The Warm-Up: Dele Alli's broken hamstring; Wayne Rooney's broken English
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Updated 23/01/2019 at 08:07 GMT
Plus: Tributes to Emiliano Sala.
Dele Alli of Tottenham reacts to an injury during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Tottenham Hotspur
Image credit: Getty Images
WEDNESDAY'S BIG STORIES
Alli injury dents Spurs’ silverware hopes
It’s conceivable that Spurs could have ridden out Harry Kane’s absence as long as they avoided any other injuries to key players. Of course, the word ‘Spurs’ in that last sentence meant that was never going to happen; Dele Alli will miss at least six weeks with a hamstring injury sustained against Fulham at the weekend.
At the most optimistic estimate, Spurs will be without Kane and Alli for 10 matches, covering a Cup semi-final, both legs of their Champions League tie against Dortmund, and a clutch of key Premier League games including derbies against Chelsea and Arsenal.
If this is the year Tottenham finally win some proper silverware, they’ll have to do it without the England pair. Fingers crossed Kane and Alli will both be back in time for Gareth Southgate to run them into the ground in the Euro qualifiers against Czech Republic and Montenegro.
Meanwhile Spurs have copped a verbal shoeing from leonine gobsh*te Zlatan Ibrahimovic, on the topic of Harry Kane:
I always say, playing in a big club, performing good is different from playing in... with all respect to Tottenham, a 'normal' club. I think he can make it. He just needs to make the move, and people will remember you for what you win. So if he wants to win, then yes, I think he needs to change.
Wayne Rooney’s broken English
Deadspin have got their hands on the police report of Wayne Rooney’s recent arrest for public intoxication at Washington Dulles airport.
It paints rather a bleak picture: “Mr. Rooney had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage about his person, slurred speech, and was unsteady on his feet.”
Most of this we knew, it given Rooney’s spokesperson has already confirmed he “took a prescribed amount of sleeping tablets mixed with some alcohol consumption”.
The report also claims that Rooney responded to the officer in “broken English” – rather a disrespectful way to refer to scouse.
Search for Sala’s plane resumes
The search for a missing aircraft carrying Cardiff City signing Emiliano Sala resumes in the English Channel this morning. Guernsey Police warn that the chances of the two people on board surviving are “slim”.
Scarves and flowers were left outside Cardiff’s stadium, while in Nantes fans gathered to pay homage to the striker.
We will have the latest developments on this tragic story throughout the day.
IN OTHER NEWS
If Tino Asprilla approves of this entirely unnecessary reverse stepover, that’s good enough for the Warm-Up.
The joke is: Danny DeVito is small.
HEROES AND ZEROES
Hero: Jonathan Walters
When a Premier League player tweets, “Yesterday I went for a colonoscopy,” they’ve automatically got The Warm-Up’s attention.
Do read the full thread – it’s pretty funny, and it does a great job of raising awareness of a horrible but preventable disease.
Zero: Cristiano Ronaldo
Emiliano Sala’s disappearance has shocked and saddened everyone in football. Well, nearly everyone. Here’s Cristiano Ronaldo aboard a private jet, accompanied by a pretty unfortunate set of emojis.
Maybe Ronaldo hadn’t been following the news. He had a busy Tuesday, what with agreeing to pay a €18.8m fine to settle a tax case and avoid prison.
Posting the picture is not the worst crime - though The Warm-Up isn’t sure about the postmodern ‘photo of someone taking a selfie’ format - but the post remains undeleted and Ronaldo has not commented on Sala... it’s not a great look.
RETRO CORNER
Burton Albion take on Manchester City, hoping to overturn a 9-0 first-leg deficit. OK, hoping to recover a grain of respectability after their weapons-grade thrashing at the Etihad. In the spirit of great comebacks, let us remember that dreamlike period when Roy Hodgson's Fulham were one of the best cup teams in Europe. Need four goals against Juventus to go through? Not a problem.
HAT TIP
Sala discovered a second family in Bordeaux. Marcelo Vada, the club’s under-16s coach, also an Argentinian, and his son and fellow Proyecto Crecer graduate, Valentin, housed Sala during his time at the youth set-up at Bordeaux. Valentin, who became like a younger brother to Sala, tweeted on Tuesday morning: Come on, brother! Please return.
A nice profile of Emiliano Sala, from Adam White in the Guardian.
COMING UP
Join us for the delicately-poised Burton Albion v Manchester City from 19:45. And oh, hey, there's tennis on - Novak Djokovic v Kei Nishikori.
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