Joshua Zirkzee heading back to Italy already?! Serie A giants Inter plotting loan with option to buy for struggling Man Utd forward

Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee has reportedly popped up on Inter's radar ahead of the summer transfer window.

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  • Zirkzee had tough first season at Man Utd
  • Wanted back in Italy by Inter
  • Loan with option to buy considered
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Zirkzee only arrived at Old Trafford last summer from Bologna but could be heading for a swift return to Italy. According to , the Nerazzurri have set their sights on the Dutch star and are plotting a way to make a summer transfer happen. The Serie A giants are considering an initial loan move with an option to buy and feel he could fit into the team well alongside Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.

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    Manchester United splashed out €42.5 million (£36m/$46m) on the 23-year-old but saw him fail to live up to his price tag in a tough first season. The Dutchman managed just three Premier League goals in 32 appearances and saw his campaign seemingly ended prematurely by injury. An uncertain future now awaits as Ruben Amorim looks set to reshape his squad ahead of the 2025-26 campaign after a dismal campaign on the domestic front.

  • DID YOU KNOW?

    Both Manchester United and Inter have European finals to look forward to at the end of the season. The Red Devils will face Tottenham in Bilbao in the Europa League, while Inter come up against PSG in the Champions League final in Munich.

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    WHAT NEXT

    Manchester United will aim to end a dismal season on a high by winning the Europa League in Bilbao. Even if they do secure the trophy, an intriguing summer awaits at Old Trafford as Amorim attempts to rebuild a squad currently sitting just two places above the relegation zone.

Terceiro maior artilheiro estrangeiro da história do clube, Calleri está perto de igualar grande ídolo do São Paulo

MatériaMais Notícias

Calleri já pode ser considerado como um dos maiores nomes do São Paulo no século XXI. Contra o São Bento, na vitória por 3 a 0, completou 50 gols marcados com a camisa do Tricolor. Porém, neste sábado (25), contra o São Bernardo, pode ter a chance de ultrapassar um dos ídolos mais recentes da história do clube: Kaká.

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Atualmente, o argentino já se consagrou como o terceiro maior estrangeiro do São Paulo. Estando próximo também do segundo colocado,Sastre – que somou 56 gols. No topo do ranking, está Pedro Rocha – com 119 marcados.

ATUAÇÕES: Galoppo e Wellington Rato são novamente cruciais na vitória do São Paulo

Veja tabela do Campeonato Paulista e simule os próximos jogos

Em média, o centroavante marca um gol a cada 2 jogos, aproximadamente. No ranking de artilheiros do século XXI, ocupa a nona posição. Como dito anteriormente, está atrás somente de Kaká – com apenas um gol de diferença. Ou seja, tem a chance de atingir uma marca importante neste sábado (25).

Do elenco atual, é o segundo atleta que está na lista de maiores goleadores do século. Na frente, só está Luciano – com 54 marcados.Luis Fabiano é o líder, com 212 tentos.

Calleri falou sobre atingir este feito com a camisa da equipe. Segundo suas palavras, espera ainda mais gols e quer conquistar títulos. O argentino ainda não ergueu nenhuma taça pelo São Paulo.

-É sempre especial marcar gols e alcançar feitos relevantes como esse, ainda mais aqui no São Paulo, clube que faço questão de ressaltar o carinho que tenho e o quanto sou feliz por poder fazer parte dessa brilhante história – disse.

-Não é fácil chegar a 50 gols, ainda mais por uma equipe com tamanha grandeza como é o São Paulo, onde a concorrência é fortíssima. Fico feliz em ajudar e sigo trabalhando, cada dia com mais motivação, para marcar muitos outros gols e dar alegrias para o nosso torcedor. Espero que, nesta temporada, a gente possa comemorar títulos com os nossos torcedores – completou.

O raio-X dos 50 gols de Calleri

De todas as equipes que o camisa 9 balançou as redes, a que mais sofreu foi oTrujillanos, da Venezuela. Quatro gols foram marcados em um único jogo, que aconteceu em 2016 – em sua primeira passagem pela equipe -, em jogo válido pela Copa Libertadores. A partida terminou em uma goleada por 6 a 0.

Entre os grandes rivais brasileiros,Calleri marcou mais gols em clássicos contra o Corinthians e Santos – sendo três em cada. Se contar outras equipes, contra o Água Santa, Athletico-PR, Ceará, Coritiba e Flamengo também foram três gols marcados.

