Whilst the injury crisis at Tottenham Hotspur this season has derailed their European chances, it has allowed numerous players to stake their claim for a regular starting role.

Djed Spence is one player who’s forced himself into Ange Postecoglou’s plans, forcing himself into the starting eleven, starring with regular minutes in the first team after previously being left in the dark.

The full-back has made 15 appearances in the Premier League to date, even being nominated for February’s Player of the Month – an indication of how impressive he’s been in recent weeks.

It’s been a welcome surprise for the supporters, undoubtedly being the shining light in what has been a dismal period on the pitch, which has seen the Lilywhites drop to the bottom half of the table.

Such an emergence from Spence could potentially spell the end of one player’s time in North London, with Daniel Levy and Co potentially needing to offload the star in the summer should one side come knocking again.

Pedro Porro’s stats for Spurs in 2024/25

Right-back Pedro Porro has been a player who’s been inconsistent throughout 2024/25, struggling to live up to the expectations placed on him after his £39m move in 2023.

The Spaniard has been Postecoglou’s first choice on the right side of the backline but has failed to deliver in recent weeks – as seen in the draw against Bournemouth, misplacing his pass and being caught out of position for the opener.

However, despite his recent form, he’s previously been touted with a move to Real Madrid, with the Spanish giants previously interested in his services over the last couple of months.

The 25-year-old has been dribbled past 1.1 times per 90 in the Premier League this campaign, with his attacking nature often restricting him in defensive areas.

Given the emergence of Spence this season, the club could be tempted to cash in, potentially joining another player out of the exit door in North London.

Not just Porro:

After such a crisis, there’s no denying that additions are needed in the summer to prevent such a situation from happening again and offer the depth needed to boss Postecoglou.

However, if he is to make the additions he wants to improve the squad, he will need to offload multiple players, including Porro and midfielder Yves Bissouma.

The Malian joined Spurs back in the summer of 2022 from Brighton for £35m but has been an inconsistent figure in the side, often failing to deliver when called upon.

He’s been prone to a mistake, subsequently having to make fouls to prevent them being costly, as seen by his tally of six yellow cards – with his most recent coming in the draw against Bournemouth.

As a result, he’s struggled to nail down a regular starting role in the starting eleven, making just 13 league starts to date – with one analyst dubbing him “shambolic” due to his lack of quality at times.

Games played

21

Goals & assists

2

Pass accuracy

89%

Fouls committed

1.6

Dribbled past

1.3

Duels won

51%

Yellow cards

6

Ange must look to sell him, with Bissouma currently halting the progress of midfielder Archie Gray, who joined the Lilywhites for £40m in the summer from Championship side Leeds United.

The 18-year-old has often featured in various defensive roles, covering multiple absentees due to the injury situation – doing an admirable job in the process, given it’s an unnatural role for the teenager.

With the returns of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven over the last few games, the Aussie now has the opportunity to hand him minutes in his preferred position and allow him to showcase his talents.

Gray deserves the chance to play at the heart of the side given his versatility at his tender age, having the potential to be a key player for the club for many years to come.

However, he’s been unable to do so with Bissouma somehow still receiving more minutes ahead of him despite his own lack of form in the middle of the park.

At 29, he’s coming into the back end of his career, with the club needing to cash in on his services in the summer to allow Gray to thrive with frequent opportunities.

It may seem a harsh call to sell him and Porro in the coming months, but ultimately, Ange needs to be ruthless if he is to turn around the current situation and lead the club to a long-awaited trophy.

Ange has a "pocket rocket" out on loan who could end Werner's Spurs career

The brilliant winger could be a valuable player for Spurs next season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Mar 10, 2025

The two Atletico Madrid stars participated in a viral challenge created by the viral NBA shooting coach and showcased their crossover sports skills

Atletico Madrid duo demonstrates remarkable accuracy in crossover challengeMatthews' "Lethal Shooter" challenge tested the footballers' precisionChallenge highlights growing intersection between football and basketball celebrity culturesWatch every FIFA Club World Cup game free on DAZNStream nowAFPWHAT HAPPENED

Atletico Madrid stars Antoine Griezmann and Koke participated in a unique social media challenge devised by Chris Matthews, the basketball shooting coach known online as "Lethal Shooter." The challenge required the Atletico Madrid stars to kick footballs into a standard basketball hoop surrounded by metal spikes, testing both their precision and nerve. Griezmann, the 2018 World Cup winner, made his basket in one try while Koke needed two tries to get the ball into the net.

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The two Atletico Madrid stars are in the United States as part of their club’s squad for the 2025 Club World Cup, with the La Liga side placed in Group B alongside Botafogo, PSG, and Seattle Sounders.

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Getty Images SportWHAT’S NEXT?

Griezmann and Koke will return to training as they prepare for Atletico Madrid’s contest against PSG on June 15 in their opening game of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

MatériaMais Notícias

A rede multiclubes de John Textor já gera destaque – pelo menos no sentido financeiro. Por conta dos jogadores emprestados recentemente pelo Botafogo, o RWD Molenbeek se tornou o clube mais valioso no que diz respeito ao valor de mercado da segunda divisão belga.

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+Patrick de Paula ‘some’ no Botafogo e completa um mês sem jogar

O clube de Bruxelas também pertence ao proprietário majoritário da SAF Botafogo. Recentemente, o Alvinegro emprestou Juninho, Ênio, Rikelmi, Luís Oyama e Barreto ao “coirmão” belga. E não deve parar por aí: a tendência é que Vinícius Lopes seja o próximo a desembarcar na Europa.

De acordo com o “Transfermarkt”, o valor de mercado do elenco do RWD Molenbeek subiu para 11,8 milhões de euros (R$ 60,6 milhões, na cotação atual), o que torna a equipe como a líder neste sentido no campeonato.

Também vale o destaque porque o time de Textor ultrapassou o SK Lommel, clube que pertence ao Grupo City, principal rede multiclubes do mundo e uma das inspirações do norte-americano. O elenco do rival, de acordo com o portal, está avaliado em 10,9 milhões de euros (R$ 56 milhões).

Muito dessa diferença se deu pelas chegadas dos jogadores emprestados pelo Botafogo. Luís Oyama, por exemplo, é o segundo mais valioso do campeonato. Apenas Metinho, justamente do SK Lommel, está na frente – vale ressaltar que os valores são sempre estimados pelo “Transfermarkt”.

+Quais são os possíveis retornos que o Botafogo pode ter com o intercâmbio entre clubes com o Molenbeek

De qualquer forma, todo o investimento precisa se confirmar dentro de campo. A equipe bateu na trave na busca pelo acesso na temporada passada, perdendo a vaga para a Série A nos playoffs. No atual campeonato, o time tem uma vitória, um empate e uma derrota após as três primeiras rodadas do campeonato.

Worcestershire have confirmed that Jack Haynes will leave at the end of the season to join Nottinghamshire.Haynes, 22, who came through Worcestershire’s academy and had been capped by England Lions, was out of contract and has agreed a three-year deal at Trent Bridge.A highly rated top-order batter, Haynes has impressed across formats since his first-team debut in 2019. He averages 34.91 in first-class cricket, with four hundreds, 42.63 in 11 List A appearances and has a T20 strike rate of 143.31.”Jack is already a good player though it his hunger to move his game forward that really excites me,” Nottinghamshire head coach, Peter Moores, said. “He has already gained valuable experience in red and white ball cricket, which gives him a great platform to build on going forward,””As a top-order batter in all formats he will strengthen our batting unit as well as adding healthy competition. We pride ourselves in helping players fulfil their potential and we have already seen many of our players move their games forwards at Trent Bridge.”We pride ourselves as a coaching team in creating opportunities for all our players to keep improving, knowing that as they improve, so do Notts. Helping players develop is one of the most exciting parts of coaching in my opinion.”Haynes made his England Lions debut in Sri Lanka over the winter and has also played for Oval Invincibles in the Hundred.”I’m really excited to move to Nottinghamshire,” Haynes said. “Trent Bridge is always a place I’ve loved coming to as a player; the club has a great feel about it, and the facilities and pitch are conducive to helping me develop as a cricketer.”When I sat down with Pete Moores and Ant Botha, they were both passionate about the direction of this squad, and how I can fit into it. I’m under no illusion that it’ll take hard work to nail down a place in the side and continue to grow in all formats, but Notts have a track record of taking on players and improving them to help them reach their potential.”Worcestershire have already seen two other homegrown players depart for Nottinghamshire this month, with Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington making the move northeast, while another fast bowler, Pat Brown, has agreed to join Derbyshire.Worcestershire’s chief executive officer Ashley Giles said: “It is always disappointing to see a player nurtured by our own pathway and academy leave the club. We would like to take this opportunity to wish Jack every success in the future.”

