Injuries

The National Women's Soccer League's restart plan took a major hit Monday when the Orlando Pride withdrew from the NWSL Challenge Cup after six players and four staff members tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Challenge Cup, scheduled to start Saturday in Utah, is due to make the NWSL the first U.S. pro team-sports league back in action amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pride wrote in a statement that all of the players and staffers who were found to have the virus were asymptomatic.

In the summer of 2016, Bruno Soriano was representing Spain at the Euros while appearing in two group stage matches. He followed that up with another inspirational season as Villarreal’s captain, appearing in 45 games across all competitions while scoring five goals and adding three assists from his defensive midfield position.

Then, for effectively three seasons, nothing — not a single appearance for his beloved Yellow Submarine.

The NWSL is preparing for its Challenge Cup beginning on Saturday, June 27 at Zions Bank Stadium in Herriman, Utah. The nine teams participating in the 25-game tournament have been back training, but with the time-crunched preseason, not all the big names will be making an appearance. 

Several USWNT players will not be joining their respective teams due to injury or concern over the possible spread of the coronavirus.

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong is set to miss the team's next match against Athletic Bilbao after the club said in a statement on Sunday he had injured the calf muscle in his right leg.

Dutch international De Jong missed Friday's 0-0 draw away to Sevilla which dented Barca's hopes of winning the Spanish title, with coach Quique Setien saying before the game he was leaving the player out as a precaution.

Arsenal is in a world of shit right now. 

The Gunners looked to be turning things around with three straight Premier League wins before the novel coronavirus pandemic forced the league to shut down. Upon return, Arsenal has looked worse than ever in the Mikel Arteta era. Adding to the shitstorm, Arteta is losing players to injury faster than my partner left the room after I started playing The Last of Us Part II.

Tottenham striker Harry Kane will start in Friday's Premier League clash at home to Manchester United after a six-month absence, according to manager Jose Mourinho.

Son Heung-min and Moussa Sissoko, who like Kane were ruled out by serious injuries when the Premier League was suspended three months ago, are also set to face United.

The news is a big boost to Tottenham as they try to revive their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, having slipped to eighth in the standings, four points behind fifth-placed United and seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

Ada Hegerberg's season had been cut short by the time the new coronavirus wiped out the football calendar, but the break has given her time to rehabilitate her injured knee and the Ballon d'Or-winning striker is relishing her return to training.

Lyon’s Hegerberg ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament in training in January, a cruel blow that immediately ended the prolific forward's campaign.

Lucien Favre's Dortmund has been unable to catch a break on the injury front of late. 

Having already lost captain Marco Reus to ongoing fitness issues and center back Dan-Axel Zagadou to a ruptured ligament, Favre has now had to rule out midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud for the rest of the campaign as well.

Reports flooded out of Milan on Monday about Zlatan Ibrahimovic picking up an injury during training with AC Milan. The Italian club said the injury was sustained to his calf and he'll undergo medical exams on Tuesday to discover its extent.

Several different outlets in Milan had reported that the situation was far more severe and that Ibrahimovic could be done not only for the season but for his career with a ruptured Achilles tendon, but that's not the case.

Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce has warned that players will not be ready for competitive action until the end of June as the Premier League looks to restart the season next month. 

The league has been suspended since mid-March but its plans to resume received a boost when the government last week said it was "opening the door" for the sport to return. Another meeting is planned for Monday to discuss safety measures needed for "Project Restart" to happen and Bruce said players need at least six weeks to get back in shape.