Quanto aos palcos das disputas, como esperado, a grande maioria aconteceu no estádio do Morumbi. Dos 50,30 tentos foram em casa. Isto é, cerca de 60% dos gols marcados pelo jogador com a camisa do Tricolor.

Aparentemente, o centroavante também tem um estilo ‘preferido’ de marcar. De todos os gols, 27saíram com o pé direito, quatro deles de pênalti. Também marcou 20 de cabeça – uma das grandes características do jogador.Com a canhota, ainda saíram mais dois e um com a coxa esquerda. Pelo São Paulo, foram121 partidas. Além dos gols, também deu 11 assistências.

Quanto as competições, foram 26 gols no Campeonato Brasileiro, 14 no Campeonato Paulista, nove na Copa Libertadores e um na Copa Sul-Americana.

Veja quais são os maiores artilheiros do São Paulo no século XXI:

1º Luís Fabiano – 212 gols em 352 jogos
2º Rogério Ceni – 112 gols em 906 jogos
3º França – 69 gols em 87 jogos
4º Dagoberto – 61 gols em 241 jogos
5º Hernanes – 56 em 330 jogos
6º Luciano – 54 gols em 145 jogos
6º Borges – 54 gols em 150 jogos
8º Kaká – 51 gols em 155 jogos
9º Calleri – 50 gols em 121 jogos
10º – Pato 47 gols em 136 jogos

Jonny Bairstow: 'It doesn't really matter to me where I bat'

England’s decision to deploy him at No. 4 “a compliment” from team management, Bairstow says

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2024Jonny Bairstow has described England’s decision to deploy him at No. 4 for their T20 World Cup defence as “a compliment”, acknowledging his versatility. Bairstow missed England’s 2022 triumph in Australia after suffering a career-threatening ankle break and has only played six T20Is since, but it set to play a key role in England’s middle order.Bairstow had been earmarked to open the batting at the last T20 World Cup, before an injury sustained on the golf course ruled him out. He opened in four T20Is against New Zealand last summer, a role he also performs for his IPL franchise, Punjab Kings; but the irresistible rise of Phil Salt, who scored back-to-back hundreds as opener in the Caribbean over the winter and played a big role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2024 title win, means Bairstow will slot in lower down.The 34-year-old has plenty of experience at No. 4, the spot where he has batted most frequently outside of opening, and scored a career-best 90 against South Africa two summers ago.Related

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“I’ve batted all over,” Bairstow said after England’s victory over Pakistan at The Oval on Thursday. “It doesn’t really matter to me where I bat. It’s actually a compliment that Jos [Buttler] and Motty [Matthew Mott] think I’ve got the skillset to bat at four. I’ve done it a lot. Whether it’s opening the batting or batting at four, to be able to recall your skills even in Test cricket is exactly what you have to do through the middle.”Bairstow made 21 off 18 at Edgbaston, in the first of two outings during the rain-affected series with Pakistan, before helping finish off England’s chase at The Oval with an unbroken stand of 46 off 27 balls alongside Harry Brook. How the two Yorkshiremen dovetail in the middle order could be key for England in the Caribbean.”It’s important to get into the rhythm of finishing games off,” Bairstow said. “Harry and I are batting four and five at the moment and we want to see games through till the end. It’s about carrying on with the style that we want to keep playing in. We took the right options and it worked out.”Bairstow heads into the T20 World Cup after a gruelling winter programme, during which he was the only England player to feature in the 50-over World Cup, the Test tour of India and the IPL. He achieved two significant milestones, playing both his 100th ODI and 100th Test in Dharamsala, but endured mixed form as England surrendered their ODI title and then went down 4-1 in the Tests.