Florian Wirtz is set to become one of the top earners at Liverpool after his stunning £116m move from Bayer Leverkusen.

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• 22-year-old's base salary a whopping £195k-a-week
• Bonuses could bump total pay packet to £13m per year
• Wirtz will be third highest-paid star at Anfield

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Accoridng to Sky Sports, the 22-year-old will earn a base salary of £195,000 a week. That could rise to more than £245,000 based on individual and team bonuses, representing a potential annual pay packet of almost £13m. Wirtz completed his switch to Merseyside earlier this week for an initial fee of £100m, which could rise to £116m should Wirtz play a key role in Liverpool winning the Premier League and Champions League.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The deal makes Wirtz the third highest paid player at Liverpool, but he still lags far behind numbers one and two. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah's contracts were a constant story during the 2024/25 season, with both stars signing a new deal in the run-in of the Reds' title-winning campaign. Captain Van Dijk is reportedly earning £400,000 per week, while Salah is bringing home £380,000 per week.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  While the deal to bring Wirtz to Merseyside is essentially a done deal, the young star has yet to complete his medical. The 22-year-old was viewed as one of Europe's hottest properties in this summer window, with Liverpool beating Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to his signature.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR FLORIAN WIRTZ?

  Wirtz returns from holiday in the next few days, and will begin the move across to England. The player has already held talks with his new manager, and has viewed properties in Cheshire ahead of his start in English football.

They say the best defence is a good offence, and in Tottenham Hotspur’s case, that may well be true.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have had to deal with injury after injury to their backline this year, which has seen them concede the seventh most goals in the Premier League this season.

Fortunately, the North Londoners have also scored the joint second-most goals in the competition, which has kept them from falling below 14th place and into a genuine relegation scrap – it’s the small things.

It now appears as if Daniel Levy and Co are keen to further improve the attack this summer, as recent reports have touted one of the best strikers in Europe with a move to N17, a forward who’d be an upgrade on club-record signing Dominic Solanke.

Tottenham Hotspur's striker search

According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Tottenham are one of several clubs weighing up a summer move for LOSC Lille star Jonathan David.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Alongside the Lilywhites, the report has revealed that fellow Premier League sides Arsenal, West Ham United, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool are keen on the Canadian, while European giants Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Milan and Juventus are all ‘considering moves’.

While the level of competition for the prolific number nine is far from ideal, the good news is that this would not be an expensive deal to get over the line due to his contract expiring in the summer.

In all, it could be an incredibly complicated transfer to get done for Spurs, but given David’s immense ability, one well worth fighting for, especially as he could be an upgrade on the already talented Solanke.

How David compares to Solanke

The first thing to say is that, so far this season, Solanke has shown himself to be more than capable of leading the line for this Tottenham side, but just because he’s impressed thus far does not mean he cannot be improved upon, which is where David comes into the picture.

The first thing to compare is their raw output, as when it really comes down to it, that is what matters more than anything else for a number nine, and in this metric, it’s an easy win for the Lille star.

For example, in his 41 appearances this term, totalling 3284 minutes, the 25-year-old star, whom journalist Tony Marinaro dubbed “one of the best strikers in the world,” has scored 23 goals and provided ten assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.24 games, or every 99.51 minutes.

For his part, the Lilywhites forward has scored 11 goals and provided eight assists in 33 appearances, totalling 2536 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.73 games, or every 133.47 minutes.

Unfortunately for the former Bournemouth man, he also comes out on the losing side, albeit to a lesser degree, when we take a look under the hood and compare their underlying numbers.

David vs Solanke
Statistics per 90	David	Solanke
Expected G+As	0.83	0.61
Goals + Assists	0.80	0.51
Progressive Passes	2.17	1.92
Progressive Carries	1.13	1.36
Shots	2.32	2.63
Goals per Shot	0.16	0.13
Shots on Target	1.04	1.06
Goals per Shot on Target	0.36	0.33
Passing Accuracy	81.2%	71.8%
Key Passes	1.27	0.66
Passes into the Penalty Area	0.80	0.45
Shot-Creating Actions	2.46	1.72
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Season

For example, in most relevant metrics, the New York-born dynamo comes out ahead, including but not limited to expected and actual goals plus assists, progressive and key passes, shot-creating actions, goals per shot and shot on target, passes into the penalty area and more, all per 90.

Finally, while the Basingstoke-born marksman is yet to score a senior goal for England, the former Gent star has won 59 caps for Canada, in which he’s racked up a phenomenal haul of 31 goals and 18 assists.

That means he averages a goal involvement every 1.20 games and can handle the pressure of being a talisman for club and country.

Ultimately, Solanke is a great player and someone who could go on to have a brilliant career with Spurs, but when it comes down to what matters most, goals, it’s clear that David is in another league entirely.

Therefore, if Levy and Co want the first team to pack even more of a punch next season, they should be doing all they can to convince the Canadian star to move to the white side of North London when his contract ends.

Leading candidate to replace Ange: Spurs want "special" Iraola alternative

The experienced manager could be just what Spurs need.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Mar 19, 2025

As England kicked off their World Cup qualifying campaign with victory over Albania on Friday evening, it was a muted night for those of a Chelsea persuasion, even with former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel now at the helm for the Three Lions.

With Cole Palmer sidelined with injury, the only two Chelsea representatives in Tuchel’s matchday squad were Levi Colwill and Reece James, albeit with neither man earning a place in the starting lineup at Wembley.

As it proved, Colwill was an unused substitute for the 2-0 triumph, while James was introduced in stoppage time in place of goalscorer, Myles Lewis-Skelly, with the German coach favouring the veteran Kyle Walker at right-back.

It is still early days, however, with James no doubt hoping to cement a starting berth for himself moving forward, having begun to feature more regularly at club level following an injury-hit last few years at Stamford Bridge.

The 25-year-old – who has made just 14 appearances at club level this season – will be aiming to get back to the levels that he showcased under Tuchel’s watch, having enjoyed an initially meteoric rise from academy prospect to first-team sensation.

Reece James' Chelsea record under Tuchel

Captain of the side that claimed FA Youth Cup glory in 2017/18, having been named Academy Player of the Year that season to boot, the versatile full-back was made to wait until September 2019 to make his Blues debut, after spending the previous campaign on loan at Wigan Athletic.

Under the tutelage of Frank Lampard, the then-youngster would amass 37 first-team appearances in total in 2019/20, alongside the likes of Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount, as the west London side secured Champions League qualification.

That bright start was followed by a real rise amid Tuchel’s appointment in January 2021, with James playing a central role in the side that claimed European glory just a few months later.

Operating in a right wing-back berth, the Englishman flourished in an attacking sense under the former Borussia Dortmund boss, having chalked up seven goals and 12 assists in 74 games during Tuchel’s tenure.

It is no surprise then that even amid his recent injury woes, he has still been recognised as being “as good as any right-back in the world” when at his best, according to pundit Eni Aluko, with the Chelsea skipper still having ample time to return to such lofty heights.

Whatever the case, James still represents a real academy success story of the modern era at the Bridge, having seemingly overtaken one of his positional rivals to soar to the top.

The Chelsea star who was once ahead of Reece James

Mount, Abraham, Colwill, Conor Callagher, Dominic Solanke, Marc Guehi, Fikayo Tomori, Ruben Loftus-Cheek. The list goes on.

While not all have made their mark at first-team level for the Blues, the west London side have certainly developed a reputation for producing some of the best young talent about – and deservedly so.

For every Reece James, however, there are those who don’t quite push on in a similar vain, with that perhaps true of another once-promising Cobham gem, in the form of Dujon Sterling.

Chelsea 5-1 Man City, second leg

GK – Jamie Cumming

CB – Reece James

CB – Marc Guehi

CB – Trevoh Chalobah

RWB – Dujon Sterling

CM – Tariq Uwakwe

CM – Jacob Maddox

LWB – Juan Castillo

RW – Callum Hudson-Odoi

ST – Ike Ugbo

LW – Mason Mount

The current Rangers star – who, like James, is now 25 – was actually promoted into the first-team ranks a long time prior to his former colleague, having been handed a first-team debut by Antonio Conte as early as 2017.

The 6 foot 1 starlet was seemingly deemed a viable option as a wing-back in Conte’s 3-4-3 set-up, with reports also suggesting that he was ‘rated as highly as James’ in the academy system at one stage. Indeed, praise flooded in from academy coach Adi Viveash at the time:

Unfortunately for Sterling, while the current Chelsea captain has gone on to make 172 appearances for the club, the Islington-born defender was unable to build on the two chances he was handed in that 2017/18 campaign.

