Farke can solve Longstaff injury with "annoying" Leeds star in new role

Leeds United are in a difficult position heading into the weekend as they are in the bottom three and heading to play Manchester City at The Etihad this afternoon.

The Whites have lost their last three matches in the Premier League, losing to Brighton, Nottingham Forest, and Aston Villa, and now face a run of games against City, Chelsea, and Liverpool.

On top of the daunting fixture list, Daniel Farke also has several new injury issues to contend with before they kick off against Pep Guardiola’s side today.

The latest Leeds injury news

Anton Stach will not be in the squad because he has been unable to train this week through concussion protocols, after the German midfielder was taken off in the first against Aston Villa last weekend with a head injury.

The £17.4m summer signing from Hoffenheim will resume training on Sunday before coming into contention for the Chelsea match, and Ao Tanaka could start in his place this afternoon.

Reserve defender Sebastiaan Bornauw, who joined from Wolfsburg in the summer, is going to be a late call on whether or not he can make the bench today, per Farke.

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Unfortunately, the German head coach also revealed that central midfielder Sean Longstaff suffered a calf injury and is due to be out of action for between four and six weeks, in a major blow for the Whites.

The summer signing from Newcastle has started ten of his 12 Premier League appearances for the club, creating six ‘big chances’, per Sofascore, and Farke will need to find a way to replace him this afternoon and for the weeks to come.

Instead of bringing Ilia Gruev, who is more of a deep-lying number six, into the side, Farke should unleash Brenden Aaronson in a new role to ease the Longstaff injury blow.

The new role that Brenden Aaronson should play in

Earlier this month, Farke said that the USA international “polarises and can be annoying” and then added that he “works his socks off, gives everything, relentless and leaves his heart on the pitch” in defence of the attacking midfielder.

Because of that work rate, it would be interesting to see how he would fare in Longstaff’s position as one of the two number eights ahead of Ethan Ampadu.

Aaronson, of course, was the main number ten for Farke in his 4-2-3-1 system last season before being moved to the right wing in the current 4-3-3 shape, which means that he is used to playing centrally under the German boss.

The 25-year-old star, who has scored one goal in the Premier League this season, has the creative qualities to soften the blow of losing Longstaff, who has created the most ‘big chances’ in the team, albeit as the main set-piece taker.

Goals

1

3rd

Shots per game

1.4

3rd

Key passes per game

0.9

3rd

Big chances created

3

2nd

xA

1.49

1st

Possession lost per game

8.4

8th

As you can see in the table above, Aaronson has been one of the most creative players in the team in the top-flight this season, without being one of the most wasteful in possession.

This, along with Farke’s comments on his work rate, suggests that the American midfielder could be the ideal player to fill in for Longstaff in the next few weeks, because the Whites would still have a hard-working and creative player in that role.

On top of that, moving Aaronson away from the right wing position would allow the manager to unleash Dan James on the right, and his pace in behind could be particularly useful in these next three games against superior opposition who will be expected to dominate the ball.

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Therefore, playing the USA international in this new role could be an excellent way to respond to Longstaff’s injury, which is why Farke should consider it this afternoon.

Red Sox Finalizing Deal With Nathaniel Lowe After DFA by Nationals

The Red Sox may have found a solution to their need at first base.

Following the Nationals' decision to designate Nathaniel Lowe for assignment, the veteran first baseman is reportedly finalizing a deal to join the Red Sox, according to MLB insider Jeff Passan.

Lowe, 30, signed with the Nationals this offseason and played in 119 games this year. He has a .665 OPS with 16 home runs and 68 RBIs, but a -0.4 WAR.

Boston has had a hole at first base since Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury in a base running accident. Rafael Devers was approached about taking over at the position, but refused and was eventually traded. Surprisingly, the Red Sox didn't make a move at the trade deadline to address the position, either.

They'll bring Lowe aboard in hopes that he can provide some stability at first base, though he could find himself in a platoon with Romy Gonzalez and Abraham Toro.

Lowe is in his seventh MLB season and has 105 home runs and 397 RBIs in 805 career games.

Rizwan signs for St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for remainder of CPL 2025

He joins the team as a replacement player for Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi

Danyal Rasool20-Aug-2025Mohammad Rizwan has agreed a deal to join St Kitts and Nevis Patriots for the remainder of the Caribbean Premier League 2025 (CPL). ESPNcricinfo understands the signing will be officially confirmed by the league in the next 24 hours.The former Pakistan T20I captain has been signed as a replacement for fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi, who is set to link up with Afghanistan ahead of the tri-series in the UAE involving Pakistan and the UAE.It is not yet clear whether Rizwan will be available for the Patriots’ match on Thursday against the Barbados Royals. But with Pakistan leaving him out of their T20 squad for that tri-series as well as the Asia Cup, the path to Rizwan’s involvement elsewhere has been fully cleared. It is understood an NOC (no objection certificate) from the PCB, which enables players to take part in overseas leagues, is a formality.Related

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It is the first time the wicketkeeper-batter will play in the CPL, and adds to a growing Pakistani roster in the tournament. It was announced earlier on Thursday that legspinner Usama Mir had signed for Antigua and Barbuda Falcons, while the Patriots already have two Pakistanis in their squad: fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Abbas Afridi. Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Salman Irshad are also part of this year’s competition.The signing also means that Rizwan will use up his quota of two overseas T20 leagues the PCB has stipulated as the maximum number centrally contracted players can take part in over a 12-month period starting in July. Earlier this year, he was confirmed as a signing by Melbourne Renegades for the Big Bash League.The Patriots got off to a rocky start, following a win in their first match with three successive defeats, and sit second from bottom on the points table. They won the CPL in 2017 and 2021.

