Browsing: ACL

The New York Giants reportedly suffered a major loss in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Giants star receiver Malik Nabers was carted off the field after appearing to suffer a leg injury while attempting to catch a deep pass from rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported that Nabers “is believed to have torn his ACL.”

Nabers raced down the sideline before leaping for the pass but went down and immediately grabbed his right leg in pain. The crowd at MetLife Stadium fell silent as he laid on the field before medical personnel rushed to check him out.

Before the injury, Nabers caught two of his three targets for 20 yards. Dart was in the midst of a strong performance in his first career start, as he scored a rushing touchdown on New York’s opening possession and led the team to a two-score lead in the first half.

Nabers is one of the brightest young stars in the NFL. He was selected to the Pro Bowl after setting the NFL record for the most receptions by a rookie wide receiver. While he struggled a bit to start the year amid veteran quarterback Russell Wilson’s subpar play, he was expected to benefit from Dart taking over as the starter. Entering Sunday’s game, he had 16 catches for 251 yards and two touchdowns.

The Giants will be will be left thin at wide receiver without Nabers. New York’s other wideouts like Darius Slayton and Wan’Dale Robinson will have to step up for Dart in his absence.

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Sep 26, 2025, 07:19 PM ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov needed surgery Friday to repair the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee, injuries that will likely sideline him for the regular season and potentially the playoffs as Florida tries to win a third consecutive Stanley Cup.

Barkov was injured Thursday in his first official practice of training camp. He had surgery Friday, and the Panthers said the typical timetable for recovery from such a procedure is seven to nine months.

At minimum, that timetable would mean he won’t be playing before the start of the playoffs. The injury also ends any chance of him representing his native Finland — as he hoped and planned — in the Milan-Cortina Olympics this coming February.

“He’s such an important person in that locker room,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Friday. “I think what we’re going to get to experience now is you’ll get to know some of the other leaders that we have in our room.”

Barkov was hurt 20 minutes into practice, during a drill on a play where he took minimal contact.

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“I know the idea is next man up,” Maurice said. “There’s not a next man for Barky’s skates.”

Barkov led the Panthers in assists last season with 51 and was second in points with 71. He added six goals and 16 more assists in the playoffs when Florida won its second consecutive Stanley Cup.

Barkov has appeared in more than 86% of all Florida games, including playoffs, in his 12 NHL seasons. This is the first time he has dealt with a potential season-ending injury.

And now, the Panthers — who have been to the past three Stanley Cup finals and played more games in the past three seasons than any team in a three-year span in NHL history — have to navigate another missing star as the season approaches.

In addition to Barkov, the Panthers also won’t have forward Matthew Tkachuk while he recovers from offseason surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle. There is no formal target for Tkachuk’s return; given the typical return-to-play timelines for such procedures, it wouldn’t seem likely that he returns before December.

Since Tkachuk came to the Panthers in 2022, Florida has played only five games without either him or Barkov in the lineup — all last October, with the Panthers winning three of those five contests. And Tomas Nosek, who had a big role in last season’s run to the Cup title, is expected to miss considerable time because of a knee injury.

“It’s going to be tough,” Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said when asked about the Barkov news Friday. “He’s our leader — there’s no replacing Barky. Everyone has to step up. There’s no replacing him, but it’s another challenge for our group. And we’re usually pretty good at overcoming challenges.”

Barkov is Florida’s franchise leader in many categories, including games played (804), goals (286), assists (496), points (782), power-play goals (84) and game-winning goals (52).

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Arne Slot has confirmed Giovanni Leoni will miss the rest of the season after tearing an anterior cruciate ligament on his Liverpool debut.

The 18-year-old central defender, signed from Parma last month for £26m, sustained the injury towards the end of an assured performance against Southampton in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday and immediate concerns over a lengthy layoff have been realised. Leoni, recently called up to the Italy squad for the first time, faces surgery and an extensive rehabilitation period.

