprise move, he alleged that he had been blocked, without any explanation for their failure to pay.

He said: “This is expected as they both left without paying for their treatment and after multiple sent invoices, I was blocked.

“Although no mention of being unhappy with the results was ever brou- ght to my attention.

“What Katie is experiencing with her treatment is perfectly normal.”

But Lee has denied these claims when the The Sun reached out to him.

He has insisted that Katie was left “unable to move her mouth” following the procedure and disputes the charges.

KATIE Price has revealed she’s back in hospital for more surgery after sharing a topless snap and asking fans to guess what procedure she’s having. 

The former glamour model, 47, recently travelled to Belgium for more work on her ‘biggest ever boobs’. 

And it seems Katie’s not done yet as she shared a new snap showing her topless in a hospital bed while medical staff worked on her. 

She wrote: “Quick Little Procedure, Any Guesses?”

Katie underwent her 17th boob job in 2024 in Belgium where she had work done to refine the biggest chest she has ever had.

Her previous breast surgery saw her get massive 2120cc implants in order to have the title of Britain’s biggest boobs

STRANDED STAR

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Katie underwent her biggest change in 2019 when she opted for a full body overhaul in Turkey.

During her visit to the surgeon, she underwent a third facelift, an eye and eyelid lift, her first BBL, a tummy tuck as well as more breast surgery.

Katie recently revealed the heartbreaking reason she continues to work on her appearance. 

During a TikTok live she was asked by a fan why she keeps getting surgery. 

Katie replied: “Katie replied: “That is a very good question, so obviously I’ve had a lot of therapy because I’ve had trauma in my life.

“I think surgery stems from something from when I was younger, and I feel I’m not validated or good enough.

“It must have started from there. But to be honest, I quite like having the surgery it makes me look fresh.

“If there’s these procedures out there to be done I will take advantage of them and at least I’m being honest.”

TIKTOK star Becki Jones has admitted she “fell out of love with food” after losing a considerable amount of weight.

Becki, 33, has been subjected to countless rumours about how she slimmed down with many of her followers assuming she used fat jabs or opted for weight loss surgery.

Whilst Becki has stopped short of saying exactly how she managed to lose the pounds, she has previously alluded to withholding some information regarding her weight journey from public view.

Now, in a new interview, Becki has opened up on her relationship with food and her epic weight loss journey, which has seen her lose close to 11 stone.

Speaking on Not My Bagg, Becki admitted she would not be divulging any further information but revealed she was still going through something in regards to her weight.

Becki said: “I’ve been through, this is quite upsetting but I’ve been through quite a bad time with food, and I’ve fell out of love with food.

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“I’m going through something, still to this day now, that I’m not comfortable talking about anywhere.

“I think people are getting that confused with me, they think I’ve had something done.

“Anything that I’m gatekeeping, as they call it, it’s nothing that would benefit people, it’s nothing that’s a quick fix for them.

“It’s nothing that would bring anything to their life.

“It’s one of the worst things I’ve ever been through.”

Becki had previously made cryptic comments about her “not being honest” about how she lost the weight on a TikTok livestream.

NICOLA Roberts has revealed she underwent secret surgery at 22 weeks into her pregnancy.

The Girls Aloud singer, 40, is currently expecting her first child with fiancé Mitch Hahn and is set to give birth in the coming months.

In a new post, Nicola shared a myriad of pictures from the last week, and revealed she had actually recovering after undergoing a medical procedure.

Sharing that she had surgery to “keep the baby in” at 22 weeks, Nicola didn’t expand on what had gone on, but did say she was in recovery mode.

The singer wrote to her page: “Some pics I took this week.. Hasn’t it been so nice to really feel spring..

“I’ve been under instruction not to do much since I had the surgery at 22 weeks to help keep baby in.

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“Hitting that 34 week mark was a big relief. I now only have a few weeks left. Safe to say, this last bit is not the easiest is it?!

“In one breath, it will be nice to feel more comfortable again but I will also really miss my bump and having this tiny little thing in there”.

