Category Sports News

Sir Chris Hoy is appreciating life “more than ever” after being diagnosed with terminal cancer last year and says he has entered “a bit of a stability period” in his treatment.

The 49-year-old, a six-time Olympic cycling gold medallist, said in February 2024 that he was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.

In October, he announced his diagnosis was terminal after the primary cancer spread to his bones, with doctors giving him between two and four years to live.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Hoy issued a positive update on his health: “I’m doing well. It feels like I’ve entered a bit of a stability stage at the moment and I’m feeling good.

“Most importantly, cancer’s not the first thing I think about when I go to bed at night. I think we’ve got into a rhythm now where it’s part of our life and we manage that and crack on.

“I feel good. I’m on constant medication, constant treatment, but it’s not interfering too much with my life, and the most important thing is it’s working, so I’m stable at the moment, everything’s good. Making hay while the sun shines.”

The Scot won his six Olympic golds – and one silver medal – between 2000 and 2012, making him Britain’s second-most decorated Olympic athlete behind Sir Jason Kenny (seven golds).

He also claimed 11 World Championship golds and 34 World Cup titles before retiring in 2013.

“I can’t believe the position I’m in now compared to 18 months ago. I never imagined I’d be able to get to this point where I’m actually living life,” he continued.

Lauren Hemp, Georgia Stanway and Alex Greenwood have given England a significant pre-Euro 2025 boost by returning to the squad after injury for the upcoming Women’s Nations League matches.

Manager Sarina Wiegman has been without several key players during the Nations League campaign so far, so will welcome the return of the key trio for the games against Portugal on 30 May and Spain three days later.

Their inclusion in the squad – which is the final international camp before Wiegman finalises her Euro 2025 squad – suggests they are likely to travel to Switzerland for the tournament.

Manchester City forward Hemp, 24, last played for England in the 2-1 friendly victory over South Africa in October.

Despite missing five months through injury, she still finished the Women’s Super League (WSL) campaign with the most assists (eight).

City captain Greenwood, 31, has missed England’s last four matches but started November’s 0-0 draw with the United States and came on as a substitute in the 4-3 defeat against Germany in October before her injury.

Both players – who were part of the Euro 2022 squad – started City’s final two league games of the season having returned from injury in April.

Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway, 26, has not yet returned for her club but Wiegman is keen to give her more time on the training ground.

Chelsea forward Lauren James is still not selected as she recovers from the hamstring injury that forced her to miss the end of the WSL campaign.

England’s defence of their European title kicks off in seven weeks’ time with their opening match against France on 5 July.

Wiegman has previously expressed concern at the lack of game time for some of her returning stars, including Hemp, Stanway and Greenwood.

Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur’s Ella Morris has been called up from the Under-23s squad for the first time, alongside Aston Villa’s Missy Bo Kearns, who is recalled.

Striker Michelle Agyemang, who spent this season on loan at Brighton from Arsenal, retains her place in the squad after scoring a stunning goal 41 seconds into her debut in a 3-2 defeat by Belgium in April.

Full England squad:

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Paris St-Germain), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Khiara Keating (Manchester City), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride).

Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Jess Carter (Gotham FC), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Ella Morris (Tottenham), Leah Williamson (Arsenal).

Midfielders: Grace Clinton (Manchester United), Missy Bo Kearns (Aston Villa), Fran Kirby (Brighton), Jess Park (Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Chelsea).

Lauren Hemp, Georgia Stanway and Alex Greenwood have given England a significant pre-Euro 2025 boost by returning to the squad after injury for the upcoming Women’s Nations League matches.

Manager Sarina Wiegman has been without several key players during the Nations League campaign so far, so will welcome the return of the key trio for the games against Portugal on 30 May and Spain three days later.

Their inclusion in the squad – which is the final international camp before Wiegman finalises her Euro 2025 squad – suggests they are likely to travel to Switzerland for the tournament.

All three players have had knee surgery and have not featured for England this year.

Despite missing five months through injury, Hemp still finished the Women’s Super League (WSL) campaign with the most assists (eight).

Manchester City forward Hemp, 24, last played for England in the 2-1 friendly victory over South Africa in October.

However, she is yet to play 90 minutes this year and Wiegman admits that is a concern.

“Yes, of course it is. But we still have two months – almost. We want to keep building and see what she is able to do,” said the England manager.

“She has to perform at her highest level too but she has shown so many things before her injury that she has built some credit.”

City captain Greenwood, 31, has missed England’s last four matches but started November’s 0-0 draw with the United States and came on as a substitute in the 4-3 defeat against Germany in October before her injury.

Both players – who were part of the Euro 2022 squad – started City’s final two league games of the season having returned from injury in April.

Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway, 26, has not yet returned for her club but Wiegman is keen to give her more time on the training ground.

“She still needs to build. Georgia is in training. What we know is she can come into camp and continue building with us,” added Wiegman.

“Hopefully towards the Euros she can be healthy and can handle the training loads to recover from it.

“She has to be performing at the highest level – at her highest level – to compete for the position [in the Euros squad] just like everyone else.”

Chelsea forward Lauren James is still not selected as she recovers from the hamstring injury that forced her to miss the end of the WSL campaign.

England’s defence of their European title kicks off in seven weeks’ time with their opening match against France on 5 July.

Wiegman has previously expressed concern at the lack of game time for some of her returning stars, including Hemp, Stanway and Greenwood.

Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur’s Ella Morris has been called up from the Under-23s squad for the first time, alongside Aston Villa’s Missy Bo Kearns, who is recalled.

Striker Michelle Agyemang, who spent this season on loan at Brighton from Arsenal, retains her place in the squad after scoring a stunning goal 41 seconds into her debut in a 3-2 defeat by Belgium in April.

With the tournament starting on 2 July, time is running out for players to return to fitness and for England to build rhythm with the squad they will use this summer.

James, 23, started England’s 5-0 win over Belgium in April but came off at half-time then withdrew from the squad with a hamstring injury.

Her club said in a statement on 18 April that James “will be out for a period of time” but there has been no update on whether she is likely to return for the Euros.

Asked whether she was concerned about her fitness, Wiegman said: “She’s where she should be at.

“She really wants to go to the Euros and hopefully we can get her fit and ready to go into it. We also know we need to find balance in the squad.

“She performed really well [before her injury]. I just want to give it a chance. She’s a special player who has moments in the game where she can be decisive.”

However, Wiegman hopes some of her players – including Hemp, Greenwood and Stanway – can pick up some competitive minutes during the Women’s World Sevens.

The inaugural seven-aside tournament will be played in Portugal from 21 to 23 May and has caused some controversy given its proximity to the start of Euro 2025.

Manchester City and Manchester United are among the eight teams taking part, with seven Lionesses from this squad potentially representing them.

England goalkeeper Mary Earps could also feature for Paris St-Germain while Stanway could return for Bayern.

“We have been in contact with the clubs and players so they can do what’s right for them to get ready for the international window and of course having the Euros in their minds,” said Wiegman.

“It’s up to them to communicate whether they will go or not. Everyone has a different schedule and comes from different places.

“If we talk about Lauren [Hemp] and Alex [Greenwood], it’s different to some players who have played all season.

“Some players see it as an opportunity in a different way, to get some training and playing minutes, but while being aware of not overloading.

Full England squad:

Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Paris St-Germain), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Khiara Keating (Manchester City), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride).

Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Jess Carter (Gotham FC), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Ella Morris (Tottenham), Leah Williamson (Arsenal).

Midfielders: Grace Clinton (Manchester United), Missy Bo Kearns (Aston Villa), Fran Kirby (Brighton), Jess Park (Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Chelsea).

Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi has had “urgent” surgery on a serious abdominal injury sustained in last Sunday’s Premier League match with Leicester.

The Nigeria international, 27, collided with the post in the 88th minute of the 2-2 draw at the City Ground as he attempted to get on the end of a cross from Anthony Elanga.

He received treatment on the pitch and was able to continue but was visibly struggling when the match restarted.

