Latest news with #Leicester


The Independent
27 minutes ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Lauren James set for timely England injury return ahead of Euro 2025
Lauren James is in line for her first appearance since sustaining a hamstring injury in April when England host Jamaica in Sunday's Women's Euro 2025 send-off friendly. The Chelsea forward, 23, has been unable to feature for club or country since limping off midway through the Lionesses ' 5-0 Nations League win against Belgium nearly three months ago. James returned to training last week and boss Sarina Wiegman says the England star could feature in Sunday's final warm-up friendly against Jamaica at Leicester's King Power Stadium. 'We have to manage the minutes,' the Lionesses head coach said. 'She's doing really well, but of course she hasn't played games yet. But she's in a good place. 'She will likely come off the bench, we can manage that a bit. She showed up on the training session really well. She could cope with loads and recover from loads. Her performance has been really good. 'She's ready, we're just still growing into minutes. This is the first time in a while that she's coming into a game and [she needs to] get through that. Then we'll take it from there towards the tournament.' James sparkled during England's run to the World Cup final in Australia two years ago and team-mate Jess Carter says it is 'really exciting' for her to be back. 'For me she's a good friend and we all know she is an incredible footballer, but I think the most impressive thing for me is just that she has come back in like a new player,' the defender said. 'Maybe the injury was a bit of a blessing in disguise, in terms of that she just looks so fresh, so sharp, and she really impacts the game and the team. 'And she is a pain to play against. Good luck to any of the other players having to play against her in the tournament.' England kick off their Euros title defence against France in Zurich next Saturday, before Group D continues with clashes against the Netherlands and Wales. It is a tough-looking pool, but Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham has said that Wiegman will stay regardless of the outcome in Switzerland. 'We've had conversations and, of course, I extended my contract until 2027, after the World Cup,' said the Lionesses boss, who has led England to Euros glory and a World Cup final in her two tournaments at the helm. 'We're going into a new tournament now and I feel very happy here. I'm excited to go into a new tournament. 'I'm not looking too much ahead – the contract is until 2027 and I've always felt so much support from Mark and the board and I still feel that way. And it's really nice that he confirms that.'


The Independent
36 minutes ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Lauren James in line to make return from injury for England against Jamaica
Lauren James is in line for her first appearance since sustaining a hamstring injury in April when England host Jamaica in Sunday's Women's Euro 2025 send-off friendly. The Chelsea forward, 23, has been unable to feature for club or country since limping off midway through the Lionesses' 5-0 Nations League win against Belgium nearly three months ago. James returned to training last week and boss Sarina Wiegman says the England star could feature in Sunday's final warm-up friendly against Jamaica at Leicester's King Power Stadium. 'We have to manage the minutes,' the Lionesses head coach said. 'She's doing really well, but of course she hasn't played games yet. But she's in a good place. 'She will likely come off the bench, we can manage that a bit. She showed up on the training session really well. 'She could cope with loads and recover from loads. Her performance has been really good. 'She's ready, we're just still growing into minutes. This is the first time in a while that she's coming into a game and [she needs to] get through that. Then we'll take it from there towards the tournament.' James sparkled during England's run to the World Cup final in Australia two years ago and team-mate Jess Carter says it is 'really exciting' for her to be back. 'For me she's a good friend and we all know she is an incredible footballer, but I think the most impressive thing for me is just that she has come back in like a new player,' the defender said. 'Maybe the injury was a bit of a blessing in disguise, in terms of that she just looks so fresh, so sharp, and she really impacts the game and the team. 'And she is a pain to play against. Good luck to any of the other players having to play against her in the tournament.' England kick-off their Euros title defence against France in Zurich next Saturday, before Group D continues with clashes against the Netherlands and Wales. It is a tough-looking pool, but Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham has said that Wiegman will stay regardless of the outcome in Switzerland. 'We've had conversations and, of course, I extended my contract until 2027, after the World Cup,' said the Lionesses boss, who has led England to Euros glory and a World Cup final in her two tournaments at the helm. 'We're going into a new tournament now and I feel very happy here. I'm excited to go into a new tournament. 'I'm not looking too much ahead – the contract is until 2027 and I've always felt so much support from Mark and the board and I still feel that way. And it's really nice that he confirms that.'