In her carousel of pictures, Nicola snapped a selfie in bed with a hot drink as she displayed her blossoming bump.

Whilst another showed the Moses basket she has prepared ahead of the little one’s arrival, with other snaps giving a glimpse into the pregnant star’s relaxed week at home.

Nicola didn’t reveal which surgery she had undergone or why, but there are several procedures which can be carried out mid-pregnancy to prevent problems further down the line.

The singer revealed on Christmas Day that she was set to become a mum for the first time.

At the time, she said in a sweet post: “Mitch and I have had the most magical Christmas Day sharing the most precious news with our families.

“We’ve been keeping a secret. We are five months pregnant!

“We can’t wait to meet our little one in the spring.”

She has been dating businessman and semi-professional footballer Mitch since 2022, with the pair getting engaged two years later.

In April, she reunited with her Girls Aloud co-stars and a number of famous pals for a Bridgerton themed baby shower.

She will have no doubt been getting some parenting advice from her fellow bandmates, who are all doting parents themselves.

Dodgers closer Edwin Díaz said Monday that he’s known about the five loose bodies in his elbow — which were removed in an operation Wednesday — since he was drafted in 2012.

Last week in Colorado was the first time it affected him. He gave up three runs without recording an out on April 19. And the next day, he told the team his arm felt “weird.”

On Monday, he described the feeling as “tired and tight.”

Before his arm started giving him problems, Díaz was unavailable for four straight games because of fatigue in his knee. His legs felt “good” in Colorado, Díaz said.

Results from an MRI scan suggested that the loose bodies in his elbow were to blame for the discomfort in his arm. Díaz said he was confident the operation would resolve the problem.

“The tightness and the soreness was where the loose body was,” Díaz said. “So that’s why we ended up getting the surgery because it was in the same spot I’ve always had them.”

He’s hoping to return after the All-Star break. So, the Dodgers will have to come up with an alternate ninth-inning plan for the next two-and-a-half months.

“That sucks to miss the first half with the team,” Díaz said. “I’m new with this team. But that’s something I can’t control. Everyone here is supporting me. All of my teammates they’re supporting me, they’re happy that I’m doing way better than before. They just can’t wait to see me on the mound in the second half.

“They say, take your time, we need you in October. But I want to come back as soon as possible and help this team to win games.”

Díaz is still waiting to have his stitches removed, but he expects to start playing catch in a couple weeks.

“My arm is feeling way better than it did on Sunday,” he said. “That’s a good sign. Right now, just a couple days after surgery, I can move my arm really good. My range of motion is coming back to normal. So that’s something I like. And just get stronger and be ready for the second half.”

Pitching coach Gus Rico was having dinner on Thursday when head coach Matt Mowry of Birmingham High complimented him on closer Aidan Martinez recording all seven of his outs on strikeouts.

“I had no idea,” Rico said. “Everything is a blur when I’m calling pitches.”

Martinez is throwing some blurs these days after returning this season following Tommy John surgery in June 2024. He touched 92 mph with his fastball and has been improving each week, getting better command and walking fewer batters. He has 28 strikeouts in 15 innings and three saves.

Birmingham is one game behind El Camino Real in the West Valley League standings going into showdown week, playing El Camino Real on Wednesday at home and Friday on the road. The Patriots need a sweep to have a chance at their first league title under Mowry, who prefers winning City titles.

With Martinez throwing so well, it would be a good strategy for opposing teams to make sure they are leading going into the last two innings.

“He’s got a bright future,” Rico said.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.

LOGAN, Utah — President Trump’s administration took the unusual step this week of sending a government plane to Cuba to return a 10-year-old from Utah who is at the center of a complicated and contentious custody fight involving the child’s gender identity.

The child’s parent, Rose Inessa-Ethington, a transgender woman, is accused of taking the child to Cuba without the permission of the biological mother. Federal and state authorities sought the return of the child after a family member expressed concern that Inessa-Ethington went to Havana to get the child gender transition surgery.