“He is not in a good place, of course, because he tore his ACL and it means he will be out for around a year,†said Slot on Friday. “Being so young, coming to a new country and playing so well in your first game … itâ€s very hard to take the positive side. Thereâ€s never a positive side but he is still so young so he has many years to go after he recovers from a terrible injury like that.â€

Liverpool agreed a deal to sign Marc Guéhi from Crystal Palace on deadline day only for the Palace chair, Steve Parish, to abort the transfer under pressure from his manager, Oliver Glasner. Leoniâ€s absence may increase the likelihood of the Premier League champions making another move for the Palace captain in January. Slot, whose league leaders travel to Selhurst Park on Saturday, was noncommittal on whether he could play the rest of the season with three specialist central defenders but insisted he did not want a bloated squad.

“That all depends on whether we get more injuries and if thereâ€s a chance in the market,†said Slot on the prospect of January reinforcements. “But I would not prefer to go to 24, 25 players. If there is a situation – and touch wood there isnâ€t – where I lead a team that has four or five injuries throughout the whole season, then it might be smarter to go to 24, 25. But recent history with Feyenoord and last season as well showed that we have a good record until now.

“That is a certain risk. If we have five or six injuries at the same time then we would end up with 15, 16 players and that would normally be difficult. So itâ€s a choice I like to make but I think it is also a financial choice that we as a club have to make. If we want to keep these top players, we cannot have 24, 25 of them.â€

Slot confirmed that Liverpool intended to add Federico Chiesa to their squad list for the Champions Leagueâ€s league phase after Leoniâ€s injury. New Uefa rules allow an outfield player unavailable for 60 days or more to be replaced.

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Hugo Ekitiké has not been fined for the red card against Southampton that means he misses the trip to Palace. The forward received a second booking for taking off his shirt after scoring. Slot said of disciplining him: “I spoke to him but if disciplined means a fine then, no, he didnâ€t get that. It wasnâ€t smart what he did. He recognised that straight away and said sorry to his teammates. You are allowed at this club to make a mistake without immediately getting fined.â€

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New Liverpool signing Giovanni Leoni was stretchered from the field on his Reds debut while Arne Slot’s side found a way past Championship outfit Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

Last year’s beaten finalists made their first outing in this season’s competition, but had to rely on a late Hugo Ekitike winner to secure a place in Round Four.

While Ekitike’s decision to remove his shirt in celebrating the Reds’ winner made headlines due to the fact he had already been booked and was sent for an early bath, Liverpool’s disappointment despite qualifying was compounded by injury to Leoni.

The 18-year-old joined Liverpool from Parma over the summer in an initial £26 million move but will now spend an extended period on the sidelines, having suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Arne Slot on Giovanni Leoni’s injury:”For him, it didn’t feel good immediately, but now this is something we have to assess.”Normally, these things don’t happen in 5-10 minutes. You have to wait for tomorrow to see how he comes in, then maybe do an MRI scan to find out how… pic.twitter.com/95iXztTn3FSeptember 23, 2025

Joe Gomez is an alternative but beyond that, Slot does not have a senior, first team-ready centre-back to pick from besides the now-injured Leoni.

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In the event of an injury or suspension for Van Dijk, Konate or Gomez, Liverpool may be forced to utilise a full-back in central defence, or more likely deploy Ryan Gravenberch at the heart of the back four.

Liverpool’s full-back options are not natural central defensive players, either, with Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, in particular, regarded as more attacking options who are smaller in stature. Conor Bradley and Andy Robertson may be more suited to such an emergency role, but both are far from ideal solutions.

Nevertheless, Leoni’s serious injury means the aforementioned trio of centre-backs will have to juggle minutes across three competitions: the Premier League, Carabao Cup and Champions League, without so much as a break.

Virgil van Dijk, September 2025 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Gomez has struggled with injury problems in the past, while Van Dijk recently turned 34 years-old. Konate, meanwhile, missed eight Liverpool games during a busy festive period last season.

Liverpool’s transfer deadline day was a mixed affair as the club announced the long-awaited arrival of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United in a British record deal.

