Sport

Manchester City star Alex Greenwood set to be sidelined for several months following surgery

Such a gutting way to end the year.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 19th December 2024

Manchester City and Lionesses star Alex Greenwood is set for a long stint on the sidelines after undergoing surgery.

The Man City Women’s stalwart has been a vital player in Gareth Taylor’s side ever since she joined back in 2020, being appointed as captain back in September this year.

However, following an injury suffered during the club’s 2-0 win over Austrian side St Pölten in the Champions League earlier this month, Greenwood was sadly stretchered off in the first half and supporters have been nervously waiting for an update on her fitness.

You can see the collision that caused the injury down below:

As you can see, the coming together quickly caused concern as the 31-year-old looked to be in visible distress in the immediate aftermath with teammates and opponents alike getting around her.

ADVERTISEMENT

Despite her manager sharing an initial update claiming that the issue “was not as bad as first feared”, the club shared a further statement this Thursday revealing that she had undergone a “successful surgery on a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) injury…

“The defender has since undergone a repair of her MCL”, the statement continues, “and will now return to the City Football Academy to work closely with the Club’s medical team. Everyone at Manchester City would like to wish Alex a full and speedy recovery.”

ADVERTISEMENT

MCLs are considered less severe than the dreaded ACL (anterior collateral ligament) – typically seen as the worst possible injury in football – and tears can often heal naturally without surgery, but sadly Greenwood’s didn’t get off so lucky.

Nevertheless, her knee surgery was completed this week and the Euro 2020-winning England international shared a post to her followers after the procedure, assuring fans, “I will work so hard to be back on the pitch as soon as I can.”

Read more:

While she expressed a very understandable frustration following such an unfortunate end to the year, her short but sweet statement was a typically defiant one as you would expect from the no-nonsense centre-back.

ADVERTISEMENT

It’s still unclear just how long Greenwood will be out for, as post-MCL surgery recovery periods can vary from anywhere between three months and a full year depending on severity and various other factors.

Moreover, with Man City pushing for their first-ever Women’s Super League title and just a few points behind league leaders Chelsea, losing one of your most trusted senior players and leader as important as Alex Greenwood isn’t ideal but a successful surgery is still good news.

With the next Women’s European Championships coming up in July 2025 too, the entire nation will be hoping a key part of Sarina Wiegman’s backline will be able to not just return in time but get some much-needed minutes ahead of squad selection time.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Alex Greenwood (via Instagram)

Sport

The annual Manchester Remembers Foundation charity football match has shut down

Danny Jones Danny Jones Manchester Remembers charity game 2025 cancelled

The annual Manchester Remembers charity football match has been cancelled for 2025, and unfortunately, the wider Foundation has also shut down for the foreseeable.

Set up back in 2020, the Manchester Remembers charity game was created to help raise funds for the families of those lost in the tragic 2017 Manchester Arena attack, raising nearly £200,000 in donations for multiple organisations.

It has been a truly treasured community event across Greater Manchester, welcoming thousands to the likes of Manchester City Academy Stadium and Oldham Athletic‘s Boundary Park, as well as spotlighting local musicians and notable figures volunteering their help for a deeply important cause.

However, the Foundation is now set to hang up its boots. Confirming the news over the bank holiday weekend, founders Aaron Lee and Paul Corrigan shared “a difficult statement to make and a decision not taken lightly.”

As explained in the lengthy and emotional post, it is with a “heavy heart” that this year’s charity match has now been officially cancelled, and tickets already purchased up to this point are now being refunded.

Having played a small part in helping spread awareness around the game and the Foundation since it began, we were gutted to learn of this sad news.

The 2025 MCR Remembers game was scheduled to take place this June at a new venue for the event, Bury FC’s home ground at Gigg Lane, but following what they have labelled “a lack of support” from Greater Manchester leaders and “influential people needed to carry the event forward.”

Lee – a former police officer turned firefighter who was one of the emergency responders on 22 May, 2017 – went on to share a follow-up video reflecting on the announcement.

As he puts in the piece to camera, he says that even if those who had been reached out to in recent times were to suddenly respond, that it is “sadly too late.”

Taking time to thank not only past sponsors, managers, ex-pros and celebrity players who have been part of the event in the past, but everyone who bought tickets to the event(s) over the past few years, stating simply: “We cant thank you enough.”

Lee, who was given both a Chief Fire Officers Commendation and British Citizen Award in 2024, went on to address those “so-called leaders and influential people” in a subsequent post, adding: “All we needed was a bit of help. But we were ignored. Thanks for the memories.”

Unsurprisingly, the comments on social media have been awash with messages of love, support and sadness upon learning of this year’s cancellation and the end of The Manchester Remembers Foundation after more than half a decade.

There is some hope, though, as he ends the video by saying, “Who knows if this is the end or not? […] I dare say we’ll be back at some point.” We can only keep our fingers crossed he’s right and the MCR Remembers charity game won’t be shut down for good.

Manchester will always remember.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Manchester Remembers Foundation

Sport

25,000 free footballs are being given away across the UK

Danny Jones Danny Jones Barlcays bank giving 1000 free football across the UK

A total of 25,000 free footballs are up for grabs this month as part of a new scheme from Barclays, who are giving them away to mark a special anniversary.

The British multinational universal bank, which boasts over 850 branches and more than 48 million customers worldwide, has been supporting the beautiful game for a quarter of a century now and has been the primary Premier League sponsor since the 2001/02 season.

Approaching 25 years helping fund and promote English football, they’ve come up with a new initiative to celebrate, simply called the ‘Lost Ball Project‘.

We’ve all seen scenes like these before.

barclays free footballs
lost ball project
Credit: Barclays (supplied)

Tapping into the national and generational memory of losing a ball to a pond, up a tree, over a fence or on a roof and so on, Barclays are making up for those heartbreaking little losses – one ball at a time.

Lost Ball will see the bank give away 25k footballs across the UK, with Barclays customers able to claim a free ball for themselves or someone else who has lost theirs.

Already up and running, the scheme is off to a flyer and free footies will be available until Thursday, 22 May, so we wouldn’t wait around.

The bank has played an integral role throughout the British football pyramid for decades now, sponsoring to only the Premier League but also the WSL, Barclays Women’s Championship; the Northern Irish Women’s Football Association, Scottish Women’s Championship and the Scottish Women’s League One

They’ve even put together this emotive, albeit a bit tongue-in-cheek video:

Excellent song choice.

As they put it, the mission of the Lost Ball Project is simple: “Let’s keep the nation playing the beautiful game. Because there’s no football without grassroots football.”

In addition to backing established leagues, they have continued to support the country’s footballing community at large, especially in terms of the women’s game.

For instance, the Barclays Girls’ Football School partnership with The FA has seen the number of participating schools rise from 3,000 in 2019 to 20,000 in 2024, helping more than 2.5 million schoolgirls access football.

Important work done from the ground up.

Credit: Supplied

Barclays’ Group Head of Sponsorship, Tom Corbett, said in a statement: “We are immensely proud of our pioneering work and funding to grassroots football over the past 25 years.

Giving away 25,000 balls to replace our customers’ ‘Lost Balls’ means they will never be without the one thing you need to be able to play the game we’ve supported at Barclays for all these years.”

If you bank with the group, you can find out how to claim your free football HERE.

We quite fancy a kick around now.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Barclays (supplied)

More Sport

Andy Burnham charity football match

Manchester

Andy Burnham set to join legendary Manc DJ and ex-England internationals in a charity football match

Ben and Tom Curry new contracts Sale Sharks deal until 2027

Salford

The Curry twins commit future to Sale Sharks with crucial new contracts

Manchester City fans planning protest over season tickets for Wolves game

Manchester

Manchester City fans appeal to Pep Guardiola ahead of planned protest at Wolves game

Audio

Clint Boon takes us around Manchester's iconic Deaf Institute

Eats

We go meatballs deep with Mira's traditional Neapolitan sandwiches