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Arsenal Captain in Final Stages of Recovery from Injury after 2 Months Out

FILE - Arsenal's Martin Odegaard reacts at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - Arsenal's Martin Odegaard reacts at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
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Arsenal Captain in Final Stages of Recovery from Injury after 2 Months Out

FILE - Arsenal's Martin Odegaard reacts at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - Arsenal's Martin Odegaard reacts at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates stadium in London, Sunday, May 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard is in the final stages of his recovery from an ankle injury after nearly two months out, manager Mikel Arteta said Friday.
Arteta said Odegaard wouldn’t play against Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday but didn’t rule the midfielder out of the trip to Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
“Now is the stage where he is going to do certain work with us. Let’s see how he deals with pain and if his movement is natural enough,” Arteta said.
“He’s physically now at the level required to compete. With the work rate and hours he has put in, I’d be surprised that the moment he starts training with us, he looks ready. Hopefully soon.”
Odegaard was injured playing for Norway in a Nations League group-stage match on Sept. 9 and Arsenal has missed his creativity and leadership. After collecting just one point from its last two games, Arsenal is in third place, five points behind leader Manchester City.
Arteta said left back Riccardo Calafiori would also miss the Newcastle game because of injury but fellow defender Gabriel will be in contention if he trains well on Friday.

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Peace with Sinner: Tennis Fan Pope Leo XIV Meets with Top-Ranked Player During Italian Open Off-Day 

Jannik Sinner of Italy gestures as he plays against Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina their men’s singles round of 16 match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Italy, 13 May 2025. (EPA)
Jannik Sinner of Italy gestures as he plays against Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina their men’s singles round of 16 match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Italy, 13 May 2025. (EPA)
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Peace with Sinner: Tennis Fan Pope Leo XIV Meets with Top-Ranked Player During Italian Open Off-Day 

Jannik Sinner of Italy gestures as he plays against Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina their men’s singles round of 16 match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Italy, 13 May 2025. (EPA)
Jannik Sinner of Italy gestures as he plays against Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina their men’s singles round of 16 match at the Italian Open tennis tournament in Rome, Italy, 13 May 2025. (EPA)

Pope Leo XIV has apparently made peace with Jannik Sinner.

The top-ranked tennis player visited the new pope on Wednesday, gave him a tennis racket and offered to play, during an off day for Sinner at the Italian Open, the Vatican said.

Leo, the first American pope, is an avid tennis player and fan and had said earlier this week that he would be up for a charity match when it was suggested by a journalist. But at the time, Leo joked “but we can’t invite Sinner,” an apparent reference to the English meaning of Sinner’s last name.

Sinner said it was “a good thing for us tennis players” that the new pope likes to play the sport.

The top-ranked player has a quarterfinal match on Thursday in his first tournament back after a three-month ban for doping that was judged to be an accidental contamination.

Sinner will next face either freshly crowned Madrid champion Casper Ruud or Jaume Munar. Sinner is attempting to become the first Italian man to win the Rome title since Adriano Panatta in 1976.