Rodolfo Soares made a surprising return to champions Hibernians after he was announced as the latest signing of the Premier League club.

Soares enjoyed a fruitful stay at the Paola club since his arrival to Maltese football in 2011. In fact, during his seven-year stay at the club he managed to win the Premier League title twice and also lifted the FA Trophy on two occasions.

The Paolites are currently preparing for the UEFA Champions League commitments and have been looking to bolster their defence, particularly as they have some key defenders missing for their first matches of their European campaign.

In fact, Ferdinando Apap must serve a two-match ban after he was initially handed a five-game suspension for dissent in their controversial elimination from the UEFA Conference League tie against FC Riga.

On the other hand, defender Andrei Agius must serve a five-match suspension while defensive midfielder Bjorn Kristensen has been ruled out of their opening four matches in Europe this season after seeing his original five-match ban reduced on appeal.

Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta