LONDON: Christian Eriksen says he has no anxiety about playing his first match since a cardiac arrest and believes a return to England was perfect after the incident last summer.
The Denmark international has not played a competitive match since June 12, when he collapsed and in his own words was “gone from this world for five minutes” during a European Championship match against Finland.
After being fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator days after the incident, Eriksen had to be released by Inter Milan in December due to rules in Italy preventing athletes from competing with an ICD. He made a surprise return to the English Premier League with Brentford in January.
Bees boss Thomas Frank revealed on Friday the former Tottenham playmaker will play in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Monday which could open the door for him to be involved at Arsenal on Feb. 19.
“I do feel in my head and body that the excitement is coming, the adrenaline is coming more and more toward game time,” Eriksen said on Friday at his unveiling news conference at Brentford Community Stadium.
“No, if there was any anxiety I wouldn’t go back.
“If I wasn’t fully committed and feel like I am trusting of the doctors, trusting of my heart, trusting my ICD in me, then I wouldn’t go back. No, I feel 100 percent secure to go back.”
Eriksen trained with his teammates for the first time on Monday but was familiar with several of them who are Denmark internationals.
The 29-year-old Eriksen has previously worked with Frank in Danish age-group teams and yet had no ambitions to return to England before he suffered a cardiac arrest, having spent 6 1/2 years in the UK with Tottenham before leaving in January 2020. Unable then to play in Italy, he considered an England return the best alternative.
He passed the required medical checks and cleared to play in the Premier League with the ICD.
Daley Blind, Eriksen’s former Ajax teammate who also played for Manchester United, is a notable footballer to still play with a pacemaker.
“First of all, I felt from the beginning of this I needed to prove you can play with an ICD and if something that bad has happened, you can be returning to a normal life afterwards,” Eriksen insisted. “That is more the motivation for me, to show I am capable of that.
“At the same time, I haven’t forgotten how to play football. My body is still the same and my vision and ability is still the same. Of course it is about kicking on, getting used to my teammates and falling into the rhythm of the team.”
Eriksen excited to prove he can play after cardiac arrest
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Eriksen excited to prove he can play after cardiac arrest
- The Denmark international has not played a competitive match since June 12
- Eriksen made a surprise return to the English Premier League with Brentford in January.
Michael Jordan, fellow team owners head to federal court for hearing in antitrust fight against NASCAR
- The two teams say NASCAR gave all Cup Series teams a last-minute, take-it-or-leave-it offer in September that both 23XI and Front Row refused to sign
- In a brief comment outside court, Jordan said he didn’t think the legal battle would detract from 23XI’s effort to win the championship with Reddick
CHARLOTTE, N.C.: Retired NBA great Michael Jordan and his fellow owners of two NASCAR teams went to federal court Monday for a hearing in their antitrust fight against the stock car series over what they say is an unfair business model.
23XI Racing, which is owned by Jordan and three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by restaurant entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, sued NASCAR and chairman Jim France in October after months of tense negotiations over NASCAR’s charter system, which is essentially a franchise model that includes revenue sharing.
The two teams say NASCAR gave all Cup Series teams a last-minute, take-it-or-leave-it offer in September that both 23XI and Front Row refused to sign. The owners contend the charter system limits competition by unfairly binding teams to the series, its tracks and its suppliers, and they called the France family and NASCAR “monopolistic bullies.”
The two teams are represented by Jeffrey Kessler, the top antitrust lawyer in the country, who argued repeatedly they are only asking for a temporary injunction that allows them to compete without the clause that would prevent their ongoing lawsuit.
He said NASCAR has since rescinded the charter agreements offered to 23XI and FRM in September.
“We do not challenge the entire charter agreement. We want a return to status quo,” Kessler said. “We are not seeking a seven-to-14-year argument. Let us operate under the terms they offered for the duration of the (court) case and race under the charter terms for the duration of the case.”
Kessler said NASCAR is fighting the injunction because NASCAR does not believe it has a winnable case.
The fight is playing out as NASCAR heads into its championship weekend, with the title-deciding race set for Sunday in Phoenix with 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick among the four drivers who can win.
After a hearing that lasted nearly two hours, US District Judge Frank D. Whitney said he’d have a decision on 23XI and FRM’s request for a preliminary injunction to be recognized in 2025 as chartered teams by Friday — when cars hit the track in Phoenix to begin preparations for the title-deciding race.
