Sports

Messi doubtful for Inter Miami-Orlando match due to injury

Published

10 months ago

May 15, 2024

Lionel Messi

Messi doubtful for Inter Miami-Orlando match due to injury

Lionel Messi will be evaluated ahead of Inter Miami’s clash with Orlando City on Wednesday after suffering a minor knee injury, assistant coach Javier Morales said, while Jordi Alba will be available for selection.

Messi picked up the injury in Miami’s 3-2 win over Montréal on Saturday. The Argentina forward was fouled by Montreal’s George Campbell in the 40th minute, forcing Messi to go down holding his knee, although he was cleared to play the remainder of the match.

“We are going to check Messi today, see how he feels today during the training session and then make a decision,” Morales said. “Yesterday, he did the bike and jogged a little bit and felt his knee a little bit but we’ll see how he is today.

“He suffered a hit to the knee on Saturday vs. Montréal, he continued playing through the end of the game and then iced it when finished. He trained with the players yesterday who did regenerative work, with the bicycle and a bit of jogging on the field.

“Now, like the rest of the players, we will evaluate them to see how they feel and who is ready,” Morales said. “Serhiy Kryvtsov, for example, felt a cramp. Yesterday, the players that started vs. Montréal did regenerative work at the gym. We’ll talk to them today, see how they feel and see what we do against Orlando City tomorrow.”

Messi, like most players who started the match against Montréal, did not feature in the first 15 minutes of training on Tuesday morning. And Miami later officially listed him as questionable for Wednesday’s game in the league’s player status report.

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But Morales said he has a “competitive” mentality when coming back from a knock.

“I have known Messi as a person for a year, he is such a competitive player,” Morales said. “Everything he plays in he wants to win. Everything he does, he tries to do his best. He came here to try and build this league and now he is getting ready for Copa América. Every time he plays, he’ll try to do his best. We’re very happy and pleased to have him with us.”

Morales said Miami will ask MLS to provide clarity on the two-minute sideline rule that forced Messi out of the match on Saturday.

Because of new MLS regulations, “If the referee stops play due to a potential player injury in which the player remains on the ground for more than 15 seconds and the medical staff enters the field of play, the player may be required to leave the field of play for two minutes.”

Messi exited the pitch in a crucial moment, after the foul inspired a free kick for Miami in a prime position for the player to score.

During his brief stint on the sideline, the player turned to the camera to express disdain while angrily shaking his head.

“Something we’ve talked about within the team is these MLS rules cannot be so black and white, and must be open to interpretation,” Morales said on Tuesday. “Especially with these, as they are being done on a testing basis because it’s not something that comes from FIFA. There must be an interpretation.

“In the case of Messi, we are losing 0-2 and there is a clash between two players,” he said. “You all know that Leo is the last person to waste time on the pitch, he is hurt and has to get out of the field. We don’t want to waste time, we’re losing. So that’s where the interpretation of the rule comes in.

“We know it’s on a trial basis, and we hope MLS can review and analyze these situations to have better resolutions in the future.”

Meanwhile, Alba joined several players on the field during Tuesday’s session open to the media.

The defender returns after a four-game spell on the sidelines after suffering a right-leg injury during the second half of the 3-2 win over Sporting Kansas City on April 13. He is expected to feature against Orlando.

“Jordi is ready and back, and we’re happy to have him back,” Morales said.

Miami will head to Orlando as leaders of the Eastern Conference table with 27 points in 13 games and a 8-2-3 record.

Now, the Herons will attempt to earn their first victory at Inter&co. Stadium in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday night.

Messi doubtful for Inter Miami-Orlando match due to injury

Sports

Juventus to sign Osimhen with player-plus-cash offer

Published

5 hours ago

March 23, 2025

Trends Admin

Victor Osimhen

Juventus to sign Osimhen with player-plus-cash offer

Juventus are preparing to offer a player-plus-cash deal to sign Nigerian international sensation Victor Osimhen from Napoli in the summer.

The Bianconeri have identified Osimhen as a key target for their offensive overhaul, and they are willing to include defender Federico Gatti in the deal to entice their Serie A rivals to negotiate.

According to Tuttosport, Juventus is aware of the complexities of the transaction, given Napoli’s reluctance to sell such a prominent player to a direct competitor.

Osimhen was instrumental in Napoli’s Scudetto-winning campaign in 2023, scoring 26 goals and becoming the first African to win the top scorer award as the club broke a 33-year jinx.

The Old Lady’s strategy includes capitalising on Napoli coach Antonio Conte’s fondness for Federico Gatti, hoping the centre-back will satisfy the Partenopei’s defensive issues while also enabling their pursuit of the Nigerian striker.

This move comes as Juventus prepares to unload Dusan Vlahovic and renegotiate Randal Kolo Muani’s loan with Paris Saint-Germain in order to extend his time at the Allianz Stadium beyond the summer.

