Sidelined for almost the whole season in favour of Heurhelo Gomes, the 37 year-old veteran keeper has arguably gone beyond the call of duty when asked to stand in for Heurhelo Gomes for two brief periods during the season when the No. 1 was hit firstly with a match ban and then more recently was ruled out with a back injury.

With Emiliano Viviano's unfortunate injury, Prandelli is forced to venture from his favorite 3 and call up a third keeper to provide necessary depth. And while people consider Buffon untouchable, remember last year's back injury? Seeing Marchetti between the sticks was worse than watching a deer in the headlights.

Just days after Jermaine Jones made the move from the German Bundesliga to the English Premier League, now comes word a U.S. teammate of Jones could be joining him in the EPL.

Sunderland is lining up a transfer bid for U.S. World Cup midfielder Michael Bradley. The Black Cats are believed to be looking for a potential replacement for Lee Cattermole, who is battling a back injury and is drawing transfer interest from the likes of Liverpool, and Bradley could be just the player to solidify the midfield for Steve Bruce's side.

Whoever thought Jose Mourinho could be shocked by arrogance? It seems that in Real Madrid general manager Jorge Valdano he has met his match as a potentially detrimental feud threatens to derail Real Madrid's pursuit of Barcelona.

When Mourinho took over at Real, he made it clear that he wanted greater control over the management of the team than the long list of ‘coaches' who had bowed to the whims of the board for more than a decade.

Nile Ranger pulled out of the England U20 squad this last week with a back injury. Nile Ranger hopefully will be fit for tomorrow's game But a difficulty presumably with what happened this week was with the procedure followed Ranger didn't have his injury assessed by England's medical staff. But what does the [.

American defender Zak Whitbread could be the next U.S.-born player to make the climb from the League Championship to the Premier League after his club, Norwich City, earned promotion on Monday.

Norwich secured passage to the Premier League with a 1-0 victory against Portsmouth on a goal from Canadian national team striker Simeon Jackson.

It's maybe not surprising that some areas of the media are questioning the official explanation for Heurelho Gomes' absence from the Spurs squad last night. Tottenham have said that the Brazilian was suffering from a back injury and while we wouldn't want to question that statement, others have hinted at a smokescreen.

So I'm glancing over the latest Goffblog United injury roundup and feeling a little paranoid for Chris Korb. Not only is Zayner, the prospective starter at right back, still down, but McTavish, a utility man but putative right back, continues his concussion troubles as well. As a right fullback myself, that has me a little spooked.

Charles N'Zogbia matched Darren Bent's achievement of scoring on his debut in tonight's final pre-season game in Braga; a 1-1 draw that would probably be given to the home side on points by the judges. If we did such a thing.

Vagner Love's stunt double, Alan, opened the scoring for the home side with a wicked effort from 25 yards that nestled the top corner and left Shay Given no chance.

Written by Wonderman

Not much to write about today's game, it was not much of a spectacle but still there were positives to be taken. I sat in the west stand today, behind the tv gantry and close enough to recognise Steve McManaman not too far away working for one of the tv channels.

Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain was understandably delighted after making the most of a rare recent start against Espanyol on Sunday by scoring a hat-trick in his side's 4-0 win

Since returning from a serious back injury in April, Higuain has been mainly used at a substitute by Jose Mourinho with Karim Benzema being Mourinho's preferred choice up front.

Here is our last opportunity to vote.

How it works

• Vote by posting a Yes (to Protect) or No (don't Protect) in the subject of a comment, then explain why in the message
• We (the editors) will keep track of all the yes/no votes for each player
• At the end of the whole roster we will total up the results and post the community's Protected list
• Your list will be compared to the list of each contributing editor
• The only player we will not be voting on is Darlington Nagbe as he is automatically protected based on his Generations Adidas Status.

Two weeks without club football? Check. The potential for the club's most important players to pick up injuries? Check. All the time in the world to stew over a bad performance leading into the break? Check. A fully functioning liver? That might depend on how many Liverpool players go to sleep Tuesday night without having picked up an injury between now and then.

Photo: Daniel Gajdamowicz

Philadelphia Union

The "2011 in Review" articles for the Philadelphia Union are now up on the MLS website. One provides decent insight, the other, not so much. In the Q & A cobbled together from the last press conference of the season, in addition to relating that Freddy Adu was at "60 percent" for much of the end of the season due to a back injury and the need for defensive additions and competition within the various positions on the field, Peter Nowak discusses the mindset the team needs to win a championship:

"I told you guys at the press conferences we've had all year long that we believe in what we're building, we believe what is the culture around the team.

