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A big claim has been made over Rangers centre-back Filip Helander, regarding when he could play his next game for the Ibrox club.

What’s the latest?

Injury expert Ben Dinnery has predicted that the Gers beast will make a return to first-team action early in 2022 as he recovers from his knee surgery.

The Sweden international has been out since September and has missed all of Gio van Bronckhorst’s games in Glasgow to date. Dinnery has now outlined what he is expecting Helander to go through in the coming weeks.

He told Football Insider:

“He will start off in some bounce games, maybe some behind-closed-doors friendlies.

“Once he has come through those games, you want to build up his load and then introduce him into the first team. That’s the ideal scenario. But there are always things that will influence those decisions. It could be injuries to key players, important fixtures, setbacks etcetera.

“Sometimes it doesn’t go to plan. We are talking about a time-pressured environment with pressure from stakeholders. There’s also pressure to get results, pressure in terms of the new manager being there too.

“But if all goes to plan, early 2022 is realistic. That’s great news for him after a few months on the sidelines.”

Fans surely buzzing

Rangers fans will surely be buzzing after this positive update on Helander, with an expert outlining his possible schedule ahead of his return. The supporters will want to see the big defender back in action as quickly as possible as his fitness will be a huge boost to van Bronckhorst’s side.

Last season, he averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.10 in the Scottish Premiership. He won a whopping 68% of his duels over the course of the campaign, showing off his defensive quality and consistently as he played 22 matches for the club.

Former Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard previously praised the gem for his leadership skills. The retired midfielder said: “I think he has shown great leadership. He had a little bit of an ankle issue before the international break and never played for Sweden.

“I decided to go with Katic at Hearts for the real physicality of Ikpeazu and then use Fil’s experience and leadership away to Porto, which I knew was going to be more of a technical game. One that needed experience.”

Earlier this year, the current Aston Villa boss also lauded his positioning as “outstanding” to further emphasise how highly he rated the defender and how well the Swedish-born defender performed last term.

This is why supporters will love this update on his fitness and the prospect of him returning early in 2022. They will be buzzing to see him back out on the pitch and putting in excellent performances again, showing that he can be a crucial player going forward in spite of this injury.

Gaining a player like that could also be a seismic advantage in their bid to win the Premiership crown so supporters should be beaming from ear to ear that a key man will soon return.

AND in other news, “A target…” – Journo delivers big Rangers transfer update that’ll scare fans…

The PCB has not ruled out their players’ participation in next year’s IPL and is hopeful of a resolution to the visa issue

Osman Samiuddin09-Dec-2009The Pakistan Cricket Board has not given up hopes of trying to have their players appearing in next year’s IPL, even though the league has ruled out their participation for the second season running after the players failed to get visas by the December 7 deadline.”We haven’t left the situation for now,” Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, told Cricinfo. “We are hopeful that the visas will come through in a day or two and are very hopeful that Pakistan’s players will be in the next IPL.”Butt has already striven hard to ensure a Pakistani presence in the lucrative league, meeting chairman Lalit Modi in October to discuss a way back in after the Pakistan government prevented their own players from taking part in the second IPL. Modi then twice extended the deadline at Butt’s request for Pakistan’s players – five in all – to get the necessary clearance and paperwork in order for them to take part but eventually said another delay would handicap franchise planning and team-building for the next season, due to begin in March.There are indications that Butt might be willing to take the case further – a senior PCB official told Cricinfo that the chairman had sought help from “higher-ups in government” to resolve the situation and find a way for players to take part. Butt refused to confirm or deny it, insisting only that he was “very hopeful” of a breakthrough.The PCB will also be heartened by a statement issued by the Indian High Commission in Islamabad on Wednesday which said it had not denied the Pakistan players the visas and that their applications were being processed. “The High Commission was approached by the PCB for issuance of visa to only one player [Sohail Tanvir], while three other players submitted visa applications to the High Commission of India in Wellington [ where the team is currently playing]. These visa applications are being processed,” the statement said.The statement also said the High Commission had not been informed of any deadline for issuing the visas, either by the Pakistan board or the IPL.Pakistan are the reigning World Twenty20 champions, and several franchises had expressed interest in signing the country’s cricketers. Five Pakistan players – Kamran Akmal, Misbah ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul and Sohail Tanvir – are already on contract with IPL teams.Pakistan’s players were absent from IPL’s second season, held earlier this year in South Africa, after their government did not allow them to travel to India – where the tournament was originally to be held – for security reasons. The decision came in the wake of the Mumbai attacks last year, after which relations between India and Pakistan deteriorated considerably. Eleven players from Pakistan had taken part in the first IPL, though after the Mumbai attacks, only four were retained by their franchises, though their contracts were suspended until further resolution. Razzaq was signed recently by Kolkata Knight Riders.

