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Evening Ticker: Dos Santos out for Olympic final, Lukaku loaned and more

DosSantos (Reuters Pictures)

If Mexico is to capture Olympic gold, it will have to do so without attacking star Giovani Dos Santos.

Dos Santos has been ruled out of the final with a muscle injury, leaving El Tri without one of its most lethal options in a game that features two of the more explosive teams in the Olympic field. He had scored three goals in the Olympics, including the eventual game-winner against Senegal in extra time of the quarterfinals.

"The injury is not that serious, but it does not allow him to play," Mexico coach Luis Fernando Tena told reporters Friday. "He is sad, he had dreams of playing in this game. His injury will take two weeks to heal. On Monday he will show up at his club and start his rehabilitation."

Dos Santos, who exited Mexico's 2-1 semifinal win over Japan at halftime with the injury, was omitted from Mexico's roster for Wednesday's friendly against the United States and will turn his focus to his club situation, trying to win a place under new Tottenham coach Andre Villas-Boas.

Here are a few more stories from around the soccer world to carry you to the weekend:

LUKAKU LOANED TO WEST BROM

Budding Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku was one of the Blues' prime performers during their North American preseason tour, but he'll be joining another club for the duration of the upcoming season.

Chelsea loaned Lukaku to West Brom for the entire season, giving the Belgian international a chance to accumulate the minutes that he has not been able to receive for the defending European champions since joining the club from Anderlecht last summer.

Lukaku made 12 appearances across all competitions for Chelsea last season, failing to score a goal after accounting for 33 goals in his previous two seasons (and two games last year) for Anderlecht.

SOUTH KOREA CAPTURES BRONZE

South Korea earned a place on the men's soccer medal podium, defeating Japan 2-0 in the bronze-medal match at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium Friday.

Arsenal's Park Chu-Young opened the scoring in the 38th minute with a great individual effort, taking on multiple Japan defenders before burying a low shot inside the near post. Augsburg midfielder Koo Ja-Cheol iced the match in the 57th minute.

Here is video of the opening goal:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzeOi6l_6nA]

LIVERPOOL SIGN ALLEN

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has added yet another player with whom he is familiar, signing former Swansea City midfielder Joe Allen. Rodgers coached Allen at Swansea City and told Liverpool's official website that, "Joe is a player whose profile will fit perfectly with the ideas of this group. His ability to control and dominate the ball is an important ingredient in our attempt to gain success on the field."

Allen, 22, is the second player signed by Liverpool since Rodgers took over as manager. The other, Fabio Borini, played for Chelsea while Rodgers was a youth team coach there and played on loan at Swansea City in 2011 while Rodgers was head coach for the Swans.

Allen, a Wales international, is coming off a spell with Team Great Britain, starting all four games during the team's Olympic run. 

BARRY, RICHARDS OUT FOR COMMUNITY SHIELD

Manchester City's depth will be tested from the very first match of the new season.

The defending Premier League champions will be without Gareth Barry and Micah Richards for Sunday's Community Shield match against Chelsea as both players battle injuries. Barry is still battling the hip injury that prevented him from playing for England in Euro 2012 and underwent hernia surgery in July. Richards is nursing an ankle injury that he suffered while on Team GB duty at the Olympics.

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Do you think Mexico has a chance against Brazil without Dos Santos? Do you think Lukaku will flourish at West Brom? What did you think of South Korea and Japan's Olympic sides? Do you see Allen being a valuable asset for Liverpool? Which team do you see winning the Community Shield, Manchester City or Chelsea?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Chelsea would not deal him to Fulham because of what happened to Kakuta who barely played at Fulham when loaned…

    Reply
  2. why? Fulham still have basically the same team that had a decent season last year. There is good depth in every position except perhaps striker. They need to add a striker or two..and to hold on to Dembele and Dempsey, or find replacements if they are unable to do that.

    Reply
  3. I think Lukaku not going to Fulham is a great indicator that Dempsey will be there, at least until January if not until next summer.

    Reply
  4. Now that’s funny lol. But honestly if I were teams like West Bron and Everton why not take these talented young players on loan. Its a win win, you get a talented player to help you stay up and the big club gets playing time for their young player. If the MLS season was aligned with the EPL we probably could get players like Lukaku.

    Reply

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