Newell unlikely to play in Midtjylland qualifier

Captain Joe Newell is unlikely to feature in Hibernian's Europa League qualifier with Midtjylland after revealing he is targeting a return to training by the start of August.The 32-year-old midfielder has not played since the end of December last year after suffering a recurrence of a groin injury.David Gray's side travel to face Danish club Midtjylland on 24 July before welcoming them to Leith in the second leg on 31 July.Speaking to Sky Sports, Newell said: "[My recovery] is going well. End of July I'll hopefully be back training, probably early August. "I've been out a long time now, it's obviously been tough for me to watch the boys do so well. As thrilled as I was, it was tough."It's hard to come in every day and show that enthusiasm and make sure you're not bringing everyone down. "You just want to get out there with the boys winning every week. But it's never about any individual player, I was just as thrilled as anyone else."

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Daily Mail​

19 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

THE DUHAN DILEMMA: Lions head coach Andy Farrell needs to see big improvement from van der Merwe if he's to make Test team after costly blunders against Argentina

Given that he had only played 11 minutes of rugby since the end of the Six Nations in March, it was always likely Duhan van der Merwe would have to overcome some ring-rust on his return to action. Pitched in from the start as the British and Irish Lions began their campaign against Argentina in Dublin last Friday night, the Scotland international would have been hoping to blow off the cobwebs. As one of the most explosive finishers in world rugby, he would no doubt have envisaged marking his comeback with a trademark try and a demonstration of his lethal running power. While he didn't manage to score, Van der Merwe made a couple of powerful carries in the first half and was involved in most of the Lions' best moments in attack. And yet, a lot of that good stuff was undone by his mistakes. By the end of a difficult night for Van der Merwe and the Lions as a whole, questions were already being asked. Such as whether his attacking brilliance and try-scoring prowess outweigh his defensive deficiencies. It's an issue which doesn't tend to be spoken about much with Scotland. His place in Gregor Townsend 's team is pretty much guaranteed. With the Lions? Not so much. His selection will have been playing on Andy Farrell's mind as the squad travelled to Australia following their 28-24 defeat to the Pumas. Van der Merwe was at fault for two Argentina tries in the first half. The first saw him miss a vital tackle as winger Ignacio Mendy stepped inside to score. The second, right on the cusp of half-time, saw the South African-born 30-year-old lose the ball cheaply in contact as Argentina countered brilliantly and scored through fly-half Tomas Albornoz. Having made a couple of high-profile errors which led directly to the concession of two tries, Van der Merwe was later seen on the sidelines with ice on the same ankle that had put him on the injury list for three months. By all accounts, not a great night. Some critics even suggested that Van der Merwe may have played himself out of the Test team before the plane had even taken off. That's probably a slightly premature assessment of his chances, but the Scotland star certainly didn't do himself any favours. With the travelling party touching down in Perth on Sunday night, Van der Merwe will arrive in Australia as a player rapidly needing to find some form if he's to regain the trust of Farrell. When the Lions squad was selected in early May, Van der Merwe was fretting over whether or not he would be part of Farrell's plans at all. Speaking after his selection had been confirmed, he said: 'Since I've picked up the niggle, you have doubts and you start thinking: 'Is this going to have an effect on me going on the tour?' 'Then you start taking yourself back to the Six Nations. Did I have my best Six Nations? Good at times, but probably a wee bit average at times. 'Then you start thinking: 'Am I the type of winger Andy Farrell likes'? You think about that every single day. So I'm definitely a wee bit shocked, but at the same time, I'm absolutely buzzing.' If Van der Merwe was fully fit and firing on all cylinders, most observers would have him in their starting XV for the three Tests against the Wallabies. At his best, he remains a force of nature. In reality, his inclusion is not cut and dry. He is still working his way back to full fitness. Other wingers in the squad, most notably James Lowe and Mack Hansen, have Farrell's trust from Ireland duty. Tommy Freeman finished the season as one of the form players on the planet, scoring a burst of 15 tries in 10 matches for England and Northampton. Van der Merwe's problem that these defensive frailties are not especially new. They are not a one-off that can be brushed aside and forgotten Over the past few years, for all we have marvelled at some of the brilliant tries he has scored for Scotland, he has often been a weak link in defence. He misses too many tackles and, for a man of his physique, loses the ball far too often in contact. That kind of stuff can be forgiven when he's running the length of the field to score against England. But Farrell might not be so willing to overlook such deficiencies, especially with a player who is still working his way back to full fitness. Ultimately, it will be a case of does the head coach stick or twist with Van der Merwe? Van Der Merwe attempts to make the breakthrough for Lions during a tough night in Dublin Farrell was never going to be naive enough to single out any player for criticism on the back of the defeat to Argentina. It was scrappy and disjointed, but it wasn't a night to reach for the flamethrower. 'Some people will have done themselves proud,' he said. 'They'll be hurting for the team because they're all team players. 'Some players will be happy, others won't and will be dying to get another chance.' It's fair to say that Van der Merwe fell into the latter of those two categories, although it should be said he was far from alone in that regard. Especially under the high ball, he and a few of his team-mates in the backline looked decidedly shaky. You can bet your last Dingo dollar that Australia head coach Joe Schmidt will have taken note of that. 'We weren't as consistent as we would have liked to be,' said captain Maro Itoje. 'We only showed glimmers of what we can do. 'When we were on it, we looked good, we just need to do it more consistently. We want to be more aggressive but we are building. We will live, learn and get better. 'Argentina showed us where we are lacking. I am happy we had a hard-fought game. As we improve our relationships, and spend more time together in training and understanding each other's triggers, it will come. Van der Merwe has been left with a point to prove after his performance against the Pumas 'There are no excuses. We should have been better today but, as with other areas of the game, we'll learn and get better together. This is only match one.' It would be foolish to write off the Lions on the basis of what happened in Dublin. The same is true of Van der Merwe's chances of making the Test starting XV. If he can prove his fitness and recapture his best form, it will be difficult for Farrell to leave him out. But, right now, he has landed in Australia as a player with a point to prove. Van der Merwe started all three Tests on the tour of South Africa four years ago. The chances of him doing the same in Australia feel much less certain this time around.