After a rather uninspiring start to the season, October saw Southampton turn their fortunes around in the Premier League, winning two out of the four league games they played, the first of which being their first win of the campaign against Leeds United.

One player that played a significant part in Southampton’s success in October, particularly in their two victories where they managed to keep two clean sheets in the process was defender Valentino Livramento.

The right-back played every minute of league action for the Saints last month, showing just how valuable he is to Ralph Hasenhuttl, despite only joining the south coast club back in the previous summer transfer window.

During October, Livramento managed to rack up a total of 13 tackles in the league, more than fellow Saints defender Jan Bednarek, highlighting Livramento’s impressive defensive capabilities.

In addition to this, the 19-year-old also managed to grab his first goal of the season in their 2-2 draw against Burnley as well as racking up four key passes, proving that, as well as being a reliable defender, Livramento also has some attacking prowess in him, which makes him a very well-rounded player for the Saints.

According to SofaScore, the only Premier League game in October where Livramento earned himself a lower overall match rating of 7.0 was in their 3-1 defeat against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, showing how fairly consistent he is with his performances and why he could be considered as Hasenhuttl’s hero for the month.

As well as his impressive performances in October, Livramento’s entire start to the season with Southampton has grabbed the attention of England manager Gareth Southgate who recently said the Saints defender has had an “excellent” campaign with the club so far.

Moving forward, with the full-back having to pull out of international duty earlier this week with an injury, Hasenhuttl and everyone else at Southampton will definitely be hoping that the youngster will be able to play in their next Premier League game against Norwich City and replicate the same sort of performance he put in during their previous league game against Aston Villa where he earned himself an overall match rating of 7.5/10 from SofaScore, making him their joint-highest rated player on the day.

In other news: Forget JWP: “Nasty” Saints beast who’s made 24 tackles has been Ralph’s secret weapon – opinion

According to a report by 90min and journalist Graeme Bailey, sharing an article on his Twitter feed, it appears Antonio Conte has already green lit his first Tottenham transfer.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye Kessie…

As per recent developments, Tottenham appear heavily in the chase to land AC Milan’s star player amid his precarious contract situation at the San Siro.

His current deal expires in 2022 and club chiefs have not yet been able to tie down the 24-year-old with an extension, meaning he is free to negotiate a January pre-contract to leave as a free agent next summer.

Tottenham have been taking note as a result with reports from both La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Get Italian Football News) and Rudy Galetti suggesting it is very advanced.

While Bailey doesn’t exactly back this up, he does reiterate Tottenham and new manager Conte’s personal interest.

The Latest: Conte ‘green lights’ Kessie move…

Writing for 90min, as also shared on his Twitter, Bailey explains that Conte personally ‘green lights’ Tottenham swoops for both Kessie and Milan central defender Alessio Romagnoli – with the Italian looking set for a San Siro raid.

It is explained in his piece that Spurs sources have ‘confirmed’ that a ‘deal’ for Kessie in particular is ‘in the works’ but realise it will be a big battle to sign him.

However, the club are confident that Conte’s arrival could now push a move over the line.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Signing Kessie on a free deal would be managing director Fabio Paratici’s biggest masterstroke since bringing Conte to N17 and ushering in an exciting new era.

The four-time Serie A title-winning boss would certainly be in good company with Kessie’s possible arrival going by his exploits for Milan both last season and this season.

A mainstay under Stefano Pioli, playing in all but one of Milan’s top flight matches last year, reporter Nicky Bandini, a regular reviewer of Italian football, has also called the player ‘extraordinary’ (ESPN).

Tottenham could snap up the bargain of the century by landing Kessie on a free deal, considering his market value is around £49.5m.

In other news: Conte now personally plotting to sell ‘very talented’ Spurs player who Nuno called ‘unique’, find out more here.