Inessa-Ethington, who had run a popular Utah political blog in the 2010s, was arrested along with her partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington, and charged in the U.S. with international parental kidnapping.

The couple traveled with the child to Canada ostensibly for a camping trip in late March with Blue’s 3-year-old child. However, the two adults turned off their phones after telling the older child’s mother they had arrived in Canada. They flew from Vancouver to Mexico and then to Cuba on April 1, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in federal court in Utah.

The charges don’t say if the couple actually planned on getting the child gender-affirming surgery in Cuba or how they would get it because that surgery isn’t legal for children in Cuba.

The FBI said that Blue Inessa-Ethington withdrew $10,000 from her checking account before leaving. Agents also found at their home a note with instructions from a mental health therapist in Washington, D.C., “to send the therapist the $10,000.00 and instructions on gender affirming medical care for children.” That note didn’t mention Cuba.

The use of the Department of Justice plane in a parental kidnapping investigation comes after the Trump administration sought to block access to gender-affirming care for minors and pressured healthcare providers over the issue.

The Associated Press left telephone and email messages with the court-appointed attorneys who represented Blue and Rose Inessa-Ethington in Virginia. The defendants will be returned to Utah to face one count each of international parental kidnapping, according to court filings.

Search began after child wasn’t returned as scheduled

The search for the child began on April 3 when they were not returned to the mother in Utah as scheduled, court documents show.

The 10-year-old’s mother, who was divorced from Rose Inessa-Ethington and had shared custody of the child, filed a missing-person report with police in Logan, Utah, a college and dairy farming town about 70 miles north of Salt Lake City.

Logan City Police Chief Jeff Simmons said his department’s initial focus was on the custodial interference allegations in the case, and he said investigators did not learn until later about concerns over gender-affirming surgery.

Logan police spokesperson Sgt. Brandon Bevan said those concerns were raised by one family member. He declined to say who.

“They just had the concern about it, no actual physical evidence,” Bevan said.

A Utah state judge ordered the return of the 10-year-old to the child’s mother on April 13. Three days later, a federal magistrate judge issued an arrest warrant for the Inessa-Ethingtons. On the same day, Cuban law enforcement located the group. They were deported to the U.S. aboard the government plane Monday and arraigned in federal court in Richmond, Va.

The 10-year-old was returned to the child’s biological mother, First Assistant U.S. Atty. Melissa Holyoak in Utah indicated in a statement. Representatives of the FBI and U.S. attorneys office in Utah declined to say what happened to the 3-year-old child who had been with the group.

Parents engaged in custody dispute

The custody dispute between the parents does not appear to be a new development. An online fundraiser created five years go by Blue Inessa-Ethington titled “Help a Trans Mother Keep Custody of Her Child” raised $9,766.

“Last week, Rose’s ex relocated several counties away, negatively impacting Rose’s parent-time with the child,” she wrote on the fundraising page. She said the money would be used to seek a court order that would keep the child “safe and stable throughout this process.”

Anyone who has spent time with Rose knows “how much care and thought she puts into parenting her gender open child,” she wrote.

Family members said the child was assigned male at birth but identifies as a girl because of what they believed to be “manipulation” by Rose Inessa-Ethington, according to an April 16 affidavit from FBI Special Agent Jennifer Waterfield.

Gender-affirming care for minors has been limited

The Trump administration moved in December to cut off gender-affirming care for minors, prompting a third of states to sue.

It was the latest in a series of clashes between an administration that says transgender healthcare can be harmful to children and advocates who say it’s medically necessary.

Gender-affirming surgery is rare among U.S. children, research shows. Guidance from several major medical organizations calls for caution around surgery for minors and says decisions about treatments are case-by-case. Fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. adolescents receive gender-affirming medications, such as hormones or puberty blockers.