The former England youth international subsequently spent the next four seasons out on loan at a variety of EFL clubs, including Wigan, before the Todd Boehly regime allowed him to depart on a free transfer, following the expiry of his contract in 2023.

Sterling has since made 67 appearances in Glasgow, while registering four goal involvements, albeit with few of a Chelsea persuasion – including Boehly and co – likely to regret letting him depart on the cheap.

Having at one stage been viewed as ‘one of the best talents’ to come from Cobham, as per journalist Nizaar Kinsella, the £3m-rated ace was ultimately usurped by James in that right-back pecking order.

Best signing since Hazard & Kante: Boehly struck gold on Chelsea's "genius"

Chelsea struck gold signing this “world-class” ace who’s their best signing since Hazard & Kante

ByConnor Holden Mar 22, 2025

كشفت تقارير صحفية، عن المبلغ الذي سيطلبه نادي تشيلسي للموافقة على رحيل نوني مادويكي إلى صفوف آرسنال خلال سوق الانتقالات الصيفية الحالية.

ويرغب آرسنال في تدعيم صفوفه، بالتعاقد مع نوني مادويكي من صفوف تشيلسي، والذي قد لا يجد فرصة اللعب بشكل منتظم وأساسي مع الفريق الموسم المقبل.

أقرأ أيضاً.. بعد ارتباطه بـ تشيلسي.. موقف نوانيري من الرحيل عن آرسنال

ووفقاً لصحيفة “تليجراف”البريطانية، فإن تشيلسي سيطلب مبلغًا يصل إلى 50 مليون جنيه إسترليني، للموافقة على انتقال نوني مادويكي هذا الصيف.

وتتسارع المحادثات بين آرسنال وممثلي مادويكي لإنهاء الصفقة ويبقى معرفة ما سيحدث خلال الساعات المقبلة وإذا كان الاتفاق سينتهي بين كل الأطراف.

ولم يتضح بعد ما إذا كان آرسنال سينفق هذا المبلغ لضم صاحب الـ23 عاماً حيث ترددت تكهنات بأنه مستعد لدفع 40 مليون جنيه إسترليني فقط.

وسيطلب تشيلسي من آرسنال دفع نفس القيمة التي قد يقوم بإنفاقها نيوكاسل يونايتد لضم أنتوني إيلانجا من نوتنجهام فورست هذا الصيف.

وقد أبدى مشجعو أرسنال استياءهم من تقارير انتقال مادويكي، خاصة في ظل الشكوك حول مستقبل إيثان نوانيري في ملعب الإمارات.

وقد يكون من الصعب أن يوافق آرسنال على إنفاق هذا المبلغ، ويجب على تشيلسي أن يقوم بتخفيض مطالبه إذا كان يرغب في التخلص من مادويكي هذا الصيف.

England captain proud of team’s attempts to force pace, targets squared series at The Oval

Matt Roller23-Jul-2023Ben Stokes believes England did “literally everything we possibly could” to force a result in the drawn fourth Ashes Test at Emirates Old Trafford, delivering a “pretty much perfect” performance in a game they “completely and utterly” dominated.England led by 275 runs on first innings after winning the toss, bowling Australia out for 317 before racking up 592 in 107.4 overs, and led by 61 runs heading into the final day with Australia five wickets down in their second innings.But after rain had limited the fourth day’s play to 30 overs, it forced a total washout on Sunday, denying England the opportunity to push for victory and leaving Australia 2-1 up heading into the final Test at The Oval next week – thereby retaining the Ashes urn.”The cricket we got in, in this game, was potentially an opportunity for a team to play it safe; to wait and see what the outcome might be,” Stokes said. “We didn’t do that. We definitely didn’t shy away from what we needed to do.”We’re always putting our front foot forward and trying to press the game as hard as we possibly could. As a captain, that’s something that makes me very proud as a leader of the ten other guys out there. It’s just unfortunate that we managed to get three hours in over the last two days.”The draw was the first of Stokes’ tenure as permanent captain, after 12 wins and four defeats in his first 16 Tests in full-time charge. “I think it’s the first draw for us, through no fault of our own,” he said. “We try and take the positive out of these things. We did literally everything we possibly could.”The weather didn’t help us and we can’t change that. It’s a tough pill to swallow, knowing that’s the reason we sit here with a draw, but we’ve done everything we possibly could in the hours of play we managed to get. We were completely and utterly dominant throughout the hours of play we had. It’s a shame, but, oh well.”Ben Stokes believes his team have “already done wonders” for Test cricket in England•Getty ImagesWhen asked to compare how he felt in Manchester to his emotions after England’s defeats in the first two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord’s, Stokes said: “I think they’re completely different.”We obviously played some brilliant cricket in those games, [but] we played some cricket that we knew we could have been better at. But in this game I can’t actually look back and think, ‘We could have been better there’, because we were pretty much perfect throughout the whole game.”Bowling Australia out and then scoring the runs that we did at the pace that we did – I can’t really say we got anything wrong about this game, to be honest. It is tough to say we ended up with a draw when we’ve dominated the cricket that we’ve managed to get in.”Related