Michael Vaughan wants to be judged on form and form alone when it comes to the possibility of a recall to the England squad for the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s next month

Andrew Miller21-Apr-2009Michael Vaughan wants to be judged on the runs he has scored, rather than the big-game experience he can fall back on, when it comes to the possibility of a recall to the England squad for the first Test against West Indies at Lord’s next month.Vaughan has not played Test cricket since resigning the England captaincy in August last year, but had expected to find out on Monday whether he had made the first international squad of the summer. Instead that decision was postponed, allowing him to travel to Chester-le-Street for Yorkshire’s opening County Championship fixture of the season against Durham on Wednesday knowing that a solid performance would put him firmly in line for a comeback.”I’m glad it’s been put back a week, it’s the right decision for everyone,” Vaughan told Cricinfo. “I’m very pleased with my pre-season preparation, and Durham is a great place for me to start against a really good bowling attack. [Steve] Harmison, [Liam] Plunkett and [Graham] Onions at this time of year will be a tough examination, but it’s pretty obvious what I’ve got to do – score some runs.”Vaughan has already played two innings against Durham so far this season. He made 12 while playing for MCC in the season’s opening fixture at Lord’s, but then showed glimpses of his best form during an attractive 43 in the Friends Provident Trophy on Sunday. “I’m playing nicely,” he said. “I have been doing since January. I don’t want to just be picked on experience. It’s important that I score runs for my own sake.”The competition for England’s No. 3 is the most keenly contested in the side at the moment, although Vaughan will have to go some way to overhaul the start made by Ian Bell, who followed up his 172 for Warwickshire against Somerset at Taunton with a further century against the same opponents at Edgbaston. “I don’t think it should come down to whose scoring the most runs,” said Vaughan, “but I think it’s important that whoever plays is in good form when they are picked.”After a winter away from the international scene, Vaughan is eager to get back involved. “I’d like another stab at the England side,” he said. “I feel I’ve got a great opportunity to do that. Last summer I got to a stage where I wasn’t quite enjoying cricket, and I didn’t like that feeling at all, but anyone who’s been around me for the last six months will see that I’m ready to go.”During his time away from the front line, Vaughan has remained an interested observer. “England’s form has been patchy, there’s no point in denying that, but what I saw in the West Indies was a team that got better after being bowled out in Jamaica,” he said. “They should have won in Antigua, could have won in Trinidad, and could have won the series 2-1. I know these are ifs, but sometimes the hardest bit is to get over the line to win.”To that end, Vaughan believes they have the perfect man in charge to get England back to winning ways. “I do believe in Straussy as a captain,” he said. “I really think he’ll be a great England captain, one who’ll offer a lot of stability, a lot of consistency and a lot of maturity, and those are exactly the attributes you require to be England captain.””He’s also a good thinker of the game but he’s also realistic. He knows exactly where the team can end up, and he and Andy Flower will have a vision, which is crucial. The partnership they are creating seems to be a good one, and hopefully it will be a more stable time and the team will prosper.”Even so, Vaughan warned that expectations will have to be managed as Ashes fever takes hold of the country. “You’ve got to be careful because you’ve got to give Flower time,” he said. “He’s only just come into the position as a full-time coach, and the Ashes are two months away.”Myself and Duncan [Fletcher] were lucky, we had two years to develop a team to take on the Aussies in 2005. We had a great set of players operating in the fashion that we wanted, and that took time. This summer is a big summer for the world game because the Ashes is very special, but it’s not the be-all and end-all for the England team, because it’s all relatively new for Flower and Strauss.”Whatever happens, however, Vaughan insisted that the 2009 would not be his last in the game. “I’ve enjoyed being back in the Yorkshire ranks,” he said. “People might find that hard to believe, when you play in Ashes-winning teams and been with England for ten years. But I love the game and being in the ranks is a real good change. I won’t play forever because I’ll get too old. But I’ll certainly be playing cricket next year.”Click here to listen to the full interview with Michael Vaughan.

Following on from their brutal 5-0 win over Watford in their latest Premier League match over the weekend, Liverpool are now back in European action with a clash against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday evening.

Ahead of the match against Diego Simeone’s side, Reds manager Jurgen Klopp revealed in his press conference prior to the match that midfielder Curtis Jones will not be available to play in the match alongside Thiago Alcantara and Harvey Elliott through injury, leaving the German with limited midfield options.

With this in mind, here’s how we feel Liverpool will line up against Atletico, who beat the Merseyside club twice in the Championship last 16 round of the competition in the 2019/20 season.

Big changes

Now that goalkeeper Alisson Becker will be back available for selection after missing the Watford match due to his recent involvement with Brazil, we feel that Klopp will put him back in the side against the Spanish club despite Caoimhin Kelleher managing to keep a clean sheet in Alisson’s absence at the weekend.

In defence, we think that the back four that played against Watford with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson will all keep their places in the team to try and subdue Atletico’s attacking force.

For the midfield, in a similar situation to Alisson, Liverpool will have Fabinho back available to play after his time away with Brazil. With this in mind, we can see Klopp making the most out of the available midfield options he has at the moment by putting the holding player in the starting XI, replacing £120k-per-week earner Naby Keita who played the full 90 minutes against the Hornets.