Jordan listened to Kessler’s arguments from the front row of the gallery, and he leaned forward intently for the entirety of NASCAR’s case before the court.
In a brief comment outside court, Jordan said he didn’t think the legal battle would detract from 23XI’s effort to win the championship with Reddick.
“No, I’ve been in situations of disparity. I think the race team is going to focus on what they have to do this weekend, which I expect them to do,” Jordan said. “I think Jeffrey did an unbelievable job today, and I think I put all my cards on the table. I’m looking forward to winning a championship this weekend.”
At issue before the court is 23XI and FRM’s request to be released from a clause in NASCAR’s agreement that prohibits teams from suing the sanctioning body. Both teams have said they will operate as “open” teams in 2025 if they don’t receive the injunction, but even that agreement prevents them from suing NASCAR.
Also, an “open” team is not guaranteed a spot in the weekly 40-car field, does not receive the same amount of revenue as chartered teams, and its drivers and sponsors potentially could leave because they are associated with unprotected chartered teams.
The charter system began in 2016 and has now twice been extended, with the deals signed by 13 organizations set to run from 2025 through 2031.
Christopher Yates, of Latham & Watkins LLP, represented NASCAR and France. He said the teams have plenty of options outside of NASCAR.
“Mr. Jordan had a choice: They could invest in NASCAR, IndyCar, buy another NBA team,” Yates said, “but they chose to invest in NASCAR.”
Yates also disputed the notion that the 13 teams who signed the charter agreements 48 hours before the playoffs began in September did so under coercion, but he used slides that cherry-picked quotes that left out the parts where owners admitted to reporters that NASCAR threatened to kill the entire charter process if it did not receive signed agreements within a very short time period.
“We’re talking about Roger Penske, Rick Hendrick and Joe Gibbs — people who do not get pushed around,” Yates said.
Kessler called Yates’ synopsis a “complete distortion” of the facts.
Kessler also argued that the terms of the new charters potentially could put the two teams out of business, and cause Reddick to leave 23XI even if he wins the championship Sunday.
“We have a potential champion who would be free to leave and we’d never get him back,” Kessler said. “This could put these teams out of business. You can’t go to a stock car team and ask them to become a Formula 1 team.”
Whitney last week denied an expedited discovery request from 23XI and Front Row for NASCAR to produce documents prior to Monday’s preliminary injunction hearing.
“While the proposed discovery requests may help plaintiffs show a likelihood of success on the merits, they are not sufficiently narrowly tailored,” Whitney wrote.
Jordan, Hamlin and Curtis Polk of 23XI were joined by Jenkins and Front Row President Jerry Freeze for the hearing, which is crucial to how next season will proceed for the two teams.
The teams argue that NASCAR would not be harmed by the injunction because the series had planned to have 36 chartered teams and allowing them to compete as chartered teams while pursuing the lawsuit was maintaining the status quo.
NASCAR now says it plans to run 32 chartered teams and eight open cars (instead of four) in its 40-car field each week. Front Row and 23XI currently have two charters apiece that they did not sign, and both have deals with Stewart-Haas Racing to buy one charter each.
Those deals have not closed and NASCAR has indicated it won’t recognize the sales. NASCAR is alleging it is only honoring the 32 charter agreements that were signed in September.
NASCAR contends the two teams don’t meet the requirements for an injunction because they can still compete as open teams and that any damages that they suffer if they prevail in the case can be covered monetarily.
Man City will ‘struggle’ to overcome injury crisis, says Guardiola
- Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, leads a stellar cast of absentees in Guardiola’s squad
- Guardiola urged City not to make excuses despite their injury woes
LISBON: Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City will struggle to overcome a mounting injury crisis but encouraged the English champions to bounce back in Tuesday’s Champions League trip to Sporting Lisbon.
City travel to Portugal after consecutive defeats to Tottenham in the League Cup and Bournemouth on Saturday, which ended an 11-month unbeaten run in the Premier League.
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri, who is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, leads a stellar cast of absentees in Guardiola’s squad that also includes Oscar Bobb, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish and John Stones.
Kevin De Bruyne could make his first appearance seven weeks but is unlikely to start, while Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji, Jeremy Doku and Savinho are also not fully fit.
“You know the situation with Rodri, nominated the best player in the world,” said Guardiola at his pre-match press conference on Monday.