“You’re under pressure all the time to perform and that’s how you want to play your cricket because when the pressure overs are on, you’re able to go back to those days when you might have got 20 off 15 but you got over the line”Jonny Bairstow on the IPL 2024 experience

However, after being dropped by Punjab Kings partway through the IPL, he roared back into form with a scintillating 108 not out from 48 balls, helping his side to pull off the highest successful chase in T20 history. He finished the tournament with 298 runs at a strike rate of 152.82.”I was happy with the IPL,” he said. “We were at a new ground. It was a good experience playing against world-class players all the time. You’re under pressure all the time to perform and that’s how you want to play your cricket because when the pressure overs are on, you’re able to go back to those days when you might have got 20 off 15 but you got over the line. Or you’re playing against Jasprit Bumrah or the guys that we’re going to come up against the World Cup. It’s then about going back on those experiences, which hopefully carry you over the line.”He also played down the significance of England’s failed World Cup campaign in India last year, where a side led by Buttler and featuring a number of the same players crashed out ignominiously during the round-robin group stage.”Completely different format. Different conditions. Different group. So yeah, we’re going to the T20 World Cup very hopeful of putting on a good performance”

Corinthians vence o Red Bull Bragantino no Paulistão Feminino

MatériaMais Notícias

O Corinthians venceu o Red Bull Bragantino na tarde deste sábado (19) por 1 a 0 e segue em busca da classificação para a próxima fase do Campeonato Paulista Feminino.

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Quem é o maior favorito na Copa do Mundo? Veja votação feita na redação do LANCE!

Veja tabela da Copa do Mundo

A partida aconteceu noNabi Abi Chedid. Vic Albuquerque, mais uma vez, foi autora do gol da vitória. A Braba abriu o placar aos 17 minutos da etapa final.

Em busca da classificação, o Timão agora segue em quinto lugar, com21 pontos, apenas um do G4. Já o Red Bull Bragantino soma 24 e permanece em segundo.

O Corinthians volta a campo na quarta-feira (23), às 19h, contra o Taubaté, no Parque São Jorge. Já a equipe de Bragança joga no mesmo dia e horário contra a Ferroviária.

continua após a publicidade

Dean Huijsen's dad aims hilarious dig at Man City, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid ahead of Real Madrid's quarter-final showdown with Borussia Dortmund

Dean Huijsen’s father cheekily mocked Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City ahead of Real Madrid’s Club World Cup quarter-final.

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Don Huijsen reposted a viral Club World Cup memeBarca, Atleti and City mocked in satirical bracketPost included fake teams like “Al-TV” and “Remote Control”Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Don Huijsen, the father of Madrid defender Dean, took a playful jab at the three clubs by reposting a satirical Club World Cup bracket on Instagram, mocking their absence from the knockout stages. The meme humorously paired them with fictional teams like "Al-Sofa" and "Remote Control" in a dig at them being made to watch the rest of the tournament from home, while Madrid gear up for a clash with Borussia Dortmund.

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

The post added fuel to long-standing rivalries, especially between Madrid and Barcelona, who were not involved in the tournament this year. With the Club World Cup spotlight on Los Blancos, fan banter has escalated across social platforms.

DID YOU KNOW?

Madrid defender Huijsen is one of the team's breakout stars of the Club World Cup and has adapted quickly under new coach Xabi Alonso. His performances have drawn praise following his transfer from Bournemouth.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?

Los Blancos will take on Dortmund in the Club World Cup quarter-final in New York, with the winner going on to face either Paris Saint-Germain or Bayern Munich.

الكشف عن منصب أمير توفيق في الأهلي السعودي

كشفت تقارير صحفية سعودية، عن تولي أمير توفيق، الرئيس التنفيذي السابق لشركة الأهلي، منصباً مهماً بأحد الأندية السعودية.

وبحسب صحيفة الميدان السعودية، فإن أمير توفيق سيتولى منصب مدير قطاع التسويق بشركة النادي الأهلي السعودي خلال الفترة المقبلة.

طالع.. رسميًا | سيراميكا كليوباترا يُعلن ضم كريم نيدفيد من الأهلي

وكتبت الصحيفة، عبر منصة إكس: “امير توفيق الرئيس التنفيذي السابق لنادي الأهلي المصري يتولى منصب مدير قطاع التسويق بشركه النادي الأهلي السعودي خلفاً للإيطاليه باربارا بيجي”.

ومنذ أيام أعلن النادي الأهلي، اعتذار أمير توفيق عن عدم استمراره في منصبه كمدير تنفيذي لشركة الكرة بالقلعة الحمراء نظراً لارتباطه بالسفر والعمل خارج القاهرة.

ووجهت الشكر لتوفيق على الفترة التي تولى فيها المسؤولية، مشيدة بما وصفته بإخلاصه وتفانيه في أداء مهامه، وحرصه الدائم على خدمة القلعة الحمراء، مؤكدة أنه كان نموذجًا يُحتذى به في العمل والانتماء.