Ives Galarcep reports that U.S. midfielder Michael Bradley could be headed to the English Premier League, whose sixth-place Sunderland is lining up an offer to his German club, Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Bradley is seen as a possible replacement for captain Lee Cattermole, who has been battling a back injury.

By Chris Wright

After Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain was ruled out for four months with a particularly nasty sounding back injury ('herniated spine' anyone?) last week, Real have grown increasingly eager/desperate to recruit some short-term cover, with loan moves for Man City wastrel Emmanuel Adebayor, Miroslav Klose and a return to the Bernabeu for equine goal-machine Ruud Van Nistelrooy all mooted to be on the cards.

Tweet

The Flying Dutchman

Arsenal produced a clinical performance at Championship side Leeds winning 3-1 to book their place in the FA Cup fourth round. The Gunners were impressive throughout and took an early lead when Samir Nasri slotted in from Andrey Arshavin's pass.

Of most concern to fans at present will be the condition of Gareth Bale following his 11th minute substitution on Saturday.

Bale limped out of the action with what was later revealed to be a back injury. Harry Redknapp confirmed that he's been suffering from this for some time: "He has had a bad back for the last few weeks and we need to get that sorted out because it is dragging on now.

It was just a matter of time. Mourinho was unhappy at Real Madrid, and the Portuguese had been whining consistently for a center-forward after Gonzalo Higuain's back injury. Emmanuel Adebayor didn't fit into Roberto Mancini's plans at Manchester City, especially considering that Manchester City went out and bought Edin Dzeko in this mid-season transfer window.

Jonathan Spector was in the starting lineup for West Ham yet again, but he couldn't duplicate his past Carling Cup magic as the Hammers lost to Birmingham, 3-1, in overtime of their second leg at St. Andrews on Wednesday. The loss sent Birmingham to the Carling Cup Final.

West Ham came in with a 2-1 lead on aggregate, but Birmingham forced extra time with its own 2-1 regulation scoreline and clinched the victory at home courtesy of a Craig Gardner goal.

Tottenham have received the devastating news that star midfielder Gareth Bale is set to miss two weeks. Bale is suffering once again from a recurring back injury, and a specialist has advised the Welshmen to sit out for two weeks. Bale has been a crucial player for the Spurs this season as he has attracted worldwide attention for some scintillating displays.

Tottenham's newest player, Steven Pienaar, has vowed that he will only get better as he gets acclimated to his new surroundings. The South African made his debut for his new club over the weekend, and after making the switch from Everton he promises fans that he'll continually improve.

"It's always a real pleasure to make your debut," said Pienaar.

Dutch FC Twente is still unsure of the severity of Oguchi Onyewu's back injury after the hulking American defender was forced to leave a Dutch Cup match versus PSV Eindhoven in the first half.

STARTERS
The Derby du Nord!
-Sat Jan 29
Lille v Lens - 2pm Central
dN
Don't be surprised if this USA game in Cairo against Egypt on Feb 9 gets canceled. The political unrest is really cranking up, and the people who are going after the president are also going after the USA for "propping him up.

It was just a matter of time. Mourinho was unhappy at Real Madrid, and the Portuguese had been whining consistently for a center-forward after Gonzalo Higuain's back injury. Emmanuel Adebayor didn't fit into Roberto Mancini's plans at Manchester City, especially considering that Manchester City went out and bought Edin Dzeko in this mid-season transfer window.

Spurs have confirmed that they will be without Luka Modric, Gareth Bale and Rafael van der Vaart for Saturday's tough trip to Sunderland.

The three are still doubts for the Milan game and Harry Redknapp is quoted as saying: "They're all struggling at the moment. Luka's had his appendix operation and has just started jogging so he's not fit for tomorrow.

Although it won't be certain until tomorrow evening, it appears that Gareth Bale is likely to miss tomorrow night's clash with AC Milan at the San Siro.

After Bale's hat-trick in the group stages against Inter, Spurs would have been keen to see him fit for the first leg, but Harry Redknapp has claimed that we will be without our Welsh wing wizard.

