Tiger Woods will be sidelined indefinitely after undergoing surgery for a ruptured left Achilles tendon on Tuesday, the golf superstar said on social media.
The 15-time major champion, who hasn’t teed it up since the Open Championship last July, said he was diagnosed after feeling a “sharp pain” in the tendon when he was practicing.
His latest injury setback comes less than a month before the first major of the year, the Masters at Augusta National.
Mikel Arteta said Arsenal are focused on “fighting to win every game” even though their Premier League dream appears to be over as they eye the next round of the Champions League.
The second-placed Gunners trail Premier League leaders Liverpool by 15 points after Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United extended their winless league run to three matches.
It is a crushing disappointment for Arsenal, who have finished as runners-up to Manchester City for the past two seasons.
Arsenal, who have one foot in the Champions League quarter-finals after their 7-1 first-leg away win over PSV Eindhoven last week, host the Dutch side at the Emirates in Wednesday’s reverse fixture.
“We are going to carry on fighting to win every game”, Spanish coach Arteta said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“There are the demands we put on ourselves in every competition. We are very much conscious that the demands for this football club are to reach the highest level and to win football matches.
” There’s always improvement. We have talked about what we can do better, it’s about execution. My job is to give the players as many tools so we can deliver again. “
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Despite missing injured forwards Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, Arsenal had six different scorers in their crushing victory over PSV.
The Gunners, who have never won the Champions League, will face the winners of the tie between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the next round should they advance, as expected, on Wednesday.
” It’s a competition that we have a lot of enthusiasm for. We have been very consistent and tomorrow can put us in an exciting position, “Arteta said.
France international defender William Saliba is keen to help guide his side to their first trophy since Arsenal’s 2020 FA Cup triumph against Chelsea.
” I think we are very close, we need to keep going, “Saliba said, referring to Arsenal’s trophy ambitions.
” We can’t stop working. When you’re close and don’t win trophies it’s sad. With work we will make a big step and I am sure we will arrive there.
“Everyone wants to win the Champions League, it’s a competition that’s hard to win, anything can happen”.
Lamine Yamal and Raphinha dazzled as Barcelona thumped Benfica 3-1 on Tuesday, reaching the Champions League quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate.
Raphinha netted either side of a stunning Yamal strike as the Catalans dominated in the first half, building on their 1-0 last 16, first leg win in Lisbon.
Nicolas Otamendi had quickly levelled Raphinha’s opener but the visitors were blown away at the Olympic Stadium as Barcelona progressed comfortably from the tie and produced some moments of brilliant attacking football.
Hansi Flick’s side will face Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the quarter-finals as they aim to win the competition for the first time since 2015 and the era of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez.
Flick said Barca would play for late club doctor Carles Minarro, who died suddenly on Saturday ahead of the team’s match against Osasuna, which was postponed, and the players observed a silence in his honour before kick-off.
Five-time winners Barca took the lead after 11 minutes when Spain international Yamal burst into the area, chopped his way past Florentino and then mishit the ball across to Raphinha for a simple finish.
Benfica levelled within two minutes when Otamendi escaped Ronald Araujo to head home from a corner.
Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny excelled in the first leg as the Catalans claimed an impressive win with 10 men after Pau Cubarsi’s red card, but might have done more to keep out Otamendi’s effort.
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However Barcelona, and particularly their wingers Yamal and Raphinha, were in sensational form and they quickly reclaimed their lead.
Yamal netted his first goal in seven matches, but it was worth the wait, with the 17-year-old cutting in from the right and arcing a sensational shot past Anatoliy Trubin and in at the far post from the edge of the box.
Raphinha grabbed his second before the break to give Barcelona a three-goal aggregate lead after a blistering run by Alejandro Balde.
The left-back won the ball back in his area and sliced open the Portuguese team on the counter, carrying it to the edge of Benfica’s area before teeing up Raphinha.
It was the winger’s 11th strike of the competition and he leads the scoring charts.
Bruno Lage’s side were without injured midfielder Angel Di Maria but even with him beating Flick’s Barca on this form would have been a difficult ask.
Fredrik Aursnes netted for Benfica in the second half but the goal was disallowed for offside against Vangelis Pavlidis, who scored a hat-trick as Barca won 5-4 in their first meeting this season, in the league stage in January.
For the most part Benfica struggled to trouble Szczesny, and Barcelona came close to scoring a fourth when Frenkie de Jong poked wide on the stretch at the end of a razor-sharp team move.
Barcelona now await their quarter-final opponent and can start preparing to visit Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday, in a huge clash in the Spanish title race.
Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid will face immense pressure in their Champions League last 16-second leg derby at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, but backed his players to rise to the occasion.
Champions Los Blancos hold a 2-1 first leg lead ahead of their visit to city rivals Atletico’s Metropolitano stadium.
The record 15-time winners boast a strong record against Atletico over the years in Europe, most notably beating them in the 2014 and 2016 finals.
“The motivation and the pressure will be very high,” Ancelotti told reporters on Tuesday.
“We’re doing well, motivated like always in (the Champions League), it’s a hard game and we know it.
“We have the confidence to continue in this competition, which is a very special one.
“It will be an even game, decided by small details, that’s how (facing Atletico) has always been and it will be the same tomorrow. ”
The Italian coach said if the tie comes down to a penalty shoot-out, his team’s mental strength will be more important than their technical ability.
“I’ve had players who shoot penalties very well but they didn’t have the right feeling going into a shoot-out,” explained Ancelotti.
“The mental aspect is more important than the technical side… I’ve won Champions Leagues with defenders who scored penalties. ”
Ancelotti, who led AC Milan to glory as a coach in 2003 and 2007, before lifting the trophy with Real Madrid in 2014, 2022 and 2024, also said he does not mind if one of his players is unwilling to take a spot-kick.
“It’s not bad if someone says they don’t want to take one — you have to take the responsibility when you’re feeling right,” he added.
Last season Atletico Madrid fought back in the last 16 to beat Inter Milan on penalties after losing the first leg in Italy.
Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe missed penalties against Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao towards the end of 2024 during moments of low confidence, but has hit form since.
However he failed to score in the first leg against Atletico on a quiet night for the French superstar and came in for criticism.
The forward did not take part in the start of Madrid’s training session on Tuesday with the club saying he had felt some “discomfort”, but Spanish media reported he eventually joined his team-mates and will be fit to play.
“Kylian wants to score in, and win, every game,” said his compatriot, Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.
“It’s wild to hear (people say) he has had difficult days because he didn’t score in a couple of games, if he scores tomorrow, everyone will say he’s an incredible player.
“Kylian doesn’t need advice from anyone, he’s happy, he’s scored a lot of goals and he will score a lot more. ”
Atletico midfielder Rodrigo de Paul said his team have to outscore Real Madrid rather than necessarily outplay them.
“In football the best team doesn’t always win, in the Bernabeu we had a great game, but there are situations that fall one way or the other,” De Paul told a news conference.
“90 minutes is very long and we will go through a lot of situations, we have to be smart. ”
Atletico coach Diego Simeone said his team were aiming to progress and go as far as the final.
“I believe in my players, I have confidence in the squad, I know the heart my players have and we will go out there looking to stay in this Champions League,” said the Argentinian.
“Our objective is to play in the final. ”
Manchester United on Tuesday announced plans to build a new 100, 000-capacity stadium that co-owner Jim Ratcliffe said would be the “world’s greatest” football ground.
The decision by the Premier League club came after an extensive consultation process around whether to develop their existing historic Old Trafford stadium or build a new one close by, in conjunction with the Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force.
United have now confirmed their “intention to pursue a new 100, 000-seater stadium as the centrepiece of the regeneration of the Old Trafford area”.
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The club hopes the new ground can be finished in five years.
Scaled models and conceptual images for how the new Old Trafford and surrounding area could look like were revealed on Tuesday at the London headquarters of architects Foster + Partners, appointed in September to design the stadium district.
“Today marks the start of an incredibly exciting journey to the delivery of what will be the world’s greatest football stadium, at the centre of a regenerated Old Trafford”, Ratcliffe said.
“Our current stadium has served us brilliantly for the past 115 years, but it has fallen behind the best arenas in world sport”.
