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• Reggae Girl Van Zanten eyes strong comeback from season-ending injury

  The thought of being sidelined for an entire season is almost too much for some players to bear, but Jamaica international Kalyssa ‘Kiki’ Van Zanten has embraced her darkest hour with confidence that she will emerge stronger than before.

  Van Zanten, 22, who represents Houston Dash in the United States’ National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) was placed on the season-ending injury list, after she suffered damage to her left foot in the match against the Washington Spirit last Friday.

  The American-born Reggae Girlz winger, made the revelation on social media, as she expressed her readiness to take on whatever obstacles came her way on what will be a challenging road back to enjoying her passion.

  

  “Absolutely devastated that my rookie season has been put on hold. I’ll come back better and stronger,” Van Zanten captioned the post, which included an X-ray image of the injury.

  Van Zanten was drafted with the number 21 overall pick in the 2024 NWSL Draft and signed with Houston Dash on March 15. She paraded her skills in four games this season and earned her first start on March 30, when the Dash earned three points on the road against Bay FC.

  Prior to her professional move, Van Zanten strutted her stuff for University of Notre Dame in the NCAA Division 1 Women’s tournament, where she made 95 appearances and scored 27 goals.

  On the international stage, the soft-spoken player, whose mother is Jamaican and father of a Dutch descent, made her Reggae Girlz debut during the Concacaf Women’s World Cup qualifiers in 2022. She scored her lone international goal against Costa Rica in Jamaica’s Concacaf Women’s Championships third-place finish in Mexico.

  

  Van Zanten known for her speed and flair on the channels, was also a part of Jamaica’s history-making team that secured a famous Round of 16 finish at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

  While she grapples with the reality of her injury, Van Zanten finds solace in the support of her teammates, coaches, and fans. Their words of encouragement and unwavering belief in her ability to come back stronger provides the comfort and strength required to face the long road to recovery.

  “Thank you to my team, family and friends for all the support,” she said.

• Five-star Leicester close on promotion as Southampton left facing play-offs

  Leicester are a win from clinching automatic promotion after a hat-trick from Abdul Fatawu plus goals from Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy in a 5-0 home thrashing of Southampton, whose top-two hopes were effectively ended.

  The Foxes, relegated last season, can confirm an instant Premier League return by winning at Preston on Monday or, failing that, at home to Blackburn on the final day.

  Elevation could even come quicker than that if second-placed Leeds lose at QPR on Friday.

  Leicester are now four points clear of Leeds with both sides having two games remaining. They are also five points in front of Ipswich, who have three games still to play.

  Saints remain six points behind Leeds – their final-day opponents – but only the most optimistic of fans are expecting anything other than play-off qualification, particularly with their goal difference now inferior by 19.

  Fatawu broke the deadlock in the 25th minute. Wout Faes challenged Saints striker Che Adams near the halfway line and as both men fell to the ground referee Robert Madley waved for play to continue, allowing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to send Fatawu goalwards.

  The winger might have been offside but no flag was raised and he evaded Kyle Walker-Peters to slot beyond McCarthy and celebrate with an acrobatic flip. Saints manager Russell Martin was unhappy, complaining to the fourth official that Adams had been fouled.

  Martin’s mood did not improve when Joe Rothwell had to go off five minutes before the break, with Will Smallbone replacing him.

  Saints appealed in vain for a penalty early in the second half when David Brooks went down as James Justin challenged but the visitors were already looking more dangerous.

  Fatawu was off target with a speculative effort but Leicester doubled their lead in the 62nd minute through Ndidi. Stephy Mavididi supplied the cross from the edge of the box on the left and the midfielder came charging in to head past Alex McCarthy from close range.

  Victory was confirmed in the 75th minute when man-of-the-match Fatawu conjured up the best goal of the night. The winger accepted a pass from substitute Hamza Choudhury, cut in at pace from the right and unleashed an unstoppable shot across and beyond McCarthy.

  Saints subsided and Vardy competed the rout in the 79th minute, clipping first-time past McCarthy with Fatawu this time the supplier.

  Fatawu claimed the match ball in the 81st minute when a slick passing move saw Vardy tee him up for another shot beyond McCarthy.

• City boss Gareth Taylor gives injury update on star striker Khadija Shaw

  Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor has offered an update on the injury that forced star striker Khadija Shaw off at half-time against West Ham on Sunday.

  Shaw made a blistering start to the game and set City on their way to a 5-0 victory, scoring twice in the first 24 minutes as her team returned to the top of the Women's Super League table. However, she went down with a foot injury in the final seconds of that first half and was replaced by Chloe Kelly after being helped off the pitch by the team's medical staff.

  Concern grew for Shaw when she appeared in a boot and with crutches during the second period. City are locked into a fierce title race with Chelsea, who are three points behind them but with a game in hand. To lose a player who has scored 21 goals in 18 league games this season would be a huge hit to their challenge.

  Speaking in his post-match press conference, Taylor said of Shaw's withdrawal: "We decided not to take the risk. It was touch and go as to whether she was going to come back on the pitch. We'll get a bit more of an assessment tomorrow. She's on crutches, which looks bad, but most of the players end up being offloaded in that situation. We'll just have to assess it. If it's more serious than we anticipate, then we'll deal with it. I thought Chloe Kelly came onto the pitch and did really well in that position, put them under a lot of pressure, created some good opportunities. We'll find out a little bit more over the next couple of days."

  The Cityzens travel to bottom side Bristol City next weekend as they look to stay ahead in the title race but it is the fixture the week after that which fans will be desperate to have Shaw available for, as third-placed Arsenal come to town.