By Chris Wright

All the pink tape in all the world can't hold Gareth Bale together this time

Tottenham have confirmed this afternoon that Gareth Bale will definitely not be reproduce a repeat of his one-man Milanese demolition job against AC Milan on Tuesday night, as the Welsh winger has not travelled to Italy with the rest of the squad for Spurs' Champions League second-round clash after failing to recover from a back injury.

Gareth Bale has failed to recover from his back injury and did not travel to Milan for tomorrow's Champions League tie against AC Milan in the San Siro.

Spurs are facing a injury crisis in midfield as in addition to Bale, Jermaine Jenas is suspended, Luka Modric (appendicitis) is very doubtful and Rafael van der Vaart will need a late fitness check to see if he can play.

By Ollie Irish

Tottenham trio William Gallas, Rafael van der Vaart and Peter Crouch train at the San Siro ahead of Tuesday evening's Round of 16 Champions league first-leg match against Milan.

Spurs will be minus Gareth Bale, who hasn't recovered from a niggling back injury.

Three U.S. internationals could see action in domestic cup competitions in Europe today.
FC Twente can book a place in the Dutch Cup final today with a win against FC Utrecht. Oguchi Onyewu was forced to leave their quarterfinal match against rivals PSV with a minor back injury, which Twente went on to win 7-6 in penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation and extra time.

La Liga Lowdown, Jornada 29: Real Madrid win derby, world keeps turning is a post from: Just Football

Reyes was falling, Diarra was fouling – two predictable features of the latest edition of the Madrid derby. There's another thing that was equally as predictable: Atlético Madrid's failure to beat their local rivals in a derby game once again.

Blow for Wales as Gareth Bale ruled out of England clash - ESPN Soccernet Tottenham winger Gareth Bale has been ruled out of Wales' Euro 2012 qualifier against England on Saturday with a hamstring injury. Bale did not train on Wednesday, despite reports that he was injured during a session, and he has only recently returned from a back injury that kept him out for six weeks from the end of

So I'm glancing over the latest Goffblog United injury roundup and feeling a little paranoid for Chris Korb. Not only is Zayner, the prospective starter at right back, still down, but McTavish, a utility man but putative right back, continues his concussion troubles as well. As a right fullback myself, that has me a little spooked.

According to Physioroom, Liverpool have had 43 separate injuries to first team players since the beginning of August. The above graphic shows only 38 for two reasons. First, there are two different Gerrard groin injuries listed in February. However, since he didn't play any matches in the meantime, I'm only counting it as one.

Liverpool welcome Tottenham to Anfield on Sunday in a shoot-out for fifth spot in the Premier League.
The Reds are in pole position to finish fifth and claim a place in next season's Europa League as they are two points ahead of Spurs.
A win for Liverpool will guarantee fifth spot with just one game left after this weekend in the Premier League.

Liverpool welcome Tottenham to Anfield on Sunday in a shoot-out for fifth spot in the Premier League.
The Reds are in pole position to finish fifth and claim a place in next season's Europa League as they are two points ahead of Spurs.
A win for Liverpool will guarantee fifth spot with just one game left after this weekend in the Premier League.

There's been another change at the top.

Despite not losing, the Los Angeles Galaxy has made way for FC Dallas to take over the No. 1 spot in SBI'S MLS Power Rankings. FCD, on the heels of its 2-0 win over Columbus, extended its torrid streak to 9-1-3 in its last 13 games and trails the Galaxy by two points in the race for the Supporter's Shield but has two games in hand.

By JONATHAN VERA

CARSON, Calif – After battling a back injury for weeks, David Beckham woke up earlier this week feeling pain free and ready to play.

The Chicago Fire found out the hard way just how ready Beckham was.

The Los Angeles Galaxy star set up a Landon Donovan goal before scoring a goal of his own on, of all things, a corner kick to help lead the Galaxy to a 2-1 win over the Fire on Saturday night at the Home Depot Center.

The 4th place and defending MLS Cup Champion Colorado Rapids (5-3-7) entered their showdown with the 1st place LA Galaxy (8-2-7) leading the MLS in goals scored while only conceding 14. That + 8 goal differential was good enough for 3rd in the league. They ran into a Galaxy squad that was without starting Jamaican national team goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts and USA star Landon Donovan, as they were set to duel Saturday afternoon at RFK Stadium in D.