“We know we will struggle, and we have to accept that, and it is fine.
“The games will be difficult; in previous seasons it was smooth. Personal reasons, injuries, we won six Premier Leagues in seven years. Things change, we have to accept that.”
Guardiola will come against one of his future rivals as Sporting boss Ruben Amorim takes charge of the Portuguese champions for the penultimate time before beginning his role as Manchester United manager.
The sides last met in the last 16 of the 2021/22 Champions League when City romped to a 5-0 victory in Lisbon and on aggregate.
“They have changed players but have same manager and same mentality,” added Guardiola on the challenge Sporting provide.
“Winning the league for first time in 20 years and then doing it again last season shows what a good job he has done.”
Bernardo Silva scored twice in City’s 5-0 win over Sporting two years ago on his return to Lisbon, where he began his career at Benfica.
He urged City not to make excuses despite their injury woes.
“With a full squad we are stronger, there’s no denying that. We have a lot of unbelievable players missing,” said Silva.
“We have not been able to count on Kevin for six weeks. Rodri is out for the season and other players out shorter times. But we never find excuses. This club was never about that.”
Both sides are unbeaten in the new Champions League format with seven points from their opening three matches.
Neymar injured again as Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli maintain perfect records in AFC Champions League
- The Riyadh side defeated Esteghlal of Iran 3-0, while their Jeddah rivals thrashed Iraqi side Al-Shorta 5-1 in the 4th round of games in the league stage
- Neymar, making only his second appearance in 13 months, came on early in the 2nd half but was withdrawn shortly before full time after pulling up as he stretched for the ball
Apart from another Neymar injury scare, Saudi teams enjoyed another great night in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday, as Al-Hilal defeated Esteghlal of Iran 3-0 and Al-Ahli thrashed Iraqi side Al-Shorta 5-1.
Both teams now have four wins out of four and sit joint top of their 12-team league. Al-Hilal has a slight edge on goal difference but even at this early point, with four games left to play in the league stage, both sides are all-but guaranteed to be one of the top eight teams that advance to the knockout phase.
With Neymar seemingly picking up a muscle injury after 30 minutes of action in Riyadh, Aleksandar Mitrovic was the undoubted star for Al-Hilal, scoring all three goals in what was ultimately a comfortable win, although Esteghlal did almost shock the Blues early on. Gael Kakuta’s perfect cross from the right found the head of a diving Ramin Rezaeian, only for the ball to hit the post, with Yassine Bounou beaten.
After 15 minutes, however, the home side were ahead. A pass from Nasser Al-Dawsari evaded a number of players, both home and away, before finding its way to Mitrovic at the far post, where the Serbian striker made no mistake from close range.
As both teams continued to push forward, Salem Al-Dawsari and Abdullah Al-Hamdan forced the Esteghlal goalkeeper make saves but it was not long before the lead was doubled. Renan Lodi, who has been in fine form this season, with a number of impressive assists, broke free down the left side of the area just after the half-hour mark and pulled a low pass across goal to Mitrovic, who was waiting to take another poacher’s chance.
There were more cheers from the home fans 10 minutes into the second half when Neymar came off the bench for only his second appearance since picking up a serious injury in October 2023. The Brazilian superstar was soon treating fans to flicks and feints as Al-Hilal started to move the ball around even more.
It was no surprise when they sealed the victory 16 minutes from time. Joao Cancelo crossed the ball for that man Mitrovic to once again head home at the far post for his fourth goal of the tournament.
The only downside for Al-Hilal came when Neymar was withdrawn shortly before the final whistle, after pulling up as he stretched for the ball.
Over in Jeddah, Al-Ahli kept pace in the competition with their Riyadh rivals thanks to a convincing 5-1 win against visiting Al-Shorta. The home side have been inconsistent in terms of domestic form but perfect in the Asian campaign so far. And it did not take long for the hosts to take the lead.
With 14 minutes on the clock, Ziyad Al-Johani floated over a long ball from a deep position down the left. Roberto Firmino timed his run perfectly to break into the area and direct an equally perfect header into the top corner of the goal.
Ten minutes later, the men in white had the perfect opportunity to extend their lead and take total control of the tie but Franck Kessie’s effort was saved by Ahmed Basil.
Then, just before the half-hour mark, Al-Shorta were suddenly level as a result of some slack defending that ended with Mohammed Dawood feeding the ball through to Sajad Jassem, who rounded goalkeeper Abdulrahman Al-Sanbi to score.
