INJURED Manchester United star Lisandro Martinez warmed hearts after sharing snaps from his mum’s visit.
Martinez is in post-surgery rehab after tearing his ACL in the closing stages of Man Utd’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on February 2.
The Argentine is out for the rest of the season and is being supported by mum Silvina and his pregnant girlfriend.
In his latest update after surgery, Martinez shared pictures from his mum’s visit to his Manchester home.
The defender shared snaps of the pair hugging on his doorstep and a hilarious video of her helping him with exercises.
His heartwarming Instagram post was captioned: “Thank you for hugging my heart and making me smile. 
I love you Ma!”
His mum appeared to keeping his spirits up as she urged him to lift his injured right leg higher in the air.
Martinez was wearing his Man Utd training kit and the clip showed him watching his team-mates lose 1-0 to Spurs last Sunday.
The centre-back was laying on a rehab bed in his living room and his knee was covered in supportive tape.
And fans praised the adorable moment, with one writing: “There’s nothing like a mother’s love and motivation.”
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While another said: “This is so adorable.”
A third added: “You’ve got this warrior.”
The 27-year-old was stretchered off at Old Trafford against Palace after injuring his knee.
The World Cup winner tussled for the ball with Eagles star Ismaila Sarr late on.
But he appeared to get his leg stuck in the turf and was in serious pain.
United have not won in the Premier League since his injury, losing to Spurs and drawing 2-2 with Everton this weekend.
Martinez underwent surgery this month and gave up an emotional update on social media.
He wrote on Instagram last week: “Today, after going through several stormy days where I allowed myself to feel and accept my sadness, helplessness, insecurities, fears, and a deep emotional imbalance, I am reconnecting with my essence and my values, which help me see things from a kinder and more positive perspective.”
Thanking his club and the Argentine national team, he added: “I feel immense gratitude for the incredible work and support of @manchesterunited , @afaseleccion , my family, friends, team-mates, and everyone who took the time to send me a message of encouragement.
Martinez showed he had the support of childhood sweetheart Muri Lopez Benitez and their much-anticipated first child.
The couple went public with 26-year-old Muri’s pregnancy last October.
Martinez and Muri posted a photo of them holding their baby scan, with the defender writing in a message alongside their snap: “We are so happy that you came into our lives. Thank you for choosing us.”
They later revealed they were expecting a daughter and have decided to name her Aurora.
Since his £56.7million move from Ajax, the defender has had two operations on his foot and damaged the medical ligament in his right knee, although that injury didn’t require surgery.
The Red Devils are hoping Martinez will be back to fitness for the start of next season.
FORMER EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison has revealed how the cast of the hit BBC soap will figure out they’re being axed.
Cheryl, 60, played the iconic role of Heather Trott who was the former best friend of Shirley Carter, the mother of George Trott, and huge George Michael fan.
Joining the soap in 2007, Heather was originally a guest character but soon became a key character in the soap.
But after five years of residing in Walford, Heather was murdered by Ben Mitchell in 2012 – with fans still up in arms over her exit to this day.
And now, after the soap’s 40th anniversary celebrations that saw Martin Fowler get killed off during the live episode last week – Heather star Cheryl has spoken out.
Revealing what signs she spotted before she was axed from the soap, Cheryl has gotten candid in a new chat.
Speaking to Daily Star, Cheryl shared how she had predicted her axing before it happened.
“I had a feeling it might be coming,” she told the paper.
She explained how they would usually go and see the producers regularly to discuss their character’s storylines over the coming weeks.
“We’d always joke that either you’re going up to talk about your storyline, or you’re part of the culling,” she revealed.
She then recalled: “But that particular week, as Friday approached, I hadn’t had a meeting, and neither had Linda [who played the role of Shirley Carter].”
Because she hadn’t had a meeting with the producer, Cheryl thought that a big storyline for Heather might be looming.
And she was right.
“At the time, Brian Kirkwood was the producer, and when I walked in, he looked visibly upset. I had an inkling of what was coming,” she said.
“He asked me to sit down, and I knew straight away it wasn’t going to be anything exciting.
“He explained that the higher-ups—the Powers That Be—had decided they wanted to explore Shirley dealing with grief, which meant Heather was going to die,” Cheryl revealed.
With the 40th anniversary of EastEnders coming up, fans are looking forward to some more incredible cameos from iconic faces of Walford's past. But who have we had so far?
Tracy-Ann Oberman – Oberman returned as Chrissie Watts, a character she last played nearly two decades ago.
Paul Bradley – Bradley returned as Nigel Bates, a character he last played over 25 years ago.
Micheal French – French returned as David Wicks, a character he last played two decades ago.
Patsy Palmer – Palmer returned as Bianca Jackson, a character she last played in 2019.
Ricky Groves – Groves returned as Garry Hobbs, a character who has not been seen since 2009.
Cliff Parisi – Parisi returned as Minty Peterson, a character who was last seen on the square in 2010.
Ross Kemp – Kemp has returned to play Grant Mitchell, a character he first played in 1990. The BBC has described Kemp’s storyline as “explosive”. Kemp said it was an “absolute honour” to return to the show.
Other aspects of the EastEnders 40th anniversary celebration include: A wedding between fan favorites, A huge explosion at the Queen Vic, and A live interactive episode.
This comes after Cheryl told how she was forced to claim benefits and turn to a food bank for help after leaving the soap in 2012.
Opening up on her current financial situation to The Sun last week, the actress said: “My health is good, but my finances will take a long time to recover.
“Until I have steady work, I’m not rich or comfortable—I’m just surviving.
“I’ve been saying yes to everything for no money, but I need to start valuing my work and asking for fair pay. Even my agent insists on it.”
She went on: “Still, I’ll never give in. I want to keep singing. If people criticise me for singing in small restaurants, so be it.
“At the end of the day, I’m an entertainer. Community has always been important to me, and I’ll perform no matter the crowd.
“If only two people show up, I don’t care—I’m still being paid, and I’ll still give it my all.”
The actress added defiantly: “No one should be judged for trying to get back on their feet. One thing isn’t better than another—we all have our paths. I will always sing my heart out and I’m working my way back up.”
SHANE WALSH is loving football’s new rules after blowing Donegal away in Salthill.
Walsh starred as Galway romped home against the reigning Ulster champions – and kicked FOUR two-pointers as they raced into a 0-17 to 0-1 half time lead.
The wind caused chaos, and Galway took full advantage to all but kill the game at the break as Walsh fired over from outside the arc three times and once from a free.
Two-point scores from Mathhew Tierney, Rob Finnerty and stopper Conor Flaherty left Donegal with a mountain to climb, ending their three-game winning streak.
And Walsh was all smiles as his 0-11 haul fired them top of division 1 after four rounds, and says the new rules have given the game a new lease of life.
He said: “I love it. It is great. It is back to the skills of the game. You are seeing a lot more lads go one-on-one, seeing lads side-stepping and taking shots on.
“For me growing up that is what I believe football is all about and got you playing. That is why I love it. Keep feeding off that, because that is what we want to see.
“I think everyone was saying the last couple of years the game was getting so boring to watch. You didn’t really see the skills, just a lot of sideways stuff.
“Now you are really seeing the skills. I suppose some players are more comfortable than others but other players just have to adapt.
“The two point arc is obviously a great thing, it allows us to shoot more. Back in the years, it has been about percentage shots whereas now it is, have a go. We’ll take it.”
Galway were in complete control at the break as Donegal struggled to move the ball up the pitch against the gale and lacked intensity.
They clawed back some of the deficit thanks to Daire Ó Baoill’s doubles from outside the arc, but a comeback was never on the cards – even though the hosts went down to 14 on the stroke of half time.
Matthew Tierney was shown a straight red when he came in late on Hugh McFadden, and his dismissal meant Galway were allowed to keep two players in the Donegal half as opposed to three under the new rules.
That number was reduced to one when Daniel O’Flaherty was black carded 10 minutes after the restart for his late hit on Ciaran Thompson.
The visitors made a stab of it when Peadar Mogan got the ninth orange flag of the day but it was too little too late.
Galway defender Finian O Laoi was also black carded in the 63rd minute when he dragged Mark Curran to the ground, but Donegal failed to make their two-man advantage count.
Boss Jim McGuinness had no complaints about the result, but slammed the rules as “farcical” for taking the sting out of red and black cards ahead of their round 5 clash with Derry on Sunday.
He said: “Galway had a man sent off on two black cards and they had one man up and we had to leave three men back. That to me seems farcical.
“I don’t know what to say about that to be honest with you. That’s a non-intended consequence on the extreme side of things.
“But anyway, it made not one difference to the game that Galway had a man sent off and two black cards.
“It didn’t make a jot of a difference to the game because they were able to attack the way they were attacking up to that point. That’s definitely something that would certainly need to be looked at.
“The conditions were really, really challenging. We didn’t adapt as well as Galway did to it. Obviously Shane Walsh, I don’t know what many he finished with.
“But he did adapt very well to the conditions and had a couple of moments of brilliance as well into the breeze.
“That free kick with the left foot off the ground was a brilliant moment as well. So yeah, listen, good bit of learning for us today.”
GALWAY: C Flaherty 0-2, 1tp; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, D O’Flaherty 0-1; D McHugh, S Fitzgerald, L Silke 0-1; C Hernon, J Maher 0-1; C Sweeney, S O’Neill, C Darcy; R Finnerty 0-3, 1tpf, M Tierney 0-2, 1tp, S Walsh 0-11, 3 tp, 2f, 1tpf.
Subs: C Gleeson for Flaherty HT, F O Laoi for O’Neill 44, J Glynn for Fitzgerald 44, S Mulkerrin for Hernon 51, M Thompson for Finnerty 61,
DONEGAL: S Patton; M Curran, B McCole, P Mogan 0-2, 1tp; E McHugh, C McGonagle, C Moore; H McFadden, D Mac Giolla Bhríde; O Doherty, D Ó Baoill 0-6, 2tp, J Brennan, O Gallen 0-1, C O’Donnell 0-2, 1f, S O’Donnell 0-1.