Daily Mail​

20 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Zlatan Ibrahimovic performs incredible stunt in swimming pool as former Man United and Barcelona star shows his ability is still intact

Former Manchester United star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has shown that his ability remains intact by performing a spectacular swimming pool stunt. The 43-year-old, who retired in 2023, had a penchant for scoring acrobatic goals during his career. Perhaps his most memorable strike came for Sweden against England in 2012 when Ibrahimovic scored an unbelievable overhead kick from 30 yards out. Ibrahimovic evoked memories of that goal by performing an overhead kick in a swimming pool in a post on social media. Since December 2023, Ibrahimovic has worked as a senior advisor at his former club AC Milan. He represented a host of high-profile clubs during a trophy-laden career. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zlatan Ibrahimović (@iamzlatanibrahimovic) After starting out at Malmo, Ibrahimovic joined Ajax and later went on to play for Juventus, Inter Milan and Barcelona. In addition, he had two spells at AC Milan and also spent time at Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and LA Galaxy. Despite his stellar reputation during his playing days, Ibrahimovic hasn't escaped criticism from AC Milan's ultras since becoming an advisor. Milan endured a disappointing campaign as they ended up finishing in eighth place in Serie A. Ahead of the final game of the season against Monza last month Milan ultras were seen holding banners and hurling insults in protest against the club's hierarchy. A statement from the Milan ultras read: 'This is the best response we could give, because there is no curva, club, red, orange: there are only Milanisti and Milanismo. Things that those in that building have forgotten a long time ago. 'We are back in this square three years after celebrating the best Scudetto ever. After celebrating the return to the Champions League along with Paolo Maldini.' The ultras reserved specific criticism for Ibrahimovic, who they claimed was responsible for the 'disaster' which saw Milan's reserve team suffer relegation to Serie D in their first season in professional football. Ibrahimovic is now working as an advisor for AC Milan but has faced criticism from some fans

BreakingNews.ie

21 minutes ago

• BreakingNews.ie

Kevin Penrose praises Ronan McNamee for helping him return to football after coming out

When Tyrone footballer Kevin Penrose came out as gay, one of the challenges and worries he faced was how he would be accepted in the GAA community. After travelling to Asia after the Covid-19 pandemic in 2022, Penrose came out to his parents over a video call. Advertisement Spending so long struggling with his sexuality, the Tyrone man was now able to live his life more freely, but did wonder how, and if he could return to the GAA. While those around him were unaware, the culture in dressing rooms and on the pitch was not a pleasant experience. "It's the time when you're finding yourself anyway, as a teenager, you're not really knowing what's going on. "You're sort of, 'Okay. I need to stand out here to fit in, to be liked.' You just hear the words being thrown around the changing room or on the pitch, and it sort of makes you go back into yourself. Advertisement "Like, for me, I could be in the corner of the changing room thinking, 'Okay, I can't act this way, or talk about this, or I have to get involved in this banter, per se, to fit in.'" One person who was crucial to his return was All-Ireland winner Ronan McNamee, who reached out to him to return to his club Aghyaran. A close friend as well as a teammate, Penrose says McNamee's influence was "massive" to him returning. "It's massive, you know. We've grown up together. We played under age together, went to the same schools, you know. We always were quite close in that way, you know. Advertisement "You know, Ronan is very straight to the point, just tell you how it is, which I think is what you need in that moment. "But to it's your senior county player as well, to come and have those talks with you, it's encouraging. It sort of again, goes back to setting an example. "If your ally and advocate is Ronan McNamee, you're off to a good start. It just shows he's willing to take up that role, I guess, you know, and have the difficult conversation that someone else mightn't have the confidence to do. "Having him just sort of nudge me slightly after a few conversations, you know, just reassure me like, 'No one's going to judge you, like you're very welcome here. Advertisement "It makes coming back to football that lot easier. And, of course, he is right in the end. I just walked into the first training session back, and it was just normal. "You know, it's just like, 'Well done. Congrats on coming out. How are you going back into the scene? Now, let's get into the nitty gritty stuff.' You know? You leave that at the gate, then, once you do go back, and everyone's just there to play football." Coming from a family of hugely successful footballers, Penrose now plays with a weight lifted off his shoulders. The Aghyaran man admitted his playing struggles while he had not come out to anyone, and the toll it took on the pitch. Advertisement "I am not thinking about anything anymore. Back when I was still in the closet, I couldn't figure out why I couldn't make the senior team, for example. "I was doing the training the same as everyone else, but I just wasn't getting the same opportunity. I just thought to myself, I am just not a good footballer, even though I knew I was a good footballer. "Coming from a full-on GAA family, I grew up with from five years old. I knew I had the talent, I just couldn't really hit my potential; it was just a mental block. "Now it has completely changed. I have pulled myself into that team, I have got my starting position, and making a real impact on the team. It is crazy to see the difference that one thing was holding me back."