Manchester City have included Kevin De Bruyne in their squad for the FIFA Club World Cup, with the Belgian midfielder having not featured since August due to a hamstring injury which required surgery.

De Bruyne limped off during his side’s Premier League opener away to Burnley on Aug. 11, in what was a reoccurrence of the same injury he had sustained in the Champions League final against Inter Milan two months prior.

City will face either Club Leon of Mexico or Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds in the semi-finals on Dec. 19.

The Club World Cup will be played from Dec. 12-22 and held in Saudi Arabia for the first time with Jeddah hosting the competition in two venues.

Gunmen on Thursday attacked Sunshine Stars football club of Akure team bus along Ore-Benin Expressway.

According to unconfirmed report,One of them was shot, while the team Manager, Seun Betiku and others sustained varying degrees of injury.

The team were on their way to Benin city,Edo state to honour this Weekend’s Nigeria premier football League match against Insurance of Benin.

Former England Manager Terry Venables passes on

Terry Venables, a former England manager has died at the age of 80.

Venables died of a long illness.

Tributes have started pouring in for the former player and manager who negative his playing career in the 1960s.

The Premier League in an article announcing his death described Venables as leading a team that helped revive the popularity of football in England.

The article read in part: “After a playing career in the 1960s and 1970s at Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Queens Park Rangers and Crystal Palace, Venables was most famous as a manager.

“He took a young Palace team into the First Division in 1979 and then also achieved promotion to the top flight with QPR four years later. He also steered the Rs to the 1982 FA Cup final and to UEFA Cup qualification.

“In 1984, he left to take over at Barcelona, where he earned the nickname “El Tel”. After winning the 1985 LaLiga title, Venables led Barcelona to their first European Cup final in 25 years, but they lost to Steaua Bucharest on penalties.

“He returned to Spurs in 1987, helping them claim the 1991 FA Cup and brought Gary Lineker and Paul Gascoigne to the club before becoming chief executive.

“Taking charge of England in 1994, Venables inspired a team who had failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup to the semi-finals of EURO ’96, where they lost agonisingly on penalties to eventual winners Germany.

“In so doing so, his team helped to revive the popularity of the game in England at a time when the Premier League was still in its early years.

“After spells in charge of Australia and then Palace once more, Venables managed in the Premier League for the first time when Middlesbrough hired him in December 2000 to work alongside Bryan Robson to keep the team up, which they managed to do.

“In July 2002, Leeds appointed Venables, but the club were on a decline that the veteran manager was unable to stop and he left in March 2003.

“Ahead of their home match today with Aston Villa, Spurs will hold a minute’s applause, while players will wear black armbands.

“The Premier League offers our sincere condolences to Terry’s family and friends at this sad time.”