Cristiano Ronaldo will miss Portugal s friendly against Brazil in Boston on Tuesday as manager Paulo Bento has ordered him to rest.

Team doctor Henrique Jones confirmed that the Real Madrid star is struggling with tendonitis and will miss out following his hat-trick heroics in Portugal s 4-2 win over Northern Ireland on Friday in FIFA World Cup qualifying.

He has had a week of intense treatment, he made an enormous sacrifice and now he needs to rest, Jones said.

Ronaldo s three goals helped Portugal recover from 2-1 down at Windsor Park, where they finished with 10 men after Helder Postiga was dismissed, and increased the 28-year-old s international tally to 43, overtaking the iconic Eusebio s 41 and putting him second only to Pauleta on 47 in the country s all-time s…

Manchester United defender Fabio is keen to leave the club as he searches for regular first team football, .

The Brazil international has made just one appearance for the Premier League champions this season, and spent the who of the last campaign on loan with Queens Park Rangers.

He is currently behind both Patrice Evra and Alexander Buttner in the Old Trafford pecking order, and would have been pushed further down the list if the club had secured the services of Leighton Baines or Fabio Coentrao during the summer.

The 23 year old has told David Moyes that he wants to leave when the transfer window reopens in January or in the summer, with a return to Brazil potentially on the cards.

His twin brother Rafael, who moved to Manchester with Fabio in 200…

Former Sheffield United striker Ched Evans has had his conviction for rape quashed by the Court of Appeal in London.

A re-trial has been ordered and must take place within the next two months.

Evans, 27, was jailed in April 2012 after being found guilty of the rape of a 19-year-old woman at a hotel in Rhyl, Wales, on May 29, 2011. He was released from prison in 2014 after serving half of a five-year sentence.

The Wales international has not played football professionally since his release.

The case was referred by to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates possible miscarriages of justice and announced last October that new evidence had emerged in the case.

Lady Justice Hallett announced Thursda…

Marco Reus is adamant he has no intention of leaving Borussia Dortmund despite interest from abroad.

Manchester United and Manchester City are both reported to be interested in the 24-year-old, but he has insisted he is happy at the club.

Reus began his career at Dortmund but left in 2006 and had three years at Borussia Monchengladbach between 2009 and 2012 before returning to the Westfalenstadion after six years away.

Coach Juergen Klopp has seen Mario Gotze depart during the close-season and striker Robert Lewandowski ask to leave, but Reus has told his fellow German not to worry about his commitment to the Dortmund cause as he targets another push for the UEFA Champions League title.

Dortmund have absolutely no reason to worry about me leaving the club. I am …

A goal on his competitive debut from Mohamed Salah was not enough for Liverpool to open their Premier League season with a win, as Watford snatched an injury-time equaliser in a pulsating 3-3 draw on Saturday.

The Reds record signing netted shortly before the hour mark with what looked set to be the winning goal, only for Miguel Britos to nod the ball in following a corner after goalkeeper Simon Mignolet failed to parry the ball away from his line.

Stefano Okaka had headed Watford into the lead and Abdoulaye Doucoure restored the home side s advantage shortly after Sadio Mane scored a superb equaliser for Liverpool, who were without injured Barcelona target Philippe Coutinho.

The hosts were good value for their lead in Marco Silva s first match in charge but the …

Former Manchester City winger Trevor Sinclair believes Yaya Toure could still have a future with the club, but acknowledges the Ivorian s past with Pep Guardiola might not bode well.

Toure turned 33 this week and travelled with the City squad to face Swansea City on Sunday concluding a campaign where his capabilities as a game-changing midfielder have been on the wane.

Over the past six seasons, Toure has been a central figure in City winning every major honour in English football under Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, having joined from Guardiola s Barcelona in 2010.

Guardiola s willingness to dispense with a version of Toure closer to the peak of his powers then means the 45-year-old might not be overly concerned by jettisoning the player when he arrives…

Paulo Gazzaniga played an unlikely hero act for Tottenham, repelling a dogged Crystal Palace before Son Heung-min struck to secure a 1-0 win at Wembley.

Dele Alli s absence from the teamsheet will have perturbed Spurs fans, but Gazzaniga s presence was most eye-catching, the former Southampton goalkeeper making his Spurs debut in place of the injured Hugo Lloris and Michel Vorm.

Gazzaniga had not played in the Premier League since December 2015 and overcame a rocky start to deliver a fine performance, making three excellent saves to stop Palace opening the scoring.

And Spurs only real moment of attacking quality was enough to seal it, Son slamming home his 20th Premier League goal to become the top-scoring Asian player in the competition s history, surpassing his…

Chris Coleman is unconcerned about any possible gamesmanship from Portugal in their Euro 2016 semi-final and praised a newly streetwise edge to his Wales side.

Coleman s men produced a stunning performance to upset Belgium 3-1 and book a place in the final four at their first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup.

By contrast, Portugal are through to the semi-final of a European Championship for the fourth time in their last five attempts, but Coleman does not believe the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Pepe will find any naivety to prey upon within his squad.

You call it gamesmanship, but sometimes it s being streetwise at this level, he said. We ve got better at that. We used to be far too honest. 

I d look at what players used to do to us,…

Verdict: Both teams to score

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Things are really starting to reach a boiling point in Group H, despite both sides entering the match on a poor run of form, Tottenham and Real Madrid currently sit joint top of their group and both sides will know that if they can come away with three crucial points, they will secure their spot in the next round of the competition.

Tottenham

Given Tottenham s terrible form when playing at Wembley last season, many expected that Spurs would once again face similar problems when hosting at their temporary home. Instead, one year later, Mauricio Pochettino s Tottenham side currently sitting pretty at the top of Group H. Still unbeaten in the group stage, Spurs have already beaten Borussia Dortmund at …

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes is hopeful that the club can sign Stephen Ireland on a permanent basis, .

The Irish midfielder moved to the Britannia Stadium on a season-long loan on transfer deadline day, and has impressed – not least in the 3-2 victory over Chelsea earlier this month where he scored one and created another.

Hughes knows only too well of Ireland’s potential, having worked with him at Manchester City where he played for five seasons ahead of his move to Aston Villa back in 2010.

He was named City’s Player of the Season under Hughes in 2009, and the Villa Fan’s Player of the Season three years later, though he fell out of favour under manager Paul Lambert, and is unlikely to be offered a new deal when his contract expires at the end o…