SAITAMA – Urawa Reds’ striker Washington returned Sunday to Brazil to undergo a routine heart checkup and will miss the first leg of Urawa’s Nabisco Cup clash with arch rivals Gamba Osaka, the J. League first-division side said Monday. Reigning league champions Urawa play Gamba in the first leg of the Nabisco Cup meeting at Saitama Stadium 2002 on Saturday. Urawa received a bye into the last eight because of their involvement in the Asian Champions League. Both Urawa and Gamba will be fielding weakened sides in the absence of their Japan internationals, who will be in Southeast Asia for the Asian Cup.
Offbeat
Hell hath no fury: Pope an exorcist?
Pope Francis’ fascination with the devil took on remarkable new twists Tuesday, with a well-known exorcist insisting Francis helped “liberate” a Mexican man possessed by four different demons despite the Vatican’s insistence that no such papal exorcism took place. The case concerns a 43-year-old ...