Kevin de Bruyne has admitted that his hamstring was so flimsy it was like a wet kitchen towel before he was injured. The Manchester City midfielder played with a hamstring problem for the final two months of last season before being injured in the first half of the Champions League final win over Internazionale. And after making a comeback, he was hurt again in the Premier League opener against Burnley, lasting just 23 minutes before undergoing surgery. The Belgium captain could be back in December and is confident this time he will last longer on his comeback. He said: “It was a serious operation. It’s actually going very well. There will be a major scan next week and then we will know how the injury is progressing. In the end, everything is going according to schedule. I have not been given a time when I could play football again. “It is important that I get this injury 100 per cent right. There were a lot of cracks. Those hamstrings could have torn at any time. It was - on paper - a wet kitchen towel. Ultimately, I had a major maintenance carried out after 700 matches, a bit like you do with your car. “I had been struggling for two months, but I was able to hold on well and with the club we were able to manage everything. I was able to arrange to be there at the right time. During the week when I felt at my best, but my body said that it was enough. I still had a lot of stress in that final. Because of all those movements I may have made the crack a little bigger. But it was worth it. “This has never happened to me before. It is a serious surgery and something like that doesn’t happen very often with a hamstring injury. But all the surgeons said an intervention was necessary.” Read More Pep Guardiola responds to concerns over artificial pitch ahead of Young Boys clash Watch: Jurgen Klopp’s amusing reaction to Man United being thrashed at home ‘I am a fighter’ insists Erik ten Hag after chastening Manchester United defeat

Micky van de Ven’s first goal in English football fired 10-man Tottenham to the Premier League summit with a 1-0 win at Luton. Spurs entered this fixture following a controversial 2-1 victory over Liverpool last weekend, where Jurgen Klopp’s side were denied a legitimate goal due to a “significant human error” by VAR operator Darren England. It meant three points for Ange Postecoglou’s team at Kenilworth Road would send them to the summit for at least 24 hours, but they had to work hard for it after Yves Bissouma was sent off in first-half stoppage-time. Bissouma was booked twice in quick succession by referee John Brooks, the second for simulation, but Van de Ven’s close-range finish in the 52nd minute earned Tottenham a hard-fought win. This was the first meeting between the clubs since 1992 and the hostile atmosphere was a throwback to that era with even TNT pundits Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch booed ahead of kick-off. Spurs had put seven goals past the other newly-promoted teams this season and should have added to that tally inside 10 minutes. Richarlison was guilty of fluffing his lines twice, firing off target via his shin with the goal at his mercy from Dejan Kulusevski’s third-minute cross before Thomas Kaminski denied the Brazilian with his feet after James Maddison’s slick through ball 60 seconds later. Pedro Porro was next to squander an excellent opportunity when Son Heung-min played him through and he fired wide. The Tottenham captain also curled into the stand before Luton started to settle. Huge cheers greeted the Hatters’ first corner in the 25th minute, although top goalscorer Carlton Morris could only send his header off target following Alfie Doughty’s delivery. The visitors remained a threat and a driving run by Pape Sarr set up Kulusevski, but Kaminski produced an excellent fingertip save to parry the 18-yard curler wide. Luton had the ball in the net after 39 minutes but it was immediately ruled out and a VAR check showed Elijah Adebayo had shoved Cristian Romero. Doughty’s free-kick dropped for Adebayo, who after pushing Romero flicked over Guglielmo Vicario and onto the post where Lockyer headed in, only for it to be disallowed. The free-kick came from a Bissouma foul on Chiedozie Ogbene and referee Brooks booked the Tottenham midfielder for a professional foul. A second yellow card followed in first-half stoppage time for simulation when Bissouma went down under close proximity from Marvelous Nakamba, but there was no contact and Brooks correctly sent off the visiting player. Luton should have taken the lead two minutes after half-time when Ogbene held off Destiny Udogie and crossed in for Adebayo, but he could not steer his effort on target. The hosts were hit with a sucker-punch in the 52nd minute when Van de Ven opened his account for Tottenham. After a number of corners in quick succession, it proved third time lucky for Postecoglou’s side when Maddison collected Kulusevski’s short corner and brilliantly spun away from Doughty before he cut back for Van de Ven to slot home from six yards. It briefly silenced the partisan Kenilworth Road crowd but they were soon roaring their team on and Doughty dragged wide soon after the opener. Morris tested Vicario minutes later and, although Porro sent an effort just past the post for Tottenham in the 62nd minute, Luton started to build momentum. Jacob Brown headed over before substitute Cauley Woodrow had a weak shot saved. A deflected effort wide by Doughty was the final warning sign for Postecoglou, who introduced Emerson Royal and Oliver Skipp for Son and Maddison with 14 minutes left but Spurs held on to go top. Read More Pep Guardiola does not think Arsenal clash will have major bearing on title race Erling Haaland says Premier League goal record ‘something you can’t think of’ Mikel Arteta urges Arsenal to bring City losing streak to an end On this day in 2010: Rebecca Adlington wins Commonwealth Games 800m gold Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou would eradicate VAR in its current form Brennan Johnson’s ‘safety and health’ a priority for Wales boss Rob Page

England and the United States will look to book their place in the knockout rounds of the Women’s World Cup as the group stage deciders continue in Australia and New Zealand. The Lionesses face China in their final fixture of Group D, with the Lionesses knowing that a win or a draw would be enough to seal top spot and confirm a meeting with Nigeria in the last-16. Sarina Wiegman’s side will be without key midfielder Keira Walsh and their hopes of reaching the knockout stages will be in danger should they lose to China, with Denmark facing Haiti for the other qualification spot. Elsewhere, the United States must avoid defeat to Portugal in order to advance to the last-16 and keep their title defence alive. Defeat would see the defending champions eliminated, with Netherlands facing Vietnam in the other Group E decider. Follow the latest World Cup scores, updates and news in today’s live blog: Read More Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today How to watch England vs China: TV channel and start time for Women’s World Cup fixture Women’s World Cup group tables and standings: How can each team qualify?

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Kepa Arrizabalaga confirms he wants to join Real Madrid from Chelsea on a permanent deal when his loan expires.

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Just when you think it can't get worse for Manchester United, it just sort of... does. Erik ten Hag done some excellent work during his debut season to return

Teenage forward Adam Fantilli scored the go-ahead goal as Canada edged Latvia 4-2 and advanced to the final of the ice hockey world championship

The Jacksonville Jaguars will return to “Monday Night Football” for the first time in 12 years when they host the Cincinnati Bengals in the coveted primetime spot to end the Week 13 schedule

Randy Arozarena hit a tiebreaking home run for Tampa Bay with two outs in the ninth inning to help the Rays beat the Minnesota Twins 5-4 heading into a weekend showdown with AL East leader Baltimore

Tottenham Hotspur are continuing their search for a permanent successor to former head coach Antonio Conte, and Celtic are bracing themselves for an approach for Ange Postecoglou.