Even though Liverpool have a big Premier League match at the weekend against Manchester United, we think the Reds boss isn’t likely to drop any of the front three attacking players that started against Watford for their midweek game, with the trio of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah managing to get on the scoresheet.

Also, taking into account how Atletico have only managed to concede six goals in their opening eight La Liga games of the season, we think Liverpool will have to go with their strongest attacking line-up to get a positive result in midweek.

Whether Klopp goes with this exact starting XI against Atletico or not, we feel that they will still be going out to secure a win to keep their unbeaten run this season going ahead of their next league match at Old Trafford.

In other news: 3 goals in 6 apps: Liverpool have future star in “exceptional” 18 y/o, he’s “fearless” – opinion

Romain Saiss, Leander Dendoncker and Adama Traore all struggled in Wolves’ 1-1 draw away to Leeds United on Saturday afternoon.

Bruno Lage’s side made the trip to Elland Road in search of a fourth consecutive Premier League, eventually coming agonisingly close to achieving that mission.

Hwang Hee-chan’s early strike looked set to have earned Wolves another big win, only for Rodrigo to equalise from the penalty spot in the dying seconds.

Here are three players who had disappointing days at the office for the Midlanders.

Romain Saiss

Saiss was deemed Wolves’ second-worst player by Sofascore, with his 6.4 rating summing up an average showing.

He completed just 66% of his passes against Leeds and failed to win a single one of his four ground duels, summing up his struggles. The Moroccan was also dribbled past once and lost the ball 13 times.

Leander Dendoncker

The Belgian got the lowest Sofascore rating among Lage’s starting XI (6.0), failing to fully convince in the middle of the park.

The 26-year-old completed 78% of his passes but didn’t win a tackle in the whole game, despite playing in a busy area of the pitch, and he made one error which led to a shot for Leeds. He was also dribbled past twice, lost possession 11 times and won just one of his five duels.

Dendoncker will certainly have better games than his one at Elland Road.

Adama Traore

Traore is always an exciting player to watch, but as is too often the case with him, there wasn’t enough substance to his game at Elland Road.

The Spaniard lost possession 14 times and did not have a single shot or successful dribble. Most alarmingly, he only completed 44% of his passes, highlighting his wastefulness.

In other news, a Wolves transfer could still happen, according to one report. Read more here.

Australia’s struggling opener, Phillip Hughes, has been dropped to make way for Shane Watson

