Digest

SOCCER

Juve's Dybala finally recovers from virus

Juventus on Wednesday said Paulo Dybala has finally recovered from COVID-19 after the Argentine tested positive on multiple occasions for the virus.

Dybala was first diagnosed with COVID-19 in March after Juve teammates Daniele Rugani and Blaise Matuidi also tested positive.

But while Juve confirmed Rugani and Matuidi's recoveries last month, 26-year-old striker Dybala had four positive results in six weeks.

But a Bianconeri statement on Wednesday said the striker's latest test was negative and he "will no longer be subjected to the home isolation regime".

Dybala himself wrote an Instagram: "Many people talked in the past few weeks... but I can finally confirmed I am healed.

Meanwhile, Juve's local rival Torino has announced that one of its player has tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the squad's return to training.

Torino has not named the player but says he is asymptomatic and has been placed in quarantine.

Bundesliga gets green light for resumption

The Bundesliga will resume on May 15, the German league confirmed on Wednesday, after Chancellor Angela Merkel and state leaders gave the green light to restart behind closed doors following weeks of shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The German Football League (DFL) confirmed the restart date to AFP subsidiary SID on Wednesday night.

The political blessing makes the German top flight the first of Europe's five major leagues to return to the field.

"Matches will be allowed under the approved rules," said Merkel at a media conference in Berlin.

Germany's top politicians approved a plan for the Bundesliga to resume in stadiums without spectators and with players regularly tested.

Permission was granted on condition that strict guidelines are followed－with a hygiene officer appointed to each team－to prevent contagion of the virus.

Bayern Munich and Germany captain Manuel Neuer said the players now had an "enormous responsibility" to be role models and follow the hygiene guidelines.

European clubs jostle to sign Brazilian teen

Sevilla, Bayer Leverkusen and Lazio are among the front-runners to sign Vasco da Gama forward Talles Magno, according to reports in the South American country.

The 17-year-old is tied to the Rio de Janeiro club until June 2021 and has a 25 million-euro ($27 million) buyout clause in his contract, the Globo Esporte news portal reported on Wednesday.

Magno has made 22 first-team appearances and scored two goals for Vasco since being promoted from the club's youth academy last year.

He has been capped 10 times for Brazil's under-17 team and scored five goals.

Brazilian media previously reported that the Rio-born teenager had attracted the interest of Liverpool, Juventus, Roma and Benfica.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Favre repaying $1.1m for no-show speeches

Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre is repaying $1.1 million in welfare money that he received for multiple speeches where he did not show up, the Mississippi state auditor said on Wednesday.

Auditor Shad White said his office received $500,000 from Favre on Wednesday, plus a commitment that the footballer will repay the other $600,000 in installments over the next few months.

Favre's effort to repay the money came two days after White released an audit by the Mississippi Department of Human Services that showed Favre had been paid by Mississippi Community Education Center, a nonprofit group whose former leader has been indicted in a welfare embezzlement scheme.

Mississippi is one of the poorest states in the US, and the community education center had contracts with Human Services to spend money through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

TENNIS

Aussie Open could be canceled, says organizer

Tennis Australia has conceded that January's Australian Open faces cancellation under a worst-case scenario, but said it was looking at a range of options in the hope that the COVID-19 crisis eases.

This year's tennis calendar has been suspended until at least July 13 and, with global borders closed, there is uncertainty about when the international circuit can resume.

The season-opening Grand Slam is scheduled to take place in Melbourne from Jan 18-31 and Tennis Australia said it would abide by whatever restrictions were in place at that time.

"We're hoping for the best but planning for everything," a spokeswoman told AFP on Thursday.

Xinhua - Agencies