Subs: E Ban Gallagher for E McHugh HT, C Thompson 0-2 for MacGiolla Bhride HT, N O’Donnell for Doherty HT, C McGuinness for Brennan 57, J McKelvey for McFadden 57
THE FIFTH celebrity has been axed from RTE Dancing With The Stars tonight.
Tonight seven couples danced to alongside RTE’s concert orchestra as part of Orchestra Week.
Judging panel, Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry, Arthur Gourounlian and Karen Byrne were back to give their hard-hitting opinions on tonight’s performances.
Elaine Crowley, Mickey Joe Harte, Joanna Donnelly and Yasmin Seky were the first four celebrities to be eliminated.
And comedian Gearoid Farrelly was the fifth to leave tonight.
Gearoid and his pro partner Stephen Vincent danced the Charleston to Emeli Sande and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra’s hit song Crazy In Love and managed to get 33 points.
But sadly it wasn’t enough and after their dance off with Kevin Dundon, they were voted out by the judges.
“I screwed up the timing at the start. It just never recovered. And I’m glad, I’m glad I made a total mess of it rather than just being really close. I just get to relax and enjoy Danny. It’s grand, go out with a bang. This has been the most incredible experience.
“It’s been the happiest few months of my life. I’ve loved it. I think it’s important to say the pro dancers are just the most unbelievable people.
“You only see the choreography and you see them dancing with us. But they are literally our therapists. They’re like talking us off a ledge on a Wednesday. They’re your lifeline.
“He is the captain of the show. He is just, he is the best. He’s absolutely the best. We didn’t get a glitterball, I think we were robbed, but it’s fine, you know, sweat makes good cement. Sweat makes good cement and I think we got a good friendship out of it and that’s worth more than a glitterball.”
First up tonight was TikTok star Kayleigh Trappe with Ervinas Merfeldas, dancing the Charleston to Lady Gaga’s hit That’s Entertainment.
The influencer was so emotional after finishing her performance and said she was “relieved”.
The pair got glowing reviews from the judges and received a total score of 32 points.
Next up, Mrs Brown’s Boys Danny O’Carroll and Salome Chachua performed the salsa to All Night Long by Lionel Richie.
And the actor got a great score of 33 points.
Chef Kevin Dundon went next performing the foxtrot to Electric Light Orchestra’s song Livin’ Thing with his pro partner Rebecca Scott.
Kevin was so happy with the judges’ comments and he got 24 points.
Olympian Jack Woolley brought the sass to samba to The Cup of Life by Ricky Martin with his pro partner Alex Vladimirov.
The judges were all completely blown away and gave him 37 points overall.
Miss Universe Ireland Aishah Akorede and Robert Rowinski performed the American smooth to A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton.
Aishah was in tears after the emotional performance and received a total score of 36 points and even got a 10 from Arthur.
Olympian Rhys McClenaghan and Laura Nolan put on a great show with their contemporary ballroom dance to Bittersweet Symphony by The Verve.
Laura was almost in tears as she praised Rhys for being so professional and the pair managed to get an almost-perfect-score of 40.
COLEEN Nolan pays touching tribute to late sister Linda on her birthday saying ‘life won’t be the same without you’
The Loose Women star is mourning the death of her sister after she passed away after a battle with secondary breast cancer aged 65-years-old.
Linda was best known as a member of the girl group, The Nolans alongside her TV personality sister.
She also took part in the 13th series of Celebrity Big Brother back in January 2014.
The singer was laid to rest in a ceremony at the start of February which took place at St Paul’s Church in Blackpool.
A number of celebrities were present as members of the public applauded the hearse that carried her pink sparkly coffin.
Coleen, 59, took to social media to post an emotional tribute to her late-sibling on what would have been her 66th birthday.
Taking to X – formerly known as Twitter – she posted a sweet throwback video with her sibling.
In the short clip, the duo could be seen laughing away as they danced and revelled in each other’s company.
Alongside the clip, wrote: “To my beautiful sister… think of you everyday, but especially today on your birthday… I miss you so much and life won’t be the same without you in it…”
This was accompanied by a broken red heart emoji as these words were also emblazoned on the video.
Fans flooded the post with their own tributes and well-wishes for the family.
One fan gushed: “Happy Heavenly Birthday Linda. Your courage & spirit were an inspiration.”
A second stated: “So sorry @NolanColeen She will always be with you . You are all the first thing I listen to every morning , never skipped a day in ages. Attention to me my fave at the mo. Sending you love xxxxx.”
“Aww thinking of you beautiful words I’m sure Linda is looking down on you and smiling big hugs @coleen take care take each day as it comes RIP Linda,” wrote a third user.
While a fourth said: “Linda was so open about her cancer in interviews! She helped to inspire other women going through it to not give up & fight.”
And a fifth added: “Very impressive dance moves the great lady will always be with you.”
