Sports World: Sane battles back from 'hardest' injury

LONDON • Manchester City winger Leroy Sane says the knee ligament injury that has wrecked his season is "the longest and hardest" fitness problem of his football career.

The 24-year-old has been sidelined since suffering the devastating injury against Liverpool in the Community Shield in August. He has yet to play a first-team game since then and returned to training only towards the end of January.

The German has tested his comeback with some playing time in City's Under-23 side. He was hoping to return to Premier League action but the season had been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

---

Muted handover of Olympic flame

ATHENS • Greece yesterday handed over the Olympic flame to Tokyo 2020 organisers at a ceremony held behind closed doors amid the virus pandemic.

In the absence of spectators, Olympic gymnastics champion Eleftherios Petrounias ran a lap with the flame and Olympic pole vault champion Katerina Stefanidi lit a cauldron inside the all-marble Panathenaic stadium, where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896.

The flame was then handed to Tokyo 2020 representative Naoko Imoto, a swimmer who competed in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE