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Manchester City signed Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi on a five-and-a-half-year contract for a reported fee of £20mn. City stepped up their pursuit of the England international after suffering an injury crisis at centre-half. Guehi, who came close to joining Liverpool on transfer deadline day in September, is City’s second signing of the January transfer window after their capture of Ghana winger Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth for about £65 million. “I am really happy and incredibly proud to be a Manchester City player,” Guehi said. “This move feels like the culmination of all the hard work I have put into my career. I am now at the best club in England and part of an unbelievable squad of players. It feels good to be able to say that. I want to grow as a player and a person, and I know at this club that’s going to happen.” City boss Pep Guardiola praised his club for sealing the deal for the highly sought after defender. “A top central defender, playing for the national team. Personally, thanks to the club to bring him here because he’s come at the perfect age, he can play right and left,” he said. “I know how much he wanted to choose us. With the problems that we have in the back in the next few months it’s really, really important he’s here. I’m pretty sure if he had a long contract at Crystal Palace it would have been impossible, but the fact that it’s six months (left), end of contract, the situation was easier in those terms.” The Chelsea academy graduate played 188 times for Palace after moving to Selhurst Park from the Blues in 2021. He captained Palace to FA Cup glory against City in May – the first major trophy in the south London club’s history – and has won 26 England caps. Other teams reportedly interested in the defender, including Liverpool once again and Bayern Munich, were understood to be targeting a move at the end of the season, when Guehi would have been a free agent. Guardiola’s men, dethroned as Premier League champions by Liverpool last year, are second in the table, seven points behind leaders Arsenal. Central defenders John Stones, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol all missed from Saturday’s 2-0 defeat by Manchester United at Old Trafford. The club are also still challenging for silverware in the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup. Guardiola has overseen an expensive rebuild of his squad over the past year, with a clutch of long-serving players exiting the club, including Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan and Ederson. 

Barcelona, the reigning Spanish league champions, announced Monday that their international Dutch midfielder, Frenkie de Jong, has sustained an injury. The club stated that the player has a minor injury to the obturator externus muscle in his right thigh. De Jong had left his national team's training camp last Friday, just a few hours after participating in their 1-1 draw against Poland in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, a match he was forced to leave in the 83rd minute. The midfielder may miss Sunday's match against Valencia in the fourth round of the league, which is Barcelona's first home game of the season. De Jong joins midfielder Gavi, who is receiving treatment for a knee issue, and left-back Alejandro Balde, who is sidelined for three weeks after suffering a hamstring tear in his left thigh during training.

Australia’s Olympic and world champion pole vaulter Nina Kennedy has pulled out of this month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo because of a leg injury.Kennedy, who last year became the first Australian woman to win Olympic gold in a field event, underwent hamstring surgery in April after three strains in six weeks.Despite not having competed since September last year, Kennedy said last week that she was determined to defend her title in Japan on a wildcard.Another injury setback forced her to reassess, however.“Not the news I want to be sharing,” the 28-year-old wrote in an Instagram post Friday.“I’ve strained a muscle in my leg in one of my last sessions before worlds (not near the surgery site, which is a win). I’m sad to say I will be withdrawing from the world championships.“Even though I’m disappointed, I’m proud of myself for trying to get back and put myself in the best position to jump high at worlds. I can genuinely say I did everything I could, I gave it a red-hot crack and that in itself is a measure of success. Sport can be brutal, but injuries are just part of the journey, and that’s okay.”Kennedy cleared 4.90 metres to win the world title in Budapest in 2023, the same height that won her Olympic gold in Paris last year. Her personal best is 4.91m.

Jakob Ingebrigtsen is known for his fierce competitiveness and relentless pursuit of victory and has never been one to show up just for the sake of it but he finds himself in a race of a different kind - against the clock due to injury.The twice Olympic and world champion has been sidelined for much of the season with an Achilles injury and is in a battle to heal in time for this month’s World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, where he is due to run in the 1,500 and 5,000 metres.“This season has been pretty miserable,” the Norwegian told reporters on a video call Friday. “I’m definitely racing against the clock to make the world championships, but if I’m on the start line, of course, I’m going to try to win and believe that I can win.”For an athlete who loves the thrill of racing, sitting out has been a bitter pill.“This is more or less the worst-case scenario for me,” the 24-year-old said. “I’ve had to sit at home and watch the whole season go on, all the races.“Worst case, because I’m a competitor - and to compete, you need to participate. But I don’t only want to participate, I want to fight for the winning position.”Ingebrigtsen has pushed himself through cross-training, including aqua jogging - anything to maintain his edge.MENTAL STRENGTHAsked how much he has missed competing, Ingebrigtsen said he never stopped.“I’m competing every day,” he said. “With aqua jogging, you can go as hard as you can for as long as you can. So it only comes down to your mental strength. So that’s kind of been my competition: How long can I go today without stopping? How fast can I go? Which heart rate can I achieve? I’ve tried to push my alternative training as much as I can, (so) fitness-wise, I’m in a relatively good place.”At the same thing, there is nothing better than lining up at the start line on the sport’s biggest stage against his rivals.“(Top runners) love the competition, we love chasing victories, and fighting against the best runners in the world,” he added. “Going a period without it is definitely something that’s missing. But that’s why I’m very motivated to get back.” Ingebrigtsen typically front-runs the 1,500m, using his fitness and fast pace to control the race, while he employs a come-from-behind strategy in the 5,000m, sitting back in the pack before using his powerful kick to sprint to the front.Despite the injury layoff, Ingebrigtsen does not plan to alter his race plan at the worlds.“If I’m on a start line with a bib on my chest and spikes on my feet, I’m going to do what I’ve always done, and have obviously the same approach that I’ve always had.”Ingebrigtsen often has his daughter Filippa, who was born in June 2024, with him at training, including at a recent altitude camp in Saint Moritz. She provides balance, he said.“Sports are very different to normal everyday life, and it’s very easy to get stuck in the bubble and only focus on a very specific thing, and in the long-term, I think that can be a negative and challenging,” he said.“Watching her grow up and learn new things and develop is a big positive in the way that I can focus on something else and then go back and be very good, prepared to do the other things that you have to do to perform.”