مصر تفوز على تونس وتتصدر الدور التمهيدي بالبطولة العربية لسيدات السلة

نجح منتخب مصر لكرة السلة للسيدات، في تحقيق الفوز على نظيره تونس، بنتيجة 80-55، في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما ضمن منافسات البطولة العربية.

والتقى منتخب مصر مع تونس، على صالة استاد القاهرة الدولي، ضمن مواجهات الجولة الثالثة والأخيرة بالدور التمهيدي، بالبطولة العربية لكرة السلة للسيدات.

وانطلقت البطولة يوم 1 من شهر يوليو الجاري وتنتهي يوم 8 من الشهر ذاته، بمشاركة منتخبات مصر، تونس، الجزائر، الأردن.

طالع أيضًا.. قائمة منتخب مصر للسيدات لكرة السلة في البطولة العربية

وجاءت نتائج فترات المباراة كالتالي:

9/6

34/16

53/35

80/55

وبذلك يتصدر منتخب مصر جدول ترتيب الدور التمهيدي بالعلامة الكاملة بعد الفوز على الجزائر في الجولة الأولى بنتيجة 89/54، ثم الفوز على الأردن في الجولة الثانية بنتيجة 85/54، وأخيرًا الفوز على تونس بنتيجة 80/55.

‏وتقام البطولة بنظام الدوري الكامل من مرحلة واحدة، حيث يواجه كل منتخب الثلاث منتخبات الأخرى، لترتيب مراكز المنتخبات.

يلتقي المنتخب صاحب المركز الأول مع المنتخب صاحب المركز الرابع، ويلعب المنتخب صاحب المركز الثاني مع المنتخب صاحب المركز الثالث في دور نصف النهائي، لتحديد طرفي مباراة تحديد المركز الثالث ومباراة النهائي.

Colin Graves withdraws from running to become Yorkshire chair

Hits out at club for slow appointment process, claiming his candidacy was being treated as a backstop

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jun-2023

Colin Graves served as ECB chair between 2015 and 2020•Getty Images

Colin Graves has withdrawn his offer to refinance Yorkshire’s £14.9 million debt, and will not be returning to his former role of chair at the club after criticising the length of time it has taken to appoint a successor to Lord Patel, who stepped down in March.Graves’ family trust is owed approximately £15 million by Yorkshire following his bail-out in 2002, although the club has been looking at alternative sources of investment, with prospective names in the frame including Mike Ashley, the former owner of Newcastle United, and the Saudi national investment fund.Yorkshire are due to repay £500,000 to the Graves Trust in October, with the remainder of the balance due in October 2024, although Graves himself was understood to have reached an agreement with its independent trustees to extend the repayment terms by a further three years, in exchange for his return as Yorkshire chair.However, in a letter to the interim chair, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, and seen by the Telegraph, Graves has now withdrawn from that agreement in principle, with a broadside at the club for effectively using him as a backstop if they failed to secure the funding elsewhere.”After five months of constant discussions, interviews, exchange of emails, it would appear that your board only require my services as chairman as a last resort. Other excellent candidates have been rejected, in a process that has proven to be arduous and disappointing to all who participated,” he wrote.Yorkshire’s financial position remains parlous in the wake of Azeem Rafiq’s revelations about institutional racism at Headingley, and the subsequent withdrawal of a host of key sponsors at the height of the crisis. In a statement, the club responded that they were “disappointed” with Graves’ pronouncements, adding that his proposal had never been a definitive offer for formal board-level discussion.”We remain at a critical point in the future of Yorkshire County Cricket Club,” the statement read. “The board is squarely focused on securing the financial security of the club and we are continuing the positive conversations around investment from various sources.”We have been notified that Colin Graves has decided to withdraw his application for chair. We are disappointed that he has decided to do so publicly and are obliged to make it absolutely clear that at no point did Colin make a clearly defined, tangible offer that the board was able to consider formally, unlike other interested parties involved in the refinance process.”We have consistently outlined that the new chair would be appointed using a fair, thorough and robust process, which is ongoing. Colin indicated that the terms of his return as chair would require total control of the board and executive. This would run counter to that process, as well as the best practice governance requirements set out in the County Governance Code that were agreed by all counties in 2019.”Colin also makes a number of allegations about the board’s actions in regard to finances which are unfounded and indicate a distinct lack of understanding of the current position of YCCC. The short- and long-term financial wellbeing of the club remains the board’s priority, and we will not be distracted by speculation which is unhelpful to our primary objective of securing the future of Yorkshire County Cricket Club and making it a welcoming club for everyone.”

