Valencia midfielder David Silva, who has been sidelined for over three months due to an ankle injury that required surgery, has been called up for the club s match at home Saturday against Espanyol.

The 22-year-old, one of the best players in Spain s European championship winning squad this year, was operated on his left ankle in mid-September, one month after he picked up the injury.

I am feeling fine even though I am probably missing match fitness at the moment. But whether I play will depend on the coach, of course, he told sports daily Marca earlier on Friday.

I will be back to the way I was before the injury, if not better and I cannot wait to be able to help the team again, he added.

Silva sparked interest from clubs like Manchester United and …

FIFA Women s World Player of the Year Marta will no longer be playing for Swedish side Umea IK, as the club announced to have ended negotiations with the Brazilian forward.

The discussion regarding Marta s being, or not being, with Umea for the coming season has ended on our part, Umea said in a statement. Umea and Swedish women s football are losing their brightest shining star.

The 22-year-old Marta joined Umea from Santa Cruz ahead of the 2004 season, and helped the Swedish side win the UEFA Women s Cup the same year.

During Marta s stay in Sweden, Umea won four national championships, one cup and -other than winning the UEFA Women s Cup in 2004, also reached the final in 2007.

Marta also formed part of the Olympic teams that won silver medals at th…

Manchester United and Tottenham are Gareth Bale s only realistic options for a move back to the Premier League, says Ian Rush.

Bale looks to be out of favour at Real Madrid, having failed to establish himself in Los Blancos side since Zinedine Zidane made his return to the club.

The Wales forward was an unused substitute in Madrid s final-day defeat to Real Betis, with Zidane claiming afterwards he would not have brought the 29-year-old on even if he had more changes available.

Madrid have since spent big money on bringing in Eden Hazard to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo, with Luka Jovic also joining from Eintracht Frankfurt to further bolster their attacking options.

Bale s future at the club looks firmly in doubt, though his agent has suggeste…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer labelled Manchester City the best team in England after Manchester United were drawn to face their rivals in the EFL Cup semi-finals.

Manchester United claimed a 3-0 win over Colchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday to get through their last-eight meeting.

Solskjaer s men recorded an upset derby victory over City in the Premier League earlier this month and the teams will meet again across two legs in January.

The Norwegian said Pep Guardiola s men, who have won back-to-back Premier League titles but are off the pace this season, were England s best.

[They will be] fantastic days in Manchester. They re the best team in England and we re confident going into the semi-final, Solskjaer said.

A Manchester derby awaits in th…

A Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang brace proved enough to secure a 2-1 victory for Borussia Dortmund in their Bundesliga season opener against Mainz.

The 27-year-old scored 25 league goals for Thomas Tuchel s side last term and opened his account for the new campaign by heading home a cross from Andre Schurrle after17 minutes.

Schurrle was the most impressive of the four recent signings who started for the hosts, but Dortmund s victory was not an altogether convincing one.

Mainz, who finished sixth last season, more than matched Dortmund for long periods of the game and had it not been for a glaring miss from Christian Clemens early in the second half, may well have pulled level before Aubameyang added his second from the penalty spot with a minute left.

T…

Italian champions Juventus are stepping up their efforts to sign Serbian midfielder Nemanja Matic from Chelsea, .

The Bianconeri contacted the player’s employers to ask about a potential purchase and they have been told that offers in the region of £20 million will be considered.

Namely, new manager Antonio Conte is not a big fan of the towering midfielder and he is ready to entertain proposals for his services.

Juventus officials have now proceeded to getting in touch with Matic’s representatives as they want to learn whether the midfielder would be interested in a summer move to Turin.

The Serbian footballer has struggled for playing time under Guus Hiddink and with his status unlikely to change with the arrival of Conte, he will probably jump at …

Holger Badstuber is facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines after Bayern Munich confirmed he requires surgery on a thigh injury.

The defender missed around 20 months of action after damaging knee ligaments in December 2012, and now faces another long period out after tearing tendons in his left thigh during Bayern s 2-0 victory over Stuttgart on Saturday.

But Badstuber, whose return to the first team lasted just three Bundesliga matches, says he is determined to recover as quickly as possible.

I m obviously very disappointed at the moment, the 25-year-old told the club s official website.

But now I know how to deal with such a situation.

Do not worry, I will come again. I will not give up.

Badstuber had played the full 90 minute…

High-flying Aston Villa hope to claim another major scalp after defeating title contenders Liverpool at Anfield to climb to second place in the Premier League standings. Meanwhile, Arsenal may be still unbeaten in the league, but being already six points off the top of the standings, this is clearly a must-win game for them.

Aston Villa have come a long way since Paul Lambert took over the reigns in the summer of 2012, seeing as how the boss not only managed to seriously trim down the wage bill, but at the same time largely improved club s fortunes. The Scottish manager has transformed some lower division footballers into Premier League stars and he continues to work wonders despite operating on a tight budget. Despite the fact that the Villans crashed out of the Capital One Cu…

Thiago is set for a move to European champions Bayern Munich

German and European champions Bayern Munich have agreed a fee of £21.6million for Spanish starlet Thiago Alcantara with his club Barcelona.

The 22-year-old is expected to sign a four-year contract with the Bavarian giants.

Limited

Thiago Alcantara is without doubt one of the best young up-and-coming midfielders in world football, but he found it hard breaking into the Barcelona midfield on a regular basis.

Well who wouldn’t considering that Barcelona’s midfield consists of the likes of Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez, not to mention the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Sergio Busquets.

His chances of first team football were always going to be limited at the Nou Camp.

L…

West Ham defender Guy Demel has confirmed his retirement from international football with Ivory Coast.

The West Ham right-back has called time on his spell with Sabri Lamouchi s side after playing 35 times in a career spanning eight years and included appearances at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

Demel admitted he now wants to focus solely on his club commitments with the Hammers in the Premier League after missing the majority of their promotion campaign with injury.

I have decided to quit international football and it was not an easy decision for me, Demel told Sky Sports.

I have enjoyed playing for my country and going to the 2006 and 2010 World Cup and my country means a great deal to me.

I wish Cote d Ivoire success in the future and I hop…