Archive August 11, 2025

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish says the club will sell captain Marc Guehi this summer to avoid losing him on a free at the end of his contract.

The Eagles rejected offers for defender Guehi from Newcastle United in January – the last of which was worth £65m – in the hope the defender would sign a new deal in south-west London.

But the England international has now entered the final 12 months of his deal at Selhurst Park, and appears no closer to extending his contract.

Guehi is said to be open to remaining with the club until 2026, at which point he can leave on a free transfer.

But Parish says the club would reluctantly prefer to cash in on Guehi this summer.

“We’d have to do that, of course,” said Parish.

“For players of that calibre to leave on a free, it’s a problem for us unfortunately.

“Joachim [Andersen] went [to Fulham last summer] and we couldn’t afford to lose both.

“We then had another bid [for Guehi] in January but that was a different situation.

“We’ll just have to see what happens. But, you know, it needs a new contract or a conclusion of some kind.”

Liverpool retain an interest in Guehi but it remains to be seen whether Arne Slot’s side will spend heavily on a player they could acquire for free in 2026.

Palace are believed to want around £40m for Guehi, but Liverpool want to pay less than that figure.

Parish’s comments came after Palace beat Liverpool in the Community Shield to win their second piece of silverware under manager Oliver Glasner.

Glasner has been critical of the club’s lack of transfer activity this summer, with Palace making just two first-team signings following the arrivals of Argentina goalkeeper Walter Benitez from PSV Eindhoven and Croatia defender Borna Sosa from Ajax.

“It’s difficult. We have an outstanding 15 or 16 players, trying to get that level of quality in is hard. The prices – at the end of the day we’re Crystal Palace,” said Parish.

The Irish Premiership returned at the weekend with all 12 teams in action across Saturday and Sunday.

Bangor, Ballymena United, Carrick Rangers, Coleraine, Glentoran and Linfield all began their campaigns with opening day victories.

The first six games of the season served up the debuts of plenty of new signings, new kits and goals galore with some interesting results.

There was an early contender for game of the season at Seaview and few could have envisaged Carrick Rangers fighting back to win 4-3 when they fell 3-0 behind after 32 minutes against Crusaders.

The Crues, who look to be trying to evolve their playing style under Declan Caddell this year, played some scintillating football in that first half hour.

After unearthing Kieran Offord from Scotland last season, they seem to have hit the jackpot again in that market again with some of their latest additions.

Fraser Bryden and Adam Brooks scored on their debuts, Elliot Dunlop was a constant thorn in Carrick’s side with his pace and directness, and Finley Thorndike, as he did at Glentoran, showed glimpses of his potential.

Stephen Baxter’s decision to sign a number of former Crusaders players looked to have backfired as their lack of pace in defence was exposed, but they showed ruthlessness when chances presented themselves to stay in the game.

Danny Gibson produced two clinical finishes whilst Jack Scott twice held his nerve from the spot to help them to a remarkable comeback win.

The awarding of both those spot kicks was contentious with Crues boss Caddell less than impressed with referee Mark Dillion, who had a tough afternoon in north Belfast.

His decision to award the first spot kick when Aidan Steele was taken down by Dunlop proved to be something of a turning point as Scott converted to spark the fightback.

Caddell’s ire lay firmly with the fact Dillion’s assistant had initially signalled for a throw-in to Crusaders and the referee overruled him to award the penalty.

As well as a game of the season contender on opening day, we also had a goal of the season contender from an unlikely source in Ballymena United’s Donal Rocks.

The industrious midfielder is not renowned for his goal scoring prowess but his double on Saturday helped the Sky Blues to a 2-0 opening day win over Glenavon at Mourneview Park.

Rocks nipped in at the back post to tuck home the opener in the first half and then produced a stunning strike for his second, lobbing goalkeeper Jacob Carney from long range to seal all three points.

Instead of taking the plaudits post-match, Rocks admitted to BBC Sport NI the shot was more hit and hope than Wayne Rooney esque!

Bangor marked their return to the top flight with a first Irish Premiership win since December 2008 and they were well worth their 3-1 victory over Cliftonville at Clandeboye Park too.

Boss Lee Feeney said that he had trialled three different formations in the build-up to the game due to injuries and he landed on a winning one.

The well-drilled Seasiders did their homework as they frustrated Cliftonville and took their chances when they came, exploiting the Reds’ weakness in the air.

Ben Arthurs and former Reds striker Michael Morgan both headed home from good deliveries to hand Bangor a valuable three points.

It was a difficult afternoon for Jim Magilton’s side, who struck the crossbar three times but failed to really create many clear-cut chances.

After Ryan Curran’s equaliser they had a spell when they looked like they might go on and win the game, but they switched off defensively and were duly punished.

New team, same old Joel Cooper.

Last year’s Player of the Season Cooper scored the winner on his debut for new-look Coleraine to get his and their season off to a flier.

The former Linfield man showed his signature composure as he buried a low shot beyond Rohan Ferguson with four minutes left at the Coleraine Showgrounds to edge a tense encounter against Larne.

It was a game that looked to be drifting towards a goalless draw before Cooper sprinkled some magic to earn a crucial win for Ruaidhri Higgins.

Cooper was the difference for Linfield on a number of occasions last year as they romped to the title, with many of his 19 goals helping to decide games.

Coleraine will hope for a similar impact this year as they look to mount a serious title charge.

It’s safe to say that Offord has yet to hit the heights at Linfield as he did in his six-month loan spell at Crusaders.

The 21-year-old striker’s characteristically hard-working attitude has not waned at all, but after arriving at the Blues in January, he struggled in front of goal.

His impact in Linfield’s European campaign to date has been minimal too, but his hat-trick in Sunday’s 3-0 win against Dungannon Swifts may just be the start of the Scotsman re-discovering his clinical streak.

He stroked home a penalty for his first goal, showed composure to stick his second through Declan Dunne’s legs and persistence to complete his hat-trick a minute later, heading home after his initially effort was saved.

David Healy has a 19-goal Cooper hole to fill and with no more additions looking likely, Offord scoring regularly may be just the remedy he needs.

“For me, he is just getting started. He had the bedding in period last season and now he can show what he can do as he did today,” Healy’s assistant Ross Oliver said after the game.

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important band of connective tissue in the centre of the knee that helps to keep it stable.

When the ACL is injured it can cause pain, swelling and a feeling of the knee ‘giving way’, making it difficult to bear weight or participate in activities – particularly sport.

Scenarios that commonly lead to ACL injuries in football include rapid directional changes and landing after heading the ball.

If a footballer partially tears or ruptures their ACL, it often leads to them missing most – and in some cases, all – of a season, typically requiring six to nine months on the sidelines.

England internationals James Maddison and Levi Colwill both sustained ACL injuries in pre-season, which could see them miss most of the upcoming Premier League campaign.

Sometimes, recovery can take even longer. Aston Villa duo Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia both missed the duration of the 2023-24 season and the start of the following season due to ACL injuries.

How quickly a player recovers from ACL injury can depend on their age, the severity of the injury and how the individual reacts to surgery.

Ben Warburton is a physiotherapist experienced in ACL rehabilitation, having worked with Cardiff City, Wales’ national rugby union team and Scarlets.

Warburton says it will take a minimum of six months after surgery to get a player match-fit.

“Once you’ve had surgery, there’s a lot of trauma to the knee,” he explains. “Once that’s calmed down, you’ve got to take it easy for the first three months. When you get past that three-month mark, you can rehab.

“Then it’s a case of conditioning and training, getting the leg strong and getting the player back to running, training and games. That’s why it takes so long.”

Warburton says players who return to playing six months after ACL surgery are more likely to re-aggravate the injury than those who recover for nine months.

“You can go earlier [than six months], but it’s a massive risk,” Warburton adds.

“I don’t know many surgeons who’d recommend to that. It has obviously happened. It hasn’t not been successful, it’s just unbelievably high-risk.”

Tottenham midfielder Maddison tore his ACL during Spurs’ friendly with Newcastle in South Korea at the start of August and is expected to miss most of the upcoming campaign.

A day later, Chelsea defender Colwill suffered a similar blow during his first pre-season training session and has since undergone surgery.

Both would have been vying for a spot in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, should the Three Lions qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Severe ACL injuries are most commonly caused by a sudden increase in workload or due to fatigue.

Colwill’s injury came just 21 days after winning the Club World Cup in a campaign where he made 47 appearances for club and country, while Maddison’s occurred in his first game since missing the final six matches of last season with a knee injury.

A metric called the acute:chronic workload is used to assess an athlete’s injury risk by comparing their recent training (acute load) to their longer-term training (chronic workload).

“They get a huge [training] spike in pre-season and that’s where it’s really hard to control it, because all the coaches want them to get fit quick – but the medical staff want them to stay fit,” says Warburton.

“Maddison’s just come back from a significant injury and then he gets back into training again – something goes when too much has happened too quickly.”

Colwill, 22, is six years younger than Maddison and that age difference may mean the Chelsea man will have a shorter lay-off.

As recently as 10 years ago, a serious ACL injury increased the likelihood that a footballer might have to retire.

But Warburton says nowadays, most footballers who have ACL surgery have between a 90-95% chance of returning to playing.

Advancements in technology and research are improving the management of ACL injuries, particularly in surgical decision-making and graft options.

Surgeons now have access to improved techniques for ACL reconstruction, including the transplant of a kneecap and hamstring tendons from donors.

“There’s so much research now on the best grafts and the strongest graft for an ACL, and success rates,” says Warburton.

“And there are so many tests that we put players through, through technology that wasn’t available even 10 years ago.”

Rates of a player reinjuring their ACL are heightened in the first 12 months following their return, meaning longer rest periods are key.

“What happens is players return and naturally their rehab goes down and their training and playing go up. So sometimes they lose quad [thigh muscle] strength and then with more game time fatigue kicks in,” says Warburton.

Studies show female footballers are two to six times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than their male counterparts.

In 2022, then-Arsenal trio Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema all suffered ACL injuries in quick succession.

Research as to why this type of injury is more prevalent in women is ongoing, but anatomical differences are believed to play a role.

“[Women] have what’s called a greater Q angle [the angle between the quadriceps muscle and the patellar tendon],” says Warburton, adding that this is because their pelvis is wider to facilitate childbirth.

A larger Q angle can cause the knee to move inward during movements such as jumping, which places more stress on the ACL.

Earlier this year, Fifa funded a research project into whether hormonal fluctuations during menstrual cycles could be contributing to the rise in ACL injuries in women’s football.

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