Man City lost "superb" star for £0, now he's worth £100m & outscoring Foden

In recent seasons, Manchester City’s academy has been a conveyor belt of talent.

Current Premier League stars including Cole Palmer, Roméo Lavia, Liam Delap, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and many more have represented the Sky Blues at youth level, before being sold for huge fees, and that’s not even mentioning those who have stayed and are key first team figures.

Manchester City's Cole Palmer celebrates scoring their first goal

However, did the best of the lot leave for free when he was just 16, making him the biggest mistake of the lot, considering he’s now outscoring Phil Foden at one of Europe’s biggest clubs?

Phil Foden's continued struggles

As recently as last season, Phil Foden was presented with both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year awards, having scored 27 goals across all competitions, on top of 13 assists.

In recognition of this amazing form, teammate Rodri asserted that Foden “has the ability to be the best English player in history”. Now, however, even a starting berth is not guaranteed, with the 24-year-old only introduced late on in the 2-2 draw with Brighton.

The City academy product has accumulated just ten goals and six assists to date in all competitions, with James Ducker of the Telegraph stating that his end product has ‘fallen off dramatically’.

Andy Hampson of the Independent adds that he ‘endured a slow start to the season’, thereby unable to ‘regain his rhythm’, according to Sam Lee of the Athletic, with Jonathan Wilson of the Guardian believing he has merely ‘flickered’ all campaign.

Foden himself stated that he’s been suffering from “burnout” and has been carrying “a few niggles” after a long season, featuring a run to the Euros Final, with Pep Guardiola pleading with supporters to “be patient” as his players “are human beings”.

Put succinctly by Simon Bajkowski of the Manchester Evening News, Foden was ‘the best player in the Premier League’ but is now enduring the ‘roughest campaign of his career’, having been usurped by January arrival Omar Marmoush behind Erling Haaland.

Thus, with the England international struggling for form and fitness, will Man City rue allowing an attacker outperforming Foden to leave for free?

Man City's forgotten academy superstar

Even before being old enough to vote, drink or drive, Michael Olise was something of a journeyman, given that he spent time at Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City’s academies, before departing the latter for Reading at the age of just 16.

The winger made his senior debut against Leeds in March 2019, racking up 73 appearances for the Royals, before being snapped up by Crystal Palace, who paid his £8m release clause in 2021, really bursting onto the scene in South London.

In 90 outings for the Eagles, Olise racked up 16 goals and 25 assists, earning rave reviews; Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout described him as “superb”, Matt Woosnam of the Athletic labelled him one of world football’s ‘brightest talents’, while former Arsenal winger Adrian Clarke noted that his performances for Palace were both ‘incredible’ and ‘elite’.

As a result, Bayern Munich paid around £50m to secure his services last summer, with Seb Stafford-Bloor of the Athletic noting how this move to Bavaria has taken Olise’s stardom to a whole new stratosphere.

The 23-year-old has scored 13 goals and provided 11 assists for the run-away Bundesliga leaders so far, also earning his senior international debut for France against Italy earlier this season, choosing to represent Les Bleus, despite also being eligible to represent Algeria, Nigeria and England.

So, let’s analyse how his statistics compare to Foden’s this season.

Statistics

Olise

Foden

Appearances

39

38

Minutes

2,540

2,605

Goals

13

10

Assists

11

6

Shots on target %

37.5%

32.2%

Progressive carries

126

69

Progress passes

203

141

Pass completion %

80.3%

84.9%

Shot-creating actions

157

120

Goal-creating actions

18

15

Take-on success %

51%

40.7%

Touches per 90

70.3

52.3

As the table outlines, Olise and Foden have played a near-identical number of minutes this season, there’s under an hour in it, making comparing the pair about as fair as it can be.

Michael Olise in action for Bayern Munich

The Frenchman comes out on top for pretty much every metric featured, pass completion percentage the sole exception, with Olise outperforming Foden when it comes to goals, assists, chances created, dribbles and pretty much everything else.

Thus, it’s pretty indisputable that Man City would be better off if they had the 21-year-old in their ranks, a rising star that, as Ryan Taylor of the Daily Mirror reports, those at Bayern believe is now worth £100m.