BBC News
an hour ago
- General
- BBC News
Parade through Leicester city centre celebrates Armed Forces Day
Military personnel joined veterans and cadets in a parade through Leicester city centre to mark Armed Forces gathered along High Street as pipers and drummers from the Seaforth Highlanders led the 250-strong parade from the Clock Tower to Jubilee Square.A service was then held to recognise the sacrifices and contributions of people in Leicester and Leicestershire who have links to the armed of Leicestershire Mike Kapur received a salute from the parade. He was joined by Lord Mayor of Leicester Teresa Aldred, and the chairman of Leicestershire County Council Paul from the Royal Lancers and Royal Anglian Regiment were also present to mark their close ties to the regiments have previously been granted the freedom of the city of city mayor Manjula Sood, the council's armed forces champion, said: "Coming together to recognise the work of our armed forces, both past and present, is always an honour."We are ever aware of the increasing unrest across the world that still heavily relies on members of our services to stand and protect us all."


Daily Tribune
an hour ago
- Sport
- Daily Tribune
Manager Van Nistelrooy leaves relegated Leicester
Ruud van Nistelrooy has left his position as manager of Leicester after relegation from the Premier League, the club announced yesterday. The club and Van Nistelrooy had 'mutually agreed' that the Dutchman's contract would be terminated with immediate effect, a club statement said. The 48-year-old joined the struggling Foxes in late November after a brief spell as Manchester United's caretaker boss. But he was unable to stop their slide and they returned to the second-tier Championship after just one season back in the Premier League. 'Ruud has overseen a challenging period for the club,' Leicester said in a statement. 'From his appointment in November 2024, he approached the role with professionalism, integrity and a clear commitment to our aims, including through the integration of several promising players from the club's academy into our first team environment.


Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Maresca faces make-or-break Chelsea spell as internal view on progress emerges
Enzo Maresca is gearing up for a huge second season in charge of Chelsea, where progress has been difficult to assess in the wake of constant personnel changes Enzo Maresca is facing a huge second season at Chelsea. The expectation levels are so high at Stamford Bridge that internally Maresca's first year in charge is still only seen as being 'on par.' Chelsea won a European trophy with the Conference League success, qualified for the Champions League and, arguably most impressively of all, provided a sense of calm among the chaos. They would never admit it, but working for a club which has spent more than £1billion in the era of joint owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali takes a clear, calm head. It is still regarded as something of a circus by people looking in from the outside and that is why Maresca's first 12 months deserve respect. But, realistically, it is actually the next 12 upon which he will be judged. When Maresca took charge, the club were open about his being a two-year season with the Club World Cup sandwiched in the middle. It is difficult to plan and prepare when you do not know your calendar, dates and what the summer and beyond will even look like. That should buy Maresca some time and understanding but we all know that it is not how it works in football - and that is why it is such a big year ahead for the Italian coach. This is a manager still finding his way in his career. He gained a big reputation for working with young players while at Manchester City 's academy and it says much about him that Liam Delap always wanted to join Chelsea because of his time working there under Maresca. Maresca also steered Leicester to promotion but one of his problems at the King Power was he made himself rather difficult to like. The football was not edge-of-the-seat stuff and he was rather aggressive and defensive. The Leicester never really took to him and it has been a similar story at Chelsea. You would have though by now, in this age of PR gurus and style, that someone would have got hold of him with a few bits of advice. In fairness, Maresca is probably ignoring them. Instead, Maresca finished the season by telling those who doubted him and Chelsea to 'f*** off' in his final press conference of the Premier League campaign when they won at Nottingham Forest to clinch a Champions League place. If he thought that would really bring a siege mentality among the fans he again was mistaken. The fans were happy enough but they are a long way from loving the manager in the way they did with a Jose Mourinho, Thomas Tuchel or even Antonio Conte in his peak. They have still carried on spending and £30m on Delap looks good business and they are close to a £50m deal on Jamie Gittens. Others have arrived and done so without much fanfare because they are players for the future. The Chelsea model is young players, long contracts and a long term vision. The teenage prodigy Estevao Willian, 18, is regarded as a generational talent in Brazil but Maresca has been rather dismissive of him as a first team player next season. They do sign and loan out a lot. They also have one of the best midfielders in the Premier League. Moises Caicedo is a brilliant player but too many other big signings are yet to fulfil their potential. Chelsea flirted with a title race last season and could have gone top - albeit briefly - just before Christmas. Then they fell away badly in the second half before finishing with aplomb. This season could be defined by how they recover from the United States. If they can hit the ground running in the Premier League and start with Crystal Palace, West Ham and Fulham then it could be a big year. If they have a hangover from their gruelling summer then it could be a difficult second year for Maresca.