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Showing posts with the label return

How Mauricio Pochettino should use Christopher Nkunku after injury return

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With each passing day, Chelsea fans move one step closer to seeing Christopher Nkunku's official debut for the club. The Frenchman, who has been out since pre-season after undergoing knee surgery, is set to make his return in the weeks that follow the November international break and will hopefully be ready to start before the end of the calendar year, which should get fans incredibly excited. The dilemma for manager Mauricio Pochettino, however, is figuring out the best way to use Nkunku. What is Christopher Nkunku's best position? Nkunku rose to prominence with Leipzig / Matthias Hangst/GettyImages Chelsea classify Nkunku as a striker on their website but things aren't that simple. While he may have regularly featured at the top of RB Leipzig's team sheet, Nkunku rarely played as the out-and-out striker. Often used in a little-and-large partnership with Yussuf Poulsen, Nkunku's job would be to fizz around and find space in which to work his magic. It was almost l...

Tottenham injuries: Latest Maddison and Van de Ven news and potential return dates

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It was a collective gasp heard across the capital. Tottenham supporters had already enjoyed a rollercoaster of a first half on Monday night before two of their brightest stars succumbed to injury in one fell swoop. Spurs' lightning-quick start had set the stage for a beatdown of their west London rivals under the lights, but by the time James Maddison and Micky van de Ven had limped and hobbled off the pitch, Chelsea were seemingly going to coast to victory having restored parity after Cristian Romero saw red. The injuries sustained by the aforementioned pair almost rendered Monday night's result insignificant given their importance to Ange Postecoglou's high-flying Lilywhites. Sustained absences could cripple Spurs' previously promising campaign. Here are the latest updates regarding both, as well as the rest of Tottenham's injured stars. Tottenham injuries Micky van de Ven James Maddison Ben Davies Ryan Sessegnon Richarlison Manor Solomon Ivan Perisic Micky van d...

Man Utd injuries: Potential return dates for Erik ten Hag's absent stars

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Manchester United's 2023/24 campaign to date has been a tale of inconsistency and injuries. The Red Devils haven't been great in the Premier League, losing three of their opening six fixtures, and also shipped four goals away at Bayern Munich in their first Champions League group game of the season. Erik ten Hag's players have been below par, that much is clear, but the Dutchman has also seen his squad decimated by a raft of injury blows. Full-back has been the worst affected area from United's point of view, with Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Sergio Reguilon's absences forcing Sofyan Amrabat into an unfamiliar left-back role on his first start. The problems are easing for Ten Hag, with players gradually returning to fitness, but he's still expected to be without a number of first-team regulars ahead of Crystal Palace's second visit to Old Trafford in the space of four days. Man Utd's current injury list Sergio Reguilon Sergio Reguilon is on loan at M...

Pope open to helping return Ukrainian children in Russia

Pope Francis says the Vatican is willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE -- Pope Francis said Sunday the Vatican was willing to help facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken to Russia during the war, saying the Holy See had already helped mediate some prisoner exchanges and would do “all that is humanly possible” to reunite families. “All human gestures help. Gestures of cruelty don’t help,” Francis said during an airborne press conference en route home from Hungary. Francis also revealed a secret peace “mission” was under way. However, he gave no details when asked whether he spoke about peace initiatives during his talks in Budapest this weekend with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban or the representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Hungary. “I’m available to do anything,” Francis said. “There’s a mission that’s not public that’s underway; when it’s public I’ll talk about it.” The Internati...