Thursday's briefing: Jude undergoes op as Lionesses prepare for Euros last eight

Independent

6 days ago

Jude Bellingham has gone under the knife to repair a long-standing shoulder injury.
The Lionesses are preparing for their Euro 2025 quarter-final with Sweden, while Crystal Palace are hopeful for a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) intervention on their European demotion.
Bellingham goes under the knife
Real Madrid and England midfielder Bellingham has undergone shoulder surgery.
It was reported in May that Bellingham would have an operation following this summer's Club World Cup and on Wednesday, Real confirmed the procedure had taken place to treat a recurring dislocation of his left shoulder.
The surgery is reportedly set to sideline him until October, but the Spanish club did not confirm any length of absence, saying only that Bellingham would now 'begin a period of rehabilitation prior to his return to recovery work'.
Bellingham is now set to miss the start of Real's LaLiga campaign and also England's World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia in September.
Bronze calls for underdog mentality
Lucy Bronze urged defending champions England to draw on the underdog mentality buried deep in their DNA when they kick off their Euro 2025 quarter-final with Sweden in Zurich.
'We said we're a 'new England', a new team,' said Bronze. 'And what was meant by that was, we had a lot of younger players and new players who have very different experiences of playing for England compared to the likes of myself, where we know that England used to have to dig deep all the time, always.
'Like, 2015 was the first time we beat Germany – that's insane to think of right now.
'But England in the past, it was you have to dig out performances and you are maybe the underdog, you aren't the favourite. Whereas this England team has developed and changed.'
Parish praying for Palace redemption
Crystal Palace will mount a legal challenge to UEFA's decision to exclude them from next season's Europa League, with chairman Steve Parish announcing the club would appeal to CAS.
The FA Cup winners have been demoted to the Conference League owing to what Europe's governing body says is a conflict of interest regarding former director and co-owner John Textor, who also owns part of Ligue 1 side Lyon.
'We are still fighting,' Parish told the The Rest is Football podcast. 'There's an appeal process, so we go to CAS which is the court for arbitration and, you know, we're very hopeful. We think we've got great legal arguments.
'We don't think this is the right decision by any means. We know unequivocally that John didn't have decisive influence over the club.
'We know we proved that beyond all reasonable doubt because it's a fact.'
Girelli sends Italy through
Cristiana Girelli's 90th-minute winner sent Italy through to the semi-finals of Euro 2025 after a 2-1 victory over Norway.
Extra-time was looming after Girelli's second-half opener had been cancelled out by Norway's Ada Hegerberg, who had earlier missed a penalty.
But Italy's captain stood up when her side needed her to power home a header from Guro Reiten's cross to book their last-four spot, where they will meet either Sweden or England.
What's on today
England continue their assault on Euro 2025 with a tough-looking quarter-final against Sweden, hoping to build on explosive group wins against the Netherlands and Wales.
Elsewhere, Welsh clubs Haverfordwest and Penybont, Northern Irish side Cliftonville and Irish Premier Division outfit St Patrick's Athletic are in Europa Conference League qualifying action.