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Osimhen, who is presently on loan at Galatasaray, has been in top form this season, netting 20 goals in 22 league games for the Turkish giants.

Osimhen, a 26-year-old striker, broke Segun Odegbami’s 44-year-old Nigerian goalscoring record during a 2-0 victory over Rwanda in a 2026 World Cup qualifier in Kigali.

Odegbami, Nigeria’s second-highest goal scorer since 1981, expressed delight at seeing his record broken.

“Osimhen has finally overtaken me, and I think that is good because the record has been hanging on for a very long time. I am very happy for him, and I want to say good luck to him,” Odegbami stated.

“He is still young, and he has a long way to go.”

The striker is currently second only to the late Rashidi Yekini on Nigeria’s all-time scoring list, with 37 goals.

Since making his Super Eagles debut in June 2017, Osimhen has established himself as the team’s talisman, with significant performances in AFCON qualifiers, where he scored two hat tricks in 2023.

Juventus to sign Osimhen with player-plus-cash offer

Sports

Boxing heavyweight champion, George Foreman, dies at 76

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2025

Trends Admin

George Foreman

Boxing heavyweight champion, George Foreman, dies at 76

Two-time world heavyweight boxing champion and successful entrepreneur George Foreman has passed away at the age of 76.

His family announced that he died peacefully on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones.

“With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr, who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones,” his family said in a statement posted on the boxer’s official Instagram page.

“We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers and kindly ask for privacy as we honour the extraordinary life of a man we were blessed to call our own.”

Born in 1949 in Houston, Texas, Foreman overcame a challenging upbringing, finding direction through the Job Corps programme, where he discovered boxing.

“At 13 years old, George was about 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and the terrorist in the neighbourhood,” his younger brother Roy told the BBC in 2024.

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“And when you’re bigger and stronger and think you’re better than everyone else, you take things.”
Foreman’s athletic ability was shown when he won a gold medal at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

At 19, he crushed his way to the super-heavyweight title, brandishing an American flag in the ring just days after Tommie Smith and John Carlos’ historic Black Power salute.

Standing 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and known as ‘Big George’, he was a formidable presence in the heavyweight division.

His destructive power and quickness propelled him fast up the professional ranks. In 1973, he won the heavyweight belt by destroying Joe Frazier in two rounds.

By October 1974, when Foreman defended his title against Muhammad Ali in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), he had a perfect 40-0 record.

Ali’s ‘rope-a-dope’ tactic wore him down, and tired, Foreman gave up in the eighth round.

Foreman’s impact on boxing and beyond is permanent.

A two-time heavyweight champion, an Olympic gold medallist, a preacher, an entrepreneur, and a devoted family man, his life was one of success, atonement, and reinvention.

Boxing heavyweight champion, George Foreman, dies at 76

Sports

Odegbami speaks on Osimhen breaking his 44-year goals record

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2025

Trends Admin

Former Nigeria international Segun Odegbami

Odegbami speaks on Osimhen breaking his 44-year goals record

Former Nigeria international Segun Odegbami has expressed delight after Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen surpassed his long-standing goal record for the national team.

Osimhen scored his 24th and 25th goals for Nigeria during Friday’s 2-0 victory over Rwanda in the 2026 World Cup qualifier in Kigali, moving him to second place on Nigeria’s all-time scorers list behind only the late Rashidi Yekini, who holds the record with 37 goals.

“Osimhen has finally overtaken me and I think that is good because the record has been hanging on for a very long time. I am very happy for him and I want to say good luck to him,” Odegbami said .

“He is still young and he has a long way to go.”

Odegbami, who retired from international football in 1981, had held the position of Nigeria’s second-highest goal scorer for 44 years before Osimhen’s breakthrough.

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The legendary winger, nicknamed ‘Mathematical’ for his precision crosses and intelligent play, scored 23 goals in 47 appearances for Nigeria between 1976 and 1981.

The Galatasaray striker, who is enjoying remarkable form this season with 20 goals and four assists in 20 Super Lig games, connected with Ademola Lookman’s free kick at the far post to score the opener against Rwanda on Friday.

Prior to this match, Osimhen had equalled Odegbami’s record last November during Nigeria’s 1-1 draw against Benin Republic in a 2025 AFCON qualifying game in Abidjan, heading home in the 81st minute for his 23rd goal in 38 appearances.

The 26-year-old forward now needs 12 more goals to equal Yekini’s record of 37 goals, which has stood since the striker’s last game for Nigeria in 1998.

Odegbami, who was a key member of Nigeria’s 1980 Africa Cup of Nations winning squad, scoring in the final against Algeria, also praised the team’s overall performance against Rwanda.

“I am really impressed with the Eagles performance in Kigali and that is their most convincing win in 10 years,” he added.

Osimhen, who made his Super Eagles debut in June 2017 in a 2-0 defeat against South Africa, has become the team’s talisman, including notable performances in AFCON qualifiers where he scored two hat-tricks in 2023.