BRIGHTON, England (AP) — James Milner will get another chance to become the player with the most appearances in the Premier League era.
The 39-year-old midfielder, who is 15 appearances short of Gareth Barry's record (653), has signed a one-year contract extension with Brighton.
Milner sustained a serious knee injury that limited him to just four league games last season. He made his 638th appearance on the last day of the season, coming off the bench in a 4-1 victory over Tottenham.
“Last season he wasn't able to help the team on the pitch as much as he would have liked, but around the squad his experience is invaluable, especially for the younger players,” Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler said in the team's announcement Friday.
“He's a great guy to have in our environment, who is always there for me and the team,” said Hurzeler, who is seven years younger than Milner. “I’m looking forward to working with him again.”
Milner, who will turn 40 in January, made his debut at age 16 for Leeds in November 2002.
He's entering his record-extending 24th season overall and third at Brighton — he made 15 league appearances in the 2023-24 season — after eight years at Liverpool. Milner has also played for Manchester City, Aston Villa and Newcastle.
Milner made 61 international appearances for England from 2009-16.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Brighton's James Milner, front, duels for the ball with West Ham's Ben Johnson during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham and Brighton, at the London stadium in London, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.
A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.
Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.
For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.
The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”
Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.
Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)