Ratcliffe said by building next to the existing site the club would be able to “preserve the essence of Old Trafford, while creating a truly state-of-the-art stadium that transforms the fan experience only footsteps from our historic home”.
The club said the stadium and a wider regeneration project had the potential to deliver an additional £7.3 billion ($9.4 billion) per year to the UK economy, including the possible creation of 92, 000 new jobs.
The move to a new ground has been backed by former United boss Alex Ferguson, who won 13 Premier League titles during his reign of more than 26 years.
“Manchester United should always strive for the best in everything it does, on and off the pitch, and that includes the stadium we play in”, Ferguson said.
“Old Trafford holds so many special memories for me personally, but we must be brave and seize this opportunity to build a new home, fit for the future, where new history can be made”.
Sebastian Coe, who chaired the task force, said Tuesday “marks an important step forward in what I firmly believe can be the biggest and most exciting urban regeneration project in the UK since the 2012 London Olympics”.
United hope the stadium can be built in five years, with sections to be constructed off site and transported along the Manchester Ship Canal.
The start date remains uncertain.
Regarding the financing of the project, chief executive Omar Berrada added: “It’s a very attractive investment opportunity so we’re quite confident we’ll find a way to finance the stadium”.
Seven medical professionals who cared for Argentine football legend Diego Maradona during his final days go on trial Tuesday accused of criminal negligence over his death.
Maradona died on November 25, 2020 aged 60 while recovering from brain surgery for a blood clot, after decades battling cocaine and alcohol addictions.
Each defendant risks between eight and 25 years in prison if convicted of “homicide with possible intent” — allegedly for pursuing a course of action despite knowing it could lead to the footballer’s death.
The passing of the star of the 1986 World Cup plunged Argentina into mourning in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tens of thousands of people queued to bid farewell to the former Boca Juniors and Napoli striker as his body lay in state in the presidential palace.
More than 100 witnesses, including members of Maradona’s family and doctors who tended to him over the years, are expected to take the stand in the long-delayed trial in the Buenos Aires suburb of San Isidro.
The hearings are expected to run until July.
– Warning signs –
Maradona was found dead in bed two weeks after going under the knife, in a rented house in an exclusive Buenos Aires neighborhood where he was brought after being discharged from hospital.
He was found to have died of a heart attack.
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The night nurse said he had seen “warning signs” but had received orders “not to wake” Maradona.
The defendants in the case are a neurosurgeon, a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a medical coordinator, a nursing coordinator, a doctor and the night nurse.
The day nurse, who found Maradona dead, asked to be tried by jury separately.
Prosecutors have accused the medical team of pushing for Maradona to receive home care, which proved “reckless” and “totally deficient”.
They allege the footballer was abandoned to his fate for a “prolonged, agonizing period” before his death.
A panel of 20 medical experts convened by Argentina’s public prosecutor concluded in 2021 that Maradona “would have had a better chance of survival” with adequate treatment in an appropriate medical facility.
The residence where he was staying notably had no defibrillator.
Maradona’s family claim that leaked audio and text messages show that the star’s health was in imminent danger, said Mario Baudry, a lawyer for Maradona’s son Dieguito.
He said the messages showed the medical team’s strategy was to try and ensure that Diego’s daughters did not intervene “because if they did, they (the medical staff) would lose their money”.
– ‘ Justice for Diego ‘ –
The accused all deny responsibility in the star’s death.
Vadim Mischanchuk, lawyer for psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, said he was “very optimistic” of an acquittal, arguing his client was in charge of Maradona’s mental, not physical health.
In the La Paternal neighborhood of Buenos Aires where the player nicknamed “El Pibe de Oro” (The Golden Boy) revealed his prodigious talent as a player for Argentinos Juniors in the 1970s, graffiti urging “Justice for Diego”! was daubed on walls ahead of the trial.
“All society needs to know… what really happened, who abandoned him… and whoever is responsible must pay the price”, pensioner Hilda Pereira told AFP.
Maradona “did not deserve to die as he died, alone”, she added, her voice quavering.
For its part, Argentina’s left-wing Pagina 12 newspaper wondered: “Will anyone be found guilty for Maradona’s death”?