However, the club were spurned in their attempts to land Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi, whose Anfield switch collapsed at the eleventh hour.

While Liverpool have reportedly ended their interest in the England centre-back, injury to Leoni may force Slot’s hand in the January window.

Marc Guehi’s Liverpool move collapsed on transfer deadline day (Image credit: Getty Images)

Guehi will be available more cheaply than the £35m sum he was set to move for a few weeks ago, due to the fact his Selhurst Park contract expires at the end of this season.

Liverpool may need to fend off interest from Real Madrid, though, with Guehi reportedly open to moving abroad.

Additionally, Liverpool’s remaining centre-halves must ensure they stay injury-free during the two upcoming international breaks in October and November.

Van Dijk skippers the Dutch national team while Konate is a regular for France having completed 90 minutes in each of their last two World Cup qualifiers.

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Houston Rockets star point guard Fred VanVleet has suffered a torn ACL and could miss the entirety of the 2025-26 season, sources told ESPN on Monday.

He suffered the injury at a recent offseason workout, sources told ESPN.

VanVleet, a one-time All-Star and former NBA champion (2019 with the Toronto Raptors), has helped spearhead the Rockets’ turnaround from lottery team to playoff contender in his two seasons with Houston.

Fred VanVleet, who averaged 14.1 points last season while leading the Rockets to 52 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, has a torn ACL that could cause him to miss the season, sources told ESPN. Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

He signed a two-year, $50 million extension with the Rockets in June, with the deal including a player option in 2026-27.

An immediate fit after signing a three-year deal with the team in the summer of 2023, VanVleet helped Houston improve from 22 wins to 41 in his first year. The Rockets then won 52 games last season to grab the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, ending a four-year postseason drought.

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He averaged 14.1 points in the 2024-25 season, his fewest in a season since 2018-19, but averaged 18.7 points per game in the playoffs.

This now places the focus at point guard on Reed Sheppard and Aaron Holiday, as well as the franchise’s ascending two-way stalwart Amen Thompson. Barring a trade, Houston cannot fill their one open roster spot with a free agent because they are $1.25 million below the first apron, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

VanVleet is a hard-nosed defender who succeeds on offense through playmaking and volume 3-point shooting; he was second on the team in 3-point attempts per game this past season with 7.7. He tends to struggle with efficiency, however, and he shot below 40% from the field in 2024-25 for the fourth time in his career.

The nine-year veteran has averaged 14.9 points and 5.7 assists in his career.

ESPN Research contributed to this report.

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The Houston Rockets reportedly could be without Fred VanVleet for the entire 2025-26 season after he suffered a torn ACL this offseason.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that the guard suffered the injury and noted it is a “devastating, potentially season-ending loss for the Rockets.”

Houston finished with the second-best record in the Western Conference last season and then added Kevin Durant this offseason after losing to the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.

The message was clear that the Rockets were all-in on chasing a championship in 2025-26, although those title chances just took quite the hit with the VanVleet injury. While he wasn’t going to lead the team in scoring this season, he is a veteran leader who controls the pace, facilitates for others and takes important shots in key moments.

VanVleet averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game last season, which was his second with Houston.

He previously won a championship with the Toronto Raptors and was an All-Star during the 2021-22 campaign with the Eastern Conference team.Â

VanVleet’s injury puts far more pressure on Reed Sheppard to develop into an impact point guard after the Rockets selected him with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NBA draft. The Kentucky product was a secondary contributor as a rookie and averaged 4.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists a night while shooting 35.1 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from deep.

Unless the Rockets make an outside addition such as signing Russell Westbrook, he will surely see significantly more playing time. If Sheppard can make a second-year leap, it can help Houston tread water and remain a threat in the Western Conference even without VanVleet.

Look for Aaron Holiday to also see more time in the backcourt rotation as a veteran point guard who can look to set Durant, Alperen Şengün and Co. up for easier looks.

Houston has some options and could look for an external addition, but its ceiling is now lower heading into the season without VanVleet.

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