In Cuba, gender-affirming surgeries are banned for minors and performed only for adults through the public health system under strict supervision in designated public hospitals for Cuban citizens. They must be authorized by a medical commission after a comprehensive review of the patient’s file. That process often takes years because it requires a wide range of medical and psychological evaluations.

Brown, Boone and Schoenbaum write for the Associated Press. Brown reported from Billings, Mont., and Boone from Boise, Idaho. AP journalists Eric Tucker in Washington, Cristiana Mesquita in Havana and Devi Shastri in Milwaukee contributed to this report.

The domestic season will end with the Super League Grand Final on Saturday, 3 October, with England’s first match of the World Cup against Tonga in Perth, Australia scheduled for 17 October.

Williams has been captain of England since 2023.

Brian McDermott, speaking on Thursday after his appointment as England head coach, had said he “did not have any intentions” to change captains prior to the World Cup.

Speaking before kick-off, Warrington head coach Sam Burgess said: “George will probably go for surgery at some point in the next week or two.

“It’s unfortunate for George and the club. There are a number of ways to look at it so we’ve decided to take the positive route. Given the nature of where the injury is, we’re happy that we’ve got hold of it.

“Hopefully he can make a great recovery and we’ll see him back [in action] – if it’s not this year, then hopefully next year.”

James McClean admits his career is in jeopardy due to a long-standing hip injury and will explore the possibility of surgery to fix the problem.

The 37-year-old returned to Derry City this season, but says the Brandywell’s astroturf surface has acerbated the issue and received medical advice that he “has no business being on a football pitch”.

The Candystripes’ surface is in the process of being replaced with the grass surface at Derry GAA’s Celtic Park set to host at least five games until it is ready, beginning with Friday’s Premier Division clash against Shamrock Rovers [20:00 BST].

McClean, who was sent off for two yellows in the 2-2 draw against Dundalk on 10 April, is theoretically free to play, but is focused on what could be a “last chance for me to hopefully get a surgery”.

“I was told by a specialist 10 days ago that my body currently ‘has no business being on a football pitch’ due to the severity of the damage to my hip,” he posted on social media.

“I respect his honesty and his expert opinion, but I have never been one to lay down without a fight.

“Tomorrow’s appointment is a last chance for me to hopefully get a surgery – if it’s even a possibility – one which will allow me to do what I have dreamt of doing, and that’s being able to contribute while in an acceptable physical state to do so. That is playing for a club I love in Derry City.”

The former Republic of Ireland international, who spent 15 years at English and Welsh clubs after first leaving the Brandywell in 2011, said he wanted to set the record straight about the “hell” he has gone through due the hip problem.

“For the past few years, I have been playing through difficulties with my hip and though I have managed and played through the pain, the impact of training and playing on astro has sped up the damage much faster than I ever anticipated,” he explained.

“The past six weeks have been hell – pain is something I have been able to get on with and play with throughout my career, but it is the restriction and not being able to move which is what I am struggling with physically obviously, but also mentally.”

JANE Fallon has given her fans a health update after having her second surgery following her cancer diagnosis.

The author, 65, who is the partner of Ricky Gervais, told fans earlier this month that she was suffering with breast cancer, despite having no symptoms before the diagnosis.

Posting a sweet pic alongside her cat Pickles on Instagram, Jane wrote: “Little update. So, my 2nd surgery went well.

“They got the clear margin they need on the original excision, which is great. 

“They did hit a new little patch of precancerous cells on the other side of the new bit they took out but, thankfully, everyone agrees more surgery would be overkill. 

“A huge % of pre cancer doesn’t develop into cancer. 

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“I saw the oncologist today & we’ve agreed the risks of radiation outweigh the benefits in my case.

“Which leaves Tamoxifen (or similar) or wait and see (my preferred option). 

“I’m very nervous about going the drug route, because I know the side effects can be hideous, but I’m taking all the info on board & luckily there’s no pressure to make a quick decision.

“So, all good & I’m just looking forward to getting back to normal.”

Jane’s followers flocked to support her, including author Jojo Moyes who wrote: “Well done for getting through another surgery.

