Aston Villa’s Emiliano Buendia has suffered a knee ligament injury, the Premier League club said on Thursday.

The Athletic reported that the Argentine international has injured his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and will be sidelined for an “extended” spell.

“Aston Villa can confirm Emi Buendia has suffered a significant knee ligament injury,” Villa said in a statement.

“The midfielder sustained the damage during training yesterday and has subsequently undergone a scan. Buendia will now be under review ahead of a further consultation with a knee specialist.”

Buendia was a key player for Villa last season, making 38 appearances as they underwent a remarkable turnaround under coach Unai Emery, finishing seventh and securing qualification for the Europa Conference League.

The Premier League season begins on Friday and Villa travel to Newcastle United for their first game on Saturday.

Real Madrid suffered a huge blow on the eve of the new LaLiga season with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during training on Thursday.

The 31-year-old Belgium international faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines and will undergo surgery in the coming days, his club said.

“After the tests carried out on our player Thibaut Courtois, he has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee,” Madrid said in a statement.

The club did not specify how long Courtois will be out but reports in Spain suggest he will miss most of the season, if not all of it.

Courtois suffered the injury during a morning training session and left in tears, according to Cadena Cope radio.

He will be replaced in the team by Ukraine’s Andriy Lunin, with Madrid due to play Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in their first game of the season.

Courtois joined Madrid from Chelsea after the 2018 World Cup, helping the club to a pair of LaLiga crowns and last year’s Champions League title.

West Ham have completed the signing of Mexico international Edson Alvarez from Dutch giants Ajax for an undisclosed fee, the Premier League club announced Thursday.

The 25-year-old has agreed a contract until June 2028 with the Europa Conference League winners and bolsters a Hammers midfield now without Declan Rice following their former captain’s move to Arsenal.

West Ham manager David Moyes told the club’s website: “The midfield area was one we were especially keen to strengthen this summer – and Edson will complement the other options we have in that department.

“He’s an experienced international player, who has enjoyed great success for both club and country during his career to date.”

Alvarez, who started his senior career with Mexico City-based Club America, won two Eredivisie titles during his four seasons with Amsterdam side Ajax.

Capped 69 times by Mexico, he won the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2019 and 2023, and was also a member of his country’s squads at both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

“It’s a hugely sentimental moment for me in my career,” Alvarez said. “To join a club like a West Ham is a dream for me and my family.

“The Premier League is a special league, the best league in the world, and I think my style will suit it.

“I now have a responsibility to West Ham and the West Ham family and I will give absolutely everything for the shirt.”

West Ham, who will play in the Europa League this season, begin the new Premier League campaign at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says it will be “impossible” for his side to repeat last season’s Treble success.

City finished 2022-23 with a hat-trick of major trophies and begin this year’s Premier League campaign against newly promoted Burnley on Friday.

“It is once in a lifetime,” Guardiola said. “It will not be possible to do what we did last season.”

City are bidding to be the first team in history to win four successive English top-flight titles.

But Guardiola said winning the league, Champions League and FA Cup again would be too difficult.

“We climbed the highest mountain last season, but in the last two days we came down from it and now we start again,” he said.

“Everyone has the same intention and there will be a lot of difficulties to climb the mountain as high as possible. Our football, our level, our mentality will dictate how the season will be.”

City will be bolstered by new signings Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic when they come up against former captain Vincent Kompany’s Burnley at Turf Moor.

Guardiola said both players were “ready” and could be involved in the opening match of the season while uncertainty remains around the City futures of defender Kyle Walker and winger Cole Palmer.

The City boss said the club “wish” Walker stays and he does not know what will happen with 21-year-old Palmer, who has been linked with a move to West Ham.

“[Palmer is] with us. What will happen, I don’t know,” said Guardiola. “I understand he wants to be more active than the previous season but Riyad [Mahrez] is gone, there is one more place there. We will see.”

In his news conference on Thursday, Guardiola would not comment on West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta, who has been linked with the club this week.

‘Nothing will change’

City’s campaign for further success this season will be made difficult by an even more congested fixture schedule, with the club also involved in the Club World Cup and European Super Cup.

Concerns have been raised frequently by Premier League managers that the schedule is too demanding and that players and coaches do not get enough say in the packed calendar.

“We go to meetings [with Uefa and Premier League] but they don’t pay any attention,” said Guardiola.

“We don’t have enough days to play all these games in all competitions. When a team in the Premier League doesn’t play in Europe, it is not a problem, but people say we play in the same conditions. We don’t – we play more games.”

Guardiola has also been critical of the new officiating directive which will see matches have more injury time this season to accurately reflect stoppages in play.

City conceded a 101st-minute equaliser in their Community Shield match against Arsenal, eventually losing on penalties.

He said there are already too many matches without significant periods of extra time being added on but that the “big brain guys” make decisions without consulting players and managers.

“There are no more days, more games, so you can’t give a day off to the players,” Guardiola added.

“This argument is from a long time ago and it is getting worse but what can I do? They decide. Nothing will change.

“I have been saying it. Jurgen Klopp has been saying it. When we are invited to Uefa meetings, we cannot go because we are busy. I have to prepare. I don’t have time.”

Defending champion Sharon Lokedi, Boston Marathon winner Hellen Obiri, Olympic gold medallist Peres Jepchirchir and marathon world record-holder Brigid Kosgei will clash in a competitive TCS New York City Marathon on 5 November.

Lokedi won the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race on her marathon debut last year, pulling away in the final two miles to finish in 2:23:23.

“Last year, I came into the TCS New York City Marathon with the goal of being in the thick of the race, and the result was better than I could have ever hoped for,” Lokedi said.

“This year, I’m returning with a different mindset, hungry to defend my title and race against the fastest women in the world.”

Obiri is a two-time world 5000m champion who earlier this year won the Boston Marathon on her second attempt at the distance. She finished sixth when making her marathon debut last year in New York.

“With a year of marathon experience now under my belt, a win in Boston, and my move to the US, I’m coming to New York this year with more confidence and in search of a title,” she explained.

Jepchirchir is also a two-time world gold medallist, having won half marathon titles in 2016 and 2020.

The following year she claimed her Olympic marathon crown and she followed that with New York City Marathon victory, finishing in 2:22:39 for the third-fastest time in event history, just eight seconds off the event record.

In 2022, in a race that came down to the final mile, she held off Ababel Yeshaneh to take the Boston Maraton title and then in April she secured another podium finish, taking third at the London Marathon.

“I was so disappointed that I couldn’t defend my title in New York last year due to an injury, and winning again in Central Park has been my main motivation as I begin my preparations for the autumn,” Jepchirchir said.

Kosgei contests the New York City Marathon for the first time as she looks to add to a CV that already includes major marathon wins in Chicago, where she ran her landmark 2:14:04 in 2019, plus London and Tokyo.

“I am very excited to make my New York City debut this fall, and attempt to win my fourth different major,” Kosgei said. “I am not worried about the course, as I have had success in hilly marathons before, but New York has always been about head-to-head competition, and I know I must be in the best possible shape to compete with the other women in the race.”

The full fields for the race will be announced at a later date.

Bayern Munich and Tottenham have agreed a deal in principle for England captain Harry Kane worth more than 100m euros (£86.4m).

Kane, 30, has one year left on his contract with Spurs and must now make a decision about whether or not to leave.

The forward is Tottenham’s all-time top scorer with 280 goals in 435 appearances.

Kane was linked with Manchester United earlier this summer before Bayern made him their main target.

The striker’s future in London has been uncertain for several seasons while a number of Bayern bids were rejected earlier this summer.

Most recently, Spurs turned down an offer on Monday and the Bundesliga champions suggested on that occasion an unsuccessful bid would force them to move on to other targets.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has repelled interest in Kane numerous times over the years, including in 2021 when Premier League champions Manchester City tried to sign the striker.

It was also unclear whether Levy would have been willing to sell Kane to another Premier League team, suggesting earlier this year he would not do business with either of the Manchester clubs.

But with Kane unwilling to sign a new deal with Spurs, it seems Levy has decided selling now is the best option for the club rather than losing him for free next year.

Kane, who came through Spurs’ academy, has played for the club during pre-season while negotiations with Bayern took place, with his last appearance coming against Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday.

New Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou had promised to sell Kane his “vision” for the club following his appointment this summer, saying he wanted the striker to stay in north London.

Kane has won the Premier League Golden Boot three times – in 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2020-21 – since making his debut for the club in 2012.

With 213 goals from 320 Premier League games, Kane needs just 48 more to break Alan Shearer’s scoring record.

Yet England’s all-time leading scorer – with 58 international goals – has never won a major trophy with club or country.

Bayern, on the other hand, are regular silverware winners in Germany.

Thomas Tuchel’s side claimed their 33rd Bundesliga title last season – an 11th in a row – and have won the Champions League six times and German Cup on 20 occasions.