Injuries

The USWNT will go for its first trophy of 2021 at the SheBelieves Cup in February. They’ll be without star winger Tobin Heath.

Manchester United ruled Heath out for 10-12 weeks with an ankle injury, manager Casey Stoney said on Friday. In addition to being a big blow to United’s title challenge, Heath will also miss the SheBelieves Cup, which is back in the U.S. from Feb. 18-24. 

There are shocking injuries and there are freak injuries. And then there are shocking freak injuries, as was the case with this horrifying Liga MX knee injury on Friday night.

Necaxa defeated Atlético San Luis 1-0 despite going down to 10 men early in the second half, with Ian González netting a 90th-minute penalty for the home side. The match was marred by an injury to Unai Bilbao, Necaxa’s Spanish center back. 

The Premier League is reassuring fans that the season will continue after its latest round of COVID-19 testing produced 40 positive cases among players and staff in the past week. This is the highest amount of Premier League COVID cases reported since the start of the pandemic, breaking the previous week’s record of 18 positive cases.

Despite 58 positive cases since Dec. 21, the EPL said in a statement that the season will go ahead as scheduled.

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has said it is his personal duty and the game's responsibility to address the problem of dementia that has impacted several former players.

The issue of dementia in the professional game was sparked by the death of England's Nobby Stiles in October and there have been calls for the issue of head injuries in sport to be given further attention. Stiles and many of his 1966 World Cup winning teammates had been diagnosed with dementia before their deaths while United great Bobby Charlton also disclosed his diagnosis recently.

Everton's Premier League match at home to Manchester City on Monday has been called off due to new COVID-19 cases reported at City, the league said in a statement.

City returned a number of positive cases for COVID-19 after confirming four positives last week, including striker Gabriel Jesus and defender Kyle Walker. The Premier League board agreed to rearrange the game as a precaution after City lodged a request following the latest round of testing.

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will miss Tuesday's match at home to Eibar due to an ankle injury, the LaLiga club said on Sunday.

The past 24 hours have been somber and harrowing for Ligue 1 club FC Lorient after one of the team's groundskeepers was killed in a freak accident on Sunday night.

Following Lorient's 3-0 home defeat to Rennes at the Stade du Moustoir, the grounds crew came out to do their post-game duties. One of those jobs includes tending to the field with a grow light. The contraption emulates sunlight, warms the field and keeps the grass healthy.

If you’re looking for a stern reminder of the threat posed by COVID-19 on even the fittest of athletes, look no further than Newcastle United and the lasting effects of an outbreak that initially began with a significant number of positive tests on Nov. 29. 

The day after, Newcastle’s entire first team squad went into self-isolation and a Premier League match against Aston Villa scheduled for Dec. 4 was ultimately postponed. It’s believed that the amount of positive tests ran into double figures.