Man City sold the original Haaland for just £11m, now he's outscoring Foden

A former Man City hero is continuing to fire in front of goal this season

1 ByRobbie Walls Mar 13, 2025

Jadeja puts troubled knee to Ranji test as Australia series looms

The allrounder says he will “go slowly” with his bowling workload in his comeback for Saurashtra against Tamil Nadu

Srinidhi Ramanujam23-Jan-20230:43

Jadeja trains in Chennai ahead of Saurashtra’s Ranji game

Saurashtra’s nets session on Monday gave a clear picture of Ravindra Jadeja’s determination to get back on the field. In a practice session that spanned over three hours and 20 minutes, Jadeja was one of only two players to have an extended hit at the nets. This was after he was done with his stretching and fielding drills at the MA Chidambaram Stadium and then a round of batting and bowling at the nets. In between, he was also seen giving pep talks, initially with the team in a huddle and then with individual players.Jadeja is returning to competitive cricket after a gap of nearly five months after injuring his knee during the Asia Cup last September and is set to lead Saurashtra in their last group game in the Ranji Trophy, with Cheteshwar Pujara and regular captain Jaydev Unadkat rested.Related

Ravindra Jadeja to resume playing, set to feature in Ranji Trophy

Suryakumar and Kishan in India's Test squad to face Australia

Jadeja undergoes surgery for injured right knee, hopes to start rehab soon

Both are understood to have been advised rest by the BCCI ahead of the Test series against Australia, which begins in Nagpur on February 9. Both players are part of the India squad for the first two Tests of the four-match series. Both Pujara and Unadkat, as well as Jadeja, will be part of India’s preparatory camp in Nagpur starting February 2.Jadeja’s inclusion in the 17-man squad is subject to proving his match fitness. He could not have asked for a better place for his competitive return than his home in the IPL, Chennai, where Saurashtra will take on Tamil Nadu starting Tuesday.Given that the last time he played a first-class game was the fifth Test against England in Birmingham last July, Jadeja is looking to get game-time under his belt before joining the India camp.”I’m almost ready,” he said with a wide smile when asked about his fitness. “I was at the NCA [National Cricket Academy] for 20 days, doing batting and bowling, but the match scenario is different. I wanted to play one game before the Australia series, that’s why I am here. Hopefully, I will be fully recovered to play the first Test.”Jadeja underwent surgery for a ligament tear in September 2022, and his planned comeback didn’t materialise when he was ruled out of the tour of Bangladesh in December, having initially been selected in both the ODI and Test squads.Jadeja: ‘I will go slowly [when I’m bowling against Tamil Nadu]. Have to see how my leg is feeling and then I will see’•PTI

As of Monday, he wasn’t feeling any discomfort in his knee, but he indicated he wouldn’t be taking on a full bowling workload in the match against Tamil Nadu.”After five months, if you play a competitive game, you don’t feel confident initially,” he said. “But as you progress, you will get better and better.”Injuries are part of the sport. In any sport, if you get injured, you have to start from scratch. Same thing in cricket. I was out of action for five months, so again I have to build my fitness first and then slowly, once I get fit and once I regain my confidence, then definitely I will work on my skills and get better day by day.”While batting in the nets, Jadeja copped a blow to the arm from the side-arm thrower and briefly looked discomfited. However, he continued to bat before coming back to bowl.Speaking about the setbacks he has faced on the road to his comeback from injury, he said: “You feel bad, nobody wants to get injured in the middle of your big season.”It’s a part of the game. You have to keep that in mind, and you have to prepare for it. Can’t do anything. There is no guarantee that nobody would get injured while playing cricket. It’s nice now, coming good. Day by day, I am getting that confidence.”I will go slowly [when I’m bowling]. Have to see how my leg is feeling and then I will see.”During his time away from cricket, Jadeja was busy campaigning for his wife in the Gujarat assembly elections. He said he mostly switched off from cricket during this period.”Fortunately, I was busy with some other things,” he said. “My full focus was there. It helped me a lot. I was also not thinking too much about cricket. Those initial three months after I got injured and got done with my surgery, I was busy with some election things. That helped me a lot. I wasn’t really watching [India] matches. But a few games I did see.”But at the moment, he is “very excited, looking forward to this game. Hopefully, it comes good as a team and as an individual.”

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