Chelsea's striker crisis is starting to ease.

Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner are back in training and expected to return soon, though the English Premier League game at Leicester on Saturday is too soon.

Kevin De Bruyne contracted the coronavirus while on international duty with Belgium and is isolating, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said Friday.

Guardiola said De Bruyne found out on Wednesday that he had tested positive. He is back in England and is vaccinated.

Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich is in quarantine again.

The German club said Friday that the unvaccinated Kimmich would miss the team's game at Augsburg. Although Bayern didn't give any more details, the 26-year-old Kimmich is also a doubt for the team's Champions League game at Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday.

The United Nations said Friday it wants proof of the whereabouts of Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai, who went missing after making sexual assault allegations against a top Communist Party official.

"It would be important to have proof of her whereabouts and well-being and we would urge that there be an investigation with full transparency into her allegations of sexual assault," UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Liz Throssell told reporters in Geneva.

When Juventus asked players to take salary cuts and deferrals during the coronavirus pandemic, Sami Khedira's curiosity in how the soccer industry works was reignited.

A World Cup winner with Germany in 2014 who spent five seasons at Real Madrid before joining the Italian club, Khedira said this week he was "always interested in the system."

When Xavi Hernández played for Barcelona, a game against Espanyol was normally an easy win.

Now, Espanyol can ruin the former midfielder's return to Camp Nou as coach of his boyhood club.

Stepping barefoot onto the field at Camp Nou Stadium, Dani Alves was cheered by a crowd of more than 10,000 as he was introduced to Barcelona fans again on Wednesday, saying he insisted on returning to help put the Catalan club back on track.

The 38-year-old Brazil defender said he will be ready to fight for a starting spot when he is eligible to play in January.

Brazil and Argentina have already secured their direct spots at next year's World Cup, but are approaching Qatar very differently.

Brazil has tested — and will continue to test — several players for nearly all positions, even Neymar's, while dominated the South American qualifying competition.

Angel Di Maria's goal on Friday put Argentina on the verge of qualifying for next year's World Cup in Qatar as Lionel Messi was on the bench for the 1-0 win away to Uruguay.

Brazil forward Neymar has been ruled out of his country's World Cup qualifying clash with arch-rivals Argentina with a thigh problem, the Brazilian football confederation (CBF) announced Monday.