However, Al-Ahli went in at the break with their lead restored. Deep into added time, Firmino, who had just missed another glorious chance, grabbed his second of the game from close range after Firas Al-Buraikan skipped past the goalkeeper and fed the ball to the former Liverpool star, who found the back of the net from close range.
Firmino returned the favor eight minutes after the restart, delivering a low cross from the right that bounced all the way through to the far post where Al-Buraikan made no mistake.
Just after the hour mark, the Saudi international once again turned provider to feed Riyad Mahrez on the right corner of the area, and the Algerian fired his shot into the opposite corner. In the 65th minute, Al-Johani produced another perfect pass from the left, which Mahrez latched onto to grab his second and complete the 5-1 win.
Al-Nassr, who have two wins and a draw from their first three games in the competition, can move into third place in the group on Tuesday with a win against defending champions Al-Ain, who are second bottom with just one point after two defeats and a draw.
NEOM Beach Games opens with Supertri event
- 1,000 international triathletes, coaches, team officials attend
NEOM: The NEOM Beach Games launched its third edition on Sunday with the much-anticipated Supertri NEOM event, which drew 1,000 international triathletes, coaches, and team officials.
The opening competition featured Olympic gold medalists Cassandre Beaugrand and Alex Yee, who claimed victory in the women’s and men’s Supertri NEOM categories.
The event served as the season’s finale of the Supertri League, with Georgia Taylor-Brown and Hayden Wilde emerging as champions for 2024, while Crown Racing triumphed in the teams category.
Jan Paterson, managing director of NEOM Sport, highlighted the significance of this year’s event, saying: “The launch of NEOM Beach Games for the third consecutive year reflects NEOM’s commitment to providing a unique environment that enables emerging and competitive sports talent.
“It fulfills NEOM’s aspirations to build a global, multicultural society, with sport acting as a bridge between peoples and cultures. The success of Supertri NEOM highlights its aspiration to become a premier destination for high-performance sports.”
As part of NEOM’s broader mission to support the development of triathlon, Supertri partnered with local initiatives like the Stars of Tomorrow program, allowing young Saudi athletes to train alongside elite Olympic and world champions.
Race weekend activities included school visits, clinics with professional triathletes, and training sessions for officials, underscoring NEOM’s commitment to empowering the Saudi Triathlon Federation and fostering homegrown talent in the sport.
Supertri CEO and co-founder Michael D’hulst praised the event’s success, saying: “(It) was a fitting conclusion to a spectacular season, delivering thrilling racing in an incredible setting. It has been a brilliant Supertri League season, and I am very happy that we were able to finish it again in NEOM, bringing a unique blend of entertainment and inspiration.
“I am proud of the work we’ve done together with NEOM to grow and develop the sport in the Kingdom and look forward to continuing to build on this legacy.”
The action continues this week with the FIBA 3x3 World Tour NEOM 2024, which is set to begin on Thursday.
Sabalenka beats Paolini in straight sets to reach last four of WTA Finals
- Top-ranked Sabalenka cruised in the first set after building a 4-0 lead, then saved two set points in the second to advance at the year-ending tournament
- Sabalenka has won 22 of her last 23 matches, and three of the last four tournaments in which she played
RIYADH: Aryna Sabalenka reached the semifinals of the WTA Finals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Jasmine Paolini on Monday for a second straight victory in the group stage.
The top-ranked Sabalenka cruised in the first set after building a 4-0 lead, then saved two set points in the second to advance at the year-ending tournament for the top eight ranked players.
Sabalenka will face already eliminated Elena Rybakina on Wednesday in the final group match of the week.
Sabalenka has won 22 of her last 23 matches, and three of the last four tournaments in which she played.
Another round-robin win will secure her the year-end No. 1 ranking for the first time in her career.
In the other Purple Group match, Zheng Qinwen defeated Rybakina 7-6 (4) 3-6, 6-1 to maintain chances of advancing.
It was Zheng’s first career win over Rybakina in three tries.
Rybakina sits at 0-2 and can’t advance to the semifinals. She lost to Paolini on Saturday, while Sabalenka eased to a straight-set victory over Zheng in the opening match in Saudi Arabia.
Zheng and Paolini will play each other on Wednesday, with the winner advancing to her first WTA Finals semifinal to face the winner of the Orange Group.