“The club can confirm Taiwo Awoniyi has undergone urgent surgery following an abdominal injury sustained during Sunday’s match against Leicester City,” said a Forest statement.

Awoniyi, who joined Forest from Union Berlin in June 2022, had only been on the pitch for five minutes having come on as a late substitute for Ibrahim Sangare.

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis indicated in an Instagram post that his decision to march on to the pitch at the full-time whistle had been in part due to his view on how the injury suffered by Awoniyi had been handled.

“Everybody – coaching staff, players, supporters and including myself – we were frustrated around the injury of Taiwo and the medical staff’s misjudgement on Taiwo’s ability to continue the game,” Marinakis said.

“This is natural, this is a demonstration of the passion we feel for our club.”

Manchester United will hold a barbeque at the club’s Carrington training ground to celebrate if they beat Tottenham Hotspur in next week’s Europa League final.

And no parade is planned should they win the tournament.

Players are also being restricted to two free tickets each for the match, with on-the-day travel to the final in Bilbao on Wednesday, 21 May.

The decisions come after a series of cost-cutting measures at the club which have included redundancies and the removal of free lunches for staff.

While United’s squad have been told they can purchase up to 10 more tickets for the game against Spurs at San Mames Stadium, they will also be responsible for organising how friends and relatives get in and out of the northern Spanish city.

United say they are committed to ensuring as many tickets as possible from the club’s official 15,000 allocation go to supporters.

Tottenham are yet to announce their plans in the event of victory but it is expected they will have a parade to show off the trophy.

Newcastle held a parade in the city in March to mark their Carabao Cup triumph, while Liverpool are due to host one on 26 May following their Premier League title success.

United have not held a trophy parade since 2013, which coincided with Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. Players were famously irritated in 2008 to discover there was no such celebration to mark their Champions League triumph over Chelsea.

Hosting one this season would be logistically tricky.

Unlike their last Europa League success, against Ajax in Stockholm in 2017 during Jose Mourinho’s time in charge, United still have a Premier League game to play after the match in Bilbao – when Aston Villa visit Old Trafford on 25 May.

Immediately after that game, United fly to Asia for two post-season matches against local opposition in Malaysia and Hong Kong.

They return to Manchester on 31 May, after which players have to immediately report for international duty.

Portugal have a Nations League semi-final with Germany on 4 June, which would involve Bruno Fernandes and, if fit, Diogo Dalot.

Manchester United will hold a barbeque at the club’s Carrington training ground to celebrate if they beat Tottenham Hotspur in next week’s Europa League final.

And no parade is planned should they win the tournament.

Players are also being restricted to two free tickets each for the match, with on-the-day travel to the final in Bilbao on Wednesday, 21 May.

The decisions come after a series of cost-cutting measures at the club which have included redundancies and the removal of free lunches for staff.

While United’s squad have been told they can purchase up to 10 more tickets for the game against Spurs at San Mames Stadium, they will also be responsible for organising how friends and relatives get in and out of the northern Spanish city.

United say they are committed to ensuring as many tickets as possible from the club’s official 15,000 allocation go to supporters.

Tottenham are yet to announce their plans in the event of victory but it is expected they will have a parade to show off the trophy.

Newcastle held a parade in the city in March to mark their Carabao Cup triumph, while Liverpool are due to host one on 26 May following their Premier League title success.

United have not held a trophy parade since 2013, which coincided with Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. Players were famously irritated in 2008 to discover there was no such celebration to mark their Champions League triumph over Chelsea.

Hosting one this season would be logistically tricky.

Unlike their last Europa League success, against Ajax in Stockholm in 2017 during Jose Mourinho’s time in charge, United still have a Premier League game to play after the match in Bilbao – when Aston Villa visit Old Trafford on 25 May.

Immediately after that game, United fly to Asia for two post-season matches against local opposition in Malaysia and Hong Kong.

They return to Manchester on 31 May, after which players have to immediately report for international duty.

Portugal have a Nations League semi-final with Germany on 4 June, which would involve Bruno Fernandes and, if fit, Diogo Dalot.