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Australia retain the Ashes, but can they close out the series?

England can no longer win the series outright, but can deny Australia a first away Ashes win since 2001 by beating them at The Oval in the fifth Test – just as they did four years ago – which starts on Thursday.”It’s very similar to 2019, when we had to go to The Oval and win to draw the series,” Stokes said. “We’ll have to get over the disappointment of today and then focus on that game. It is a massive game for us and 2-2 sounds a lot better than 3-1.”The mentality and mindset within the dressing-room is to go out and win. Go back to the Pakistan series, where we could have taken it easy in that last game knowing we’d won the series but we didn’t. We still went out with the same mentality of how we wanted to play our cricket.”Every time we walk out on the field, that’s all I encourage the players to do: just concentrate on what you need to do as an individual to influence a game in the right way. If it doesn’t happen, you’ve still got an opportunity to do that in a different way or a different session. Everything we do is to try and be positive and get a result for England.”Stokes acknowledged that a decider at The Oval would have been “a very, very special week in the history of English cricket” but said that his team have “already done wonders” for the sport across the country.”It would have elevated everything that the series has already done for Test cricket, especially in England,” he said. “But I think what we’ve managed to do, up until today anyway, has already done wonders for cricket in England.”I think we’ll still have the support that we have done throughout the series next week. We’ll be treating it as every other game and I hope the support we get will still be there or thereabouts, as if it was 2-2.”

Batter to undergo surgery after sustaining injury while fielding during Lord’s Test

Vithushan Ehantharajah04-Jul-2023

Ollie Pope has suffered two previous shoulder dislocations in his career•AFP/Getty Images

Ollie Pope has been ruled out of the remainder of England’s Ashes campaign after dislocating his right shoulder during the second Test at Lord’s last week.Pope, who has twice suffered shoulder dislocations in the past, underwent a scan in London on Monday, which revealed the full extent of the injury, He will undergo surgery and will miss the final three Tests against Australia, before beginning his rehabilitation under the guidance of the England and Surrey medical teams.Having damaged the shoulder diving for a ball on day one of the Lord’s Test, Pope aggravated the injury on day three after the umpires insisted he take the field after batting in England’s first innings, scoring 42. It was a situation that left England frustrated, with Jeetan Patel, England’s spin coach, acknowledging that England would have had to field with ten men had he not fronted up.Related

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Ashes finds its flashpoint as Bairstow stumping ignites England

Usman Khawaja condemns 'disrespectful' behaviour from MCC members

“It’s a pretty tough situation when you nearly bust your shoulder and you’re told it was an external [injury],” Patel said. “It was always going to happen. He’s so committed to this team. He was always going to fall on something. And now he’s back off.”Pope is also England’s designated vice-captain, although that leadership gap is straightforward to fill, with Stuart Broad likely to step up as Ben Stokes’ deputy, having fulfilled the role unofficially last summer. A bigger issue, however, is who now steps into the vacant No. 3 spot at Headingley.Despite averaging 22.50 across four innings against Australia, Pope has averaged 45.25 at first-drop since Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum took charge at the start of last summer. Now, with England 2-0 down and facing a must-win match to keep the Ashes alive, there is an unwanted problem to solve at the top of the order.Speaking at Headingley on Tuesday, Joe Root lamented the loss of Pope, and did not rule out a return to No.3, a position Root has not assumed since relinquishing the captaincy before the start of last summer.