Tree Sisters Episode 50 Part 1

Aston Villa defender Alex Moreno could miss the start of the next Premier League season after undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury.The 29-year-old Spanish left-back went off injured during the 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Saturday.

He’s going to be out for two to three months. He’s going to be back in early August,” said Villa boss Unai Emery.Moreno joined Villa in a £13.2m move from Real Betis in January and has played 19 times in the Premier League.

He will miss the home match with Brighton on Sunday, where a Villa victory would take them into the Europa Conference League and secure European football for the first time since 2010.In an unexpected way, this hamstring injury came to me,” said Moreno on Twitter.

It was bad news since we were in the final stretch of the season and struggling to get in to European competitions.I felt pain and a sensation I had never felt before, I knew something was not going well, but thanks to the club staff we were able to operate on Tuesday, everything went well.

This Sunday I will not be able to be in the last game of the season but I will continue to cheer on the team from the stands at Villa Park. Together we will make it.A different summer is here where I will give 200% of myself to come back stronger than ever.”

Lucas Digne, who replaced Moreno in the starting line-up at Anfield, is in line to start against Brighton.The 2023-24 Premier League season begins on 12 August.

Brentford striker Ivan Toney was given a reduced ban from football because of a diagnosed gambling addiction.

Toney, 27, was banned for eight months for breaking Football Association betting rules – including betting against his own team.

A psychiatry expert who gave evidence to the FA’s regulatory commission diagnosed Toney with a gambling addiction and concluded he needed help.

As a result, the commission reduced an 11-month sanction by three months.

In its written reasons explaining its sanction, published on Friday, the commission said Toney had admitted repeatedly lying during his initial interviews with the FA.

It added he had since ceased gambling on football, though not on other sports, and is “determined to address his gambling problem with therapy”.The FA initially wanted to impose a 15-month ban on Toney because he attempted to conceal his betting, knowing it was against FA rules.

‘Football and gambling’s relationship needs a review’
This included betting through third parties and deleting relevant messages from his mobile phone, it said, then knowingly giving “clearly false answers” during his interviews with the FA.

The commission did not uphold all of the FA’s claims.His ban was reduced to 11 months given he pleaded guilty to all 232 charges before being further reduced to reflect his diagnosed addiction.

Psychiatrist Dr Philip Hopley twice interviewed Toney before his diagnosis and the commission said his evidence was “well reasoned and highly persuasive”.Brentford have said they will “do everything possible” to support Toney with his addiction, while the player said he would “speak soon with no filter”.

Bees manager Thomas Frank added: “Football and gambling’s relationship needs a review. We got a massive reminder. Do we do enough to educate our players? The authorities have a massive task to make sure we do this much better.

If I can’t speak to him, I guess they will have to ban me as well. If I am not allowed to support him there must be something wrong.”he Professional Footballers’ Association said it offered “significant practical and confidential support to players” struggling with addiction to gambling.

It is crucial that players are properly supported in taking the steps to seek help, and that processes covering punishments for gambling in football take proper account of the wellbeing of players”, it said in a statement.What were the charges?Toney admitted to 232 breaches of FA betting rules over a period of five seasons between February 2017 and January 2021.

During this time, he was a registered player at Newcastle and Peterborough as well as spending time on loan at several other clubs