Ireland's Finn Azaz set to miss three more weeks with quad injury
Azaz has missed his club's two official pre-season friendlies to date and is set to miss the rest of pre-season with the same quad complaint, according to new Middlesbrough boss Rob Edwards.
'Finn had a tightness in his quad,' Edwards said following 'Boro's 2-0 friendly defeat away to League One side Bradford. 'It was scanned, and he's probably going to be around three weeks… That's where he's at.
'It's really frustrating because he was looking brilliant in the early days – really motivated and looking really good. He's a naturally fit boy, so we're hoping that we get him back quickly and he doesn't require too much getting up to speed.'
Advertisement
Azaz was a virtual ever-present for 'Boro last season, scoring 12 goals and providing 11 assists in 45 Championship appearances.
The 24-year-old has earned seven international caps and scored one goal for Ireland since his debut against Switzerland in March 2024.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
a minute ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Weird version of Chelsea' – EFL club launch new badge like ‘lion with lollipop and first aid box'
PETERBOROUGH UNITED have revealed their new club crest. And fans have had plenty to say about the novel design. Advertisement 3 Peterborough have unveiled their new club crest The League One side have confirmed that the modernised badge will be used from June 2026 onwards. The current round badge features winged lions facing a shield, with the club's name and motto "Upon This Rock - but has been called "outdated" by the club. Posh's new logo will feature just one lion, holding a pair of keys in a nod to St Peter, who the city is named after. Advertisement READ MORE IN FOOTBALL Upon the announcement of the new crest, Peterborough owner Darragh MacAnthony said: "We have to evolve, and branding is a massive part of that. "I look at the big clubs and see how they are evolving, we have to modernise and we have to move with the times." On the design process, the Irishman, 49, added: "I was sceptical about the whole project at first, but having seen the journey that we have been on, and how we have involved supporters, it just makes sense. "We are evolving in our commercial department, we are evolving on the pitch and in the boardroom, and so our brand has to evolve. When I first saw it, it blew me away. I love it! I am really excited by it all." Advertisement Most read in Football Latest BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 3 Peterborough will switch from this crest next summer Peterborough believe that their new "digital-first ethos" can "attract new audiences" - while reflecting their "identity" and being more merchandise friendly. Commenting on the new crest, one fan wrote on X: "A lion with a lollipop and a first aid box." Advertisement Neil Warnock hints at shock return to management with 'unbelievable' crisis club While a second claimed: "The main issue I have is looking at it, you don't think 'oh yeah that's Peterborough', you just think it's a weird version of A third reasoned: "Not sure you can say it's "unique and instantly recognisable". It's only instantly recognisable as looking like Chelsea and therefore not unique at all." And a fourth commented: "You can't say instantly recognisable but not have the club name on the badge. You want to appeal to a new audience, say someone abroad sees the badge but has no idea what club it is, how do you expect to grow?" Another Posh fan added: "I like how we have to 'move with the times' for reasons unclear to anyone. Seems like we're only doing it because bigger clubs are doing it." Advertisement Peterborough are set to get their League One campaign underway this weekend. Darren Ferguson's side will face 3 Peteborough's new crest has been likened to Chelsea's
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
How Kerry 'evolved' after false dawn of five-goal splurge against Derry
Kerry have been sidetracked by their early season goals splurge as they came to terms with the new rules, selector Aodán Mac Gearailt has revealed. Having had their opening League game against Donegal postponed due to Storm Eowyn, Kerry opened away to Derry in round two, winning a rip-roaring encounter by 5-15 to 1-24. A feature of Kerry's League campaign was that they weren't prolific in terms of two-pointers, though there was a notable change in that respect once they hit Croke Park in the summer, particularly in the All-Ireland final win over Donegal, in which they nailed five of them. Mac Gearailt said: 'I think we were still playing that traditional looking for goals first during the League. Did we get five goals against Derry in the National League, and I think we saw that as this is the way to go after it because teams are going to push out on the arc and they're going to leave space in behind. 'It evolved. It depends on the opposition. Donegal don't push out, they sit back. We obviously got five two-pointers. Against a different team, you wouldn't get as many opportunities. Armagh were similar. They sat back a little bit inside the arc, protected the goal. It's about analysing the opposition and then using the rules to suit what will get you over the line, I suppose, at the end of the day. 'We knew that they'd be very concentrated down David Clifford's side. So, obviously, we had to exploit it on the other side to get them to shift over. I thought Gavin White gave an exhibition bursting through from the seven and we got a lot of joy out of that.' The An Gaeltacht man believes that Kerry's kicking game stood to them once they played in calmer conditions at Croke Park. 'It's the latter stages of the Championship, when you get into Croke Park, you really see how the rules impact games. In National League, when you might be playing in wet conditions, heavy rain, there's a lot of just piking the ball out the middle, hoping you'll win breaks and try and work from there. Kerry selector Aodán MacGearailt (Image: ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne) "But when you get good conditions in an open pitch like Croke Park, you really do see the value of the new rules, what they've added to the game in terms of space and the two-pointers. It took us a bit of time, I won't lie, to adapt to our strategy on kick-outs and even breaking ball. It took a bit of work. "There's a lot in it, but I think if you have a good kicking game, you can always exploit defences and you can move the ball quicker. It'll obviously move a lot quicker by foot. I think maybe that was an advantage we had, definitely.'
RTÉ News
13 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Concern within EFL over whether Sheffield Wednesday can play opening fixture
The financial crisis at Sheffield Wednesday is causing growing concern within the English Football League over whether the club will be able to play their opening game of the Sky Bet Championship season, it has been reported. It is understood Wednesday players have refused to feature in a scheduled behind-closed-doors friendly against Burnley on Saturday after the club failed to pay their wages on time. The Owls are currently under an EFL embargo for unpaid transfer fees and owner Dejphon Chansiri is trying to sell the cash-strapped club. Wednesday appointed Henrik Pedersen as their new head coach on Thursday following the departure of Danny Rohl and, just hours later, Saturday's friendly was cancelled as players and coaching staff decided to boycott the match after not receiving July's monthly salary on time. Rohl left Hillsborough on Tuesday amid a chaotic summer which has seen the club placed under a number of embargoes because of financial issues. Players were paid late in May and June, while this is the fourth time in the last five months that salaries have been delayed. There is increasing concern within the EFL it is reported, over the escalating crisis at the club and that extends to whether Wednesday will be able to fulfil their opening Championship fixture at Leicester on 10 August. Thai businessman Chansiri completed his takeover from previous owner Milan Mandaric in January 2015 for a reported €35million and the club twice went close to promotion to the Premier League when losing out in the 2016 and 2017 play-offs. Since then Wednesday have lurched from one financial crisis to another. They were first placed under an EFL embargo in 2017 over profitability and sustainability rules and were docked 12 points – reduced to six on appeal – at the start of the 2020-21 season for further financial breaches. The Owls were placed under embargo for late salary payments to players and staff in 2024, while a player registration embargo is also in place for unpaid transfer fees. New boss Pedersen admitted the club were in "rough waters" following his appointment, with registration restrictions and the departure of several key players leaving him with a threadbare squad. Djeidi Gassama and Anthony Musaba have been sold this summer to Rangers and Samsunspor respectively, while Josh Windass and Michael Smith had their contracts terminated by mutual consent to allow them to join Wrexham and Preston. The latest missed payments to players and staff heaps further pressure on Chansiri, who insists he is willing to sell the club for the right price. He recently revealed he had rejected one consortium's bid, while talks with various other interested parties have stalled.
