Real Madrid’s Vinícius expected to miss nearly two months after injury
Madrid, Nov 18: Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior tore a leg muscle while playing with Brazil’s national team in South American World Cup qualifying, the Spanish club said Saturday. Madrid said medical exams showed Vinícius has a muscle tear in his left leg. He was injured in Brazil’s 2-1 loss at Colombia on Friday, having to be substituted before halftime. Madrid did not give a timetable for Vinícius’ recovery, but that type of injury can sideline players for about two months. Vinícius “has been diagnosed with a tear in his left femoral bicep which is affecting the tendon in his hamstring. His recovery will be monitored,” the club said. Madrid has already qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League. It is a couple of points behind leader Girona after 13 rounds in the La Liga. The 23-year-old Vinícius has scored six goals for Madrid this season, including three in the team’s last two matches. (AP)
Erling Haaland out of Norway’s
Euro qualifier against Scotland
Glasgow, Nov 18: Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will miss Norway’s European Championship qualifying game against Scotland on Sunday with what the national team’s doctor described as a painful foot injury. Haaland was hurt when playing in Norway’s 2-0 win over the Faeroe Islands in a friendly on Thursday. “Unfortunately, I am missing tomorrow’s game against Scotland. Wishing the boys all the best. Now treatment and trying to get back asap,” Haaland posted on social media Saturday. Team doctor Ola Sand said the foot injury had left Haaland in pain and with restricted movement. Sunday’s game in Glasgow won’t affect either team’s qualifying chances. Scotland has already qualified for next year’s European Championship in Germany and Norway is third in the group and can’t qualify automatically, though it still has a chance of reaching the playoffs. The injury had initially been described as a possible recurrence of an earlier ankle injury. Haaland came off with an ankle injury in the 6-1 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League on November 4. He started in City’s next game three days later. City, the leader, plays second-place Liverpool when the Premier League returns on November 25. Haaland has 13 goals in 12 Premier League games for City this season. (AP)
Bhosale, Chaudhari to lead Indian challenge in ITF Women’s Tour
Bengaluru, Nov 18: Rutuja Bhosale and Vaidehi Chaudhari will lead India’s challenge in the ITF World Women’s Tour, to be played on the clay courts of the Bowring Institute here from Sunday. Apart from Bhosale and Chaudhari, Pranjala Yadlapalli, Zeel Desai, Shrivalli Rashmikaa Bhamidipaty and Humera Baharmus are a part of the 20 players who have earned a direct entry into the main draw of 32. Karnataka’s top player Sharmada Balu and the promising Suhitha Maruri have been given wildcards along with Anjali Rathi and Sahira Singh. The rest of the eight spots in the USD 25,000 tournament will be filled up by qualifiers. Sunil Yajaman, Tournament Director and Joint Secretary of the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association (KSLTA) said, “We have taken a conscious decision to activate the various districts in Karnataka which will not only put them on the world tennis map but give our players an opportunity to earn valuable ATP points.” (PTI)
Paris Olympics scales back design of new surf tower after criticism
Le Pecq (France), Nov 18: Organisers of next year’s Paris Olympics are scaling back the metal tower they plan to build for judges and television cameras at the picture-perfect surfing venue in Tahiti. They’re bowing to concerns on the French Polynesian island about damage to sea life and its majestic Teahupo’o wave. The tower will still be erected out at sea with aluminium but will be smaller, lighter, hold fewer people and require shallower drilling than originally planned, games organizers announced Friday evening. Critics on the island have voiced fears for coral reefs, fish and other aquatic life when the tower’s foundations are drilled into the seabed and mounted on concrete. Islanders pushed for the Olympics to use a wooden tower on existing foundations that’s long been the set-up for surfing competitions at Teahupo’o. They have collected more than 160,000 signatures with an online petition. Tahitian surfer Matahi Drollet has been among opponents of the metal tower. Videos critical of its plans that he posted on Instagram have many tens of thousands of likes. People on the island, some carrying surf boards, also marched in protest last month. “The ocean and the lagoon is the most precious place we have here. This is where we get our food from, where we play, where … we spend most of our time and where we have the most perfect wave in the world,” had Drollet said in an October post. In announcing revised plans Friday for what they called “a leaner, smaller tower,” Olympic organisers said the old wooden tower previously used to judge surfing competitions on the Teahupo’o wave couldn’t be certified for safety reasons for the Olympics. Time and erosion by the ocean have weakened and corroded the tower’s foundations and it “must be replaced if Teahupo’o is to continue to organize surfing events,” the organisers’ statement said. (AP)