Alex Brown30-Jul-2009Phillip Hughes has confirmed his axing from the Australian XI for Edgbaston via a posting on the social networking site, Twitter. After a string of modest totals prompted by a susceptibility to short-pitched bowling, Hughes was dropped for Shane Watson in the most surprising selection move of the Ashes series to date.”Disappointed not to be on the field with the lads today,” Hughes posted several hours before the Australian team announcement. “Will be supporting the guys, it’s a BIG test match 4 us. Thanks 4 all the support!”Hughes managed 36, 4 and 17 at Sophia Gardens and Lord’s, and posted scratchy innings of 10 and 68 in the most recent tour match against Northamptonshire. He had been expected to retain his place in the Australian starting XI on the back of his sublime debut series in South Africa, during which he posted centuries in both innings of the Durban Test, but fundamental flaws in his technique have prompted the selectors to act.It is understood Watson will open the Australian innings in what represents a substantial gamble for the tourists. Despite impressive innings of 84 and 50 against Northants, Watson posseses a modest Test average (19.76) and has never batted higher than No. 6 in the five-day game. He has posted single-digit totals in his last four Test innings.Watson has experienced moderate success batting higher in the order for Queensland, but has fared better opening the batting for the Australian one-day side. He has posted ODI centuries at the top of the order for Australia in the past year, having worked with Greg Chappell, the Australian centre of excellence coach, to tighten his technique.Still, the move to replace Hughes with Watson comes as a shock on the eve of the third Test. Hughes, 20, arrived in England amid much fanfare following his prolific tour of South Africa (415 runs at 69.16) and a similarly successful stint with Middlesex (574 runs at 143.50). Hughes achieved the latter feat in just five innings, including three centuries, bettering Don Bradman’s impressive start to his maiden first-class stint in England – 566 runs in five innings in 1930.Any move to install Watson as Australia’s new opener would also come as a surprise, given the quality of top-order candidates around the country. Chris Rogers, who played a solitary Test against India two years ago, has scored 408 runs at 45.33 for Derbyshire in 2009, following on from his successful debut season with Victoria. And Phil Jaques, who has reportedly recovered from a second round of back surgery, scored a century in his last Test innings and averages a robust 47.47 in 11 Test innings.Evidence of the selectors’ stunning move was on display at Australia’s final pre-match training session at Edgbaston’s indoor nets centre on Wednesday. Watson batted with tremendous intent during an extended net session with Tim Nielsen, the Australian coach. Several pundits had speculated the all-rounder could slot in for Marcus North at No. 6, but he will now be posted higher up the order as Australia seek to level the Ashes series.”In the end, all I can do is perform and see what the selectors are going to do with the team,” Watson said during the tour match at Northampton. “I’m not targeting one specific spot. I’ve just got to go out there and perform when I get the opportunity and see what happens.”I feel like I’ve got the game and the technique and the mental side of things in the order to be able to give myself the best chance to combat [England’s fast bowlers]. They’re some of the best bowlers in the world and it’s one of the biggest challenges you could really face in world cricket facing those guys with a brand-new ball on a fresh pitch. But I feel like I’ve got the game to handle that and it would be an awesome to challenge to have that opportunity.”England will undoubtedly view the move as vindication for their tight, short-pitched tactics to Hughes. South Africa also attempted to bounce the diminutive opener earlier this year, but offered him too much width and paid a heavy price.Speaking to FoxSports prior to his axing, Hughes said he was enjoying the challenge of batting against Andrew Flintoff, who had dismissed him in two of his three innings on tour. “I see it as a challenge and it definitely has been, he’s bowling beautifully, I suppose their whole unit has been coming out pretty well and you’ve got to really adapt to that,” he said.”I’m not going to change things right now, halfway through a series and I won’t. There’s things that I will be adapting to, a couple of things I want to change. I’m a little bit disappointed about not playing well in the first Tests but I can turn things around.”It is understood Australia will retain the same bowling attack from the opening two Tests of the series, albeit with Mitchell Johnson bowling at first-change, and Peter Siddle and Ben Hilfenhaus taking the new ball. The move will come as a desperate disappointment to Stuart Clark, who has performed strongly in all three tour matches and was hoping to force his way into the Australian XI for Edgbaston.

Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan spinner, has been signed by Hampshire to play in the 2010 season

Cricinfo staff17-Aug-2009Ajantha Mendis, the Sri Lankan spinner, has been signed by Hampshire to play in the 2010 season. He will take over from Imran Tahir, who is due to return to The Rose Bowl in 2011, depending on his international commitments.”Ajantha Mendis is the most exciting new bowler to explode onto the world stage since Shane Warne,” said Rod Bransgrove, Hampshire chairman. “We are particularly excited that he has decided to join Hampshire having been courted by a number of counties over the past few months.”Mendis, 24, has played eight Test Matches for Sri Lanka, taking 39 wickets with career-best figures of 6 for 117 against India. He also won the ICC Emerging Player of the Year in 2008.

Flocking to Twitter, many Manchester United supporters have erupted over another injury blow to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side as pre-Leicester news drops.

United’s boss has already looked like he’ll be without England international Harry Maguire for the clash at The King Power Stadium with the 28-year-old ‘expected to miss out’ (Manchester Evening News).

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/man-united-latest-updates-copy/” title=”Man United latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

After dropping points at home to the likes of Aston Villa and Everton in recent Premier League outings, Solskjaer’s side will be looking to get back to winning ways amid some pressure on his position.

Now, he has certainly not been helped by a big pre-Foxes announcement involving one of their major summer signings.

Indeed, as confirmed by the club, Man United will now be without another star defender in Raphael Varane after he sustained an injury playing for France against Spain.

“Raphael Varane sustained a groin muscle injury in the UEFA Nations League final and has commenced rehabilitation at the club,” read a statement on their official website.

“He will be out for a few weeks.”

Flocking to this news, with one calling it a ‘massive blow’, it’s safe to say many Man United fans are livid – find all of their verdicts on the situation down below.

Man United fans flock to Varane news…

“Terrible News, Terrible Timing !! Varane is a massive blow. Big task at hand for Lindelof and Baily. God save our defence.”

Credit: @praveenjMUFC

“Relegation incoming”

Credit: @psychronicles

“Noooooooooo”

Credit: @Lilerixkk

“Oh boy!”

Credit: @5Solae

“We’re doomed”

Credit: @FutbolUtd

“This is such bad news, especially with games we have coming up & Harry being out!”

Credit: @Saramanu

“we are finished”

Credit: @utdleo_

In other news: ‘Wow’, ‘Can’t believe my eyes’…Man United fans buzz over official announcement, find out more here.