“Wishing you some reassuring news very soon x”

A fan added: “Happy to hear the update and it sounds very positive … yes take your time to decide , & so all the research … as of course you will x”

Another said: “That’s such uplifting news , so pleased your doing well. onwards and upwards x And cats will always upstage.”

This comes just days after Jane slammed a fake obituary that was published online after she was revealed she had cancer.

She said: “I’ve taken the post about the obituary down, because I don’t want people to think I’m upset by it. I’m not. P***ed off yes.

“But more, I just want people to know that any photos you see of me in hospital, looking sad or with tubes sticking out of me are 100% fake – AI generated.”

Following her recent procedure, Jane told her followers she was feeling “remarkably fine” and in good spirits.

She assured people she wold update them once she had the medical all clear.

“Then 8-10 days wait for confirmation that they’ve got it all & the margins are clear (small % chance of more surgery if not),” Jane wrote.

She has been resting up at home with the support of cat Pickles.

When Jane announced her diagnosis, Jane asked fans not to “panic” and said her prognosis was “excellent”.

She has been with comedian Ricky for more than 40 years after meeting back in 1982.

Jane is the author of 14 bestselling books and has penned titles such as Getting Rid of Matthew, Got You Back, Queen Bee, Worst Idea Ever, and Faking Friends. 

JERSEY Shore star Snooki has confessed that she’s putting off life-saving surgery because she’s scared.

At the start of the year, Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi revealed her stage 1 cervical cancer diagnosis to the world.

The MTV reality star, 38, believes she could have avoided the diagnosis had she gone to her recommended follow up visits to the doctor.

But despite saying she had regrets over “just keep putting it off” about her prior appointments, she is now putting off life-saving surgery.

Her doctor recommends that Nicole should undergo a hysterectomy to avoid the possibility of the cancer’s return.

“No, we’re not putting off any more appointments,” Nicole said.

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But she later added: “They’re already yelling at me to schedule the hysterectomy, which I didn’t. I’m traveling.”

Lara then pressed: “I know but this is your life,” adding how she is a mom to three beautiful kids.

“Well, I’m not going to lie, I’m scared,” the reality star added.

“I know, and I understand that. But you know what’s going to be more scary? If you don’t do it,” Lara urged.

“If you get this hysterectomy, do the doctors feel like you will be way ahead of the curve?” Lara asked.

Snooki replied: “Yes.”

Nicole recently underwent a PET scan where the results thankfully showed the cancer has not spread, though the surgery is highly encouraged to ensure the cancer does not return.

Elsewhere in the interview, Snooki opened up about the moment she found out about her devastating diagnosis.

“I was terrified. I was terribly crying in my car. Like, what am I going to do?” she recalled.

“I have three kids. I got to do my will. I haven’t done my will yet.”

Snooki first told fans about her health scare in an emotional video posted online in January.

At the time, she urged her followers to take their gynecological health seriously, and get all the necessary appointments done.

She noted that she was trying to get caught up on all hers, adding that several recent pap smears came back irregular in recent years.

Nicole said this raised concern with her doctors, who urged her to undergo a colposcopy to retrieve samples from her cervix for biopsy.

“That hurt. It wasn’t a great experience,” she said.

She then shared that the results of the colposcopy were “not great,” adding that her doctor “found cancerous cells on the top of my cervix.”

He urged her to get a biopsy to see if the cancerous cells spread, telling her the results of that would determine the next steps.

Nicole admitted at the time that she had avoided visiting the doctor because she did not want to deal with “pain” or “stress” caused by different procedures.

She admitted, however, that doctors visits are necessary, and encouraged her followers to take it seriously.

Snooki got emotional in the clip as the reality hit her.

“Obviously, I’m done having kids,” Nicole said through tears.

“But like as a woman, the thought of getting a hysterectomy is just sad, and it’s scary…the thought of getting the hysterectomy and then not being able to have kids, I think that’s what’s killing me,” she confessed.