In India, captain Bavuma pursues the final piece of his validation

As South Africa’s most experienced specialist batter, his role is multi-fold in the two-Test series. It’s a challenge he’s up to take on

Firdose Moonda13-Nov-20252:04

Bangar: South Africa’s spin-bowling allrounders will be critical

Temba Bavuma had played only four Tests before he first batted in one in India, as the least experienced specialist batter of a side that was already defeated. He opened the batting, which he told ESPNcricinfo today was, “the best thing that could have happened because batting in the middle order was quite tough,” but back then, he called it “the toughest piece of batting I’ve had to do in my life.”If only he knew how much tougher it was going to get.Fast-forward a decade and Bavuma has realised that “Test cricket doesn’t get any easier.” He lists the 2018 sandpapergate series against Australia, when he had just returned from a broken hand, as “quite tough having not played any cricket,” and the 2019 series in India, which South Africa lost 3-0, as “also quite tough,” but arguably his toughest Test knock was most recent one. In the World Test Championship final, chasing the highest score at Lord’s against Australia, Bavuma was nursing a hamstring injury and scored the most important 66 runs of his career.Related

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Interestingly, 66 is also Bavuma’s highest first-class score in the subcontinent, for South Africa A in 2015, where he has only batted 22 times. That innings came a few months before the Test series. This time, Bavuma has been in India before most of his team-mates, again playing for an A side as he makes his return to the longest format. After a first-ball duck against India A, he scored 59 last week in South Africa A’s successful chase of 417. More importantly, he familiarised himself with his subcontinent gameplan after missing South Africa’s series in both Bangladesh last year and Pakistan this year through injury.”Having come off a long layoff from Test cricket, it was just about getting back on the field, proving my fitness to myself and everyone around and spending some time at the crease,” Bavuma said at the pre-match press conference. “I think that was important – to try to make whatever adjustments that I need to with conditions here in the subcontinent. I spent a lot of time on my feet in the field and it was a good exercise.”

“He’s our best player. It’s as simple as that. If you take the last two years maybe, he’s been one of the best players in the world.”SA head coach Conrad on Bavuma

It was also an opportunity to remind himself of what lies ahead. Bavuma is now the most experienced specialist batter in a side that knows success far better than its opposite. South Africa, at full strength, have not lost a series under Bavuma (the 2024 makeshift squad that lost in New Zealand did not include him, nor any of those on this tour). And his stocks continue to rise.”Whenever we go into a series, there’s a lot more of an expectation for us as a team to uphold the world champion status,” Bavuma said. “From a confidence point of view, it’s a case of us kind of walking proudly with that badge, being known as the champions. We have a lovely opportunity now coming up against India in their own conditions. It’s a great opportunity for us to kind of stamp ourselves with that label.”While Bavuma said “not much” can trump winning the WTC, “second to that would be winning in India.” Not England. Not Australia. But India, because, “we haven’t been able to do it for the longest time.”Temba Bavuma checked out the Eden Gardens pitch•Associated PressSouth Africa last won a Test in India in 2010, when none of the current crop were involved in international cricket. They have been on two tours of India since with humbling results as they lost 3-0 on each occasion. They last won a series there in 2000, when Tristan Stubbs and Marco Jansen were not even born. “The longest time” seems a reasonable description, especially considering India’s formidable home record. Never mind South Africa, no team beat them in a home series for a dozen years between England winning in 2012 and New Zealand’s victory last year. That’s 18 successive home series wins for India which puts into perspective the scale of the task. “We understand the magnitude of the challenge,” Bavuma said. “For some of us, there have been moments of hurt having come from India. We know what it’s about. We look forward to the challenge.”Bavuma knows that better than most. His most recent Indian heartbreak is fresher than anyone else’s and didn’t involve Tests. It came at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where he captained South Africa to the semi-finals but was the only batter in the top five who did not score a century and played with an injured hamstring in the knockouts. The memes were cruel and included images of Bavuma seeming to fall asleep in the pre-tournament captain’s presser when the camera angle had just caught him awkwardly looking at his hand and being pushed in a wheelchair by the batters who were scoring runs. The experience could either have turned him away from leadership entirely or made him stronger and it seems to have done the latter.”It wasn’t the greatest of World Cups for me from a batting point of view, so I could understand why the criticism would have come but that’s probably more from a player point of view,” he said. “From a captaincy point of view, it always felt as if it’s a process of discovery. You’re always kind of learning a little bit more about yourself. You start off with maybe an understanding as to how you want to go about things but then as time goes by, as things happen, you work with different coaches, that generally comes into your whole idea. Now, I’m a lot more comfortable in my own skin. There’s no case of having to prove to myself, prove to the players or prove to people back home that I’m deserving of the title. The results that we’ve achieved speak for themselves. The type of reaction that I get from the players, also speaks for itself. The criticism, all of that, that’s not going to go away. For as long as you’re in these types of positions, the magnifying glass is always going to be on you. That’s just something that you have to accept. I just try to take it day by day and to enjoy it.”In the South Africa changing room, Bavuma is undisputedly regarded with the utmost respect. “He’s our best player. It’s as simple as that,” South Africa’s coach Shukri Conrad said. “If you take the last two years maybe, he’s been one of the best players in the world.”Bavuma scored 59 in South Africa A’s win over India A in the outskirts of Bengaluru last week•PTI Since February 2023, which is when Conrad took over the Test side, of batters who have scored more than 500 runs in Tests, Bavuma’s average is 56.93, the sixth-highest.Amongst the South African public, the perception of Bavuma has changed from seeing him as a bit-part player to someone who tried hard but couldn’t convert scores into centuries to being regarded as crucial to the operation and that’s largely because of his role in winning the mace. “I feel like there’s been a major shift in mindset towards the Proteas and towards cricket,” Bavuma said. “There’s been a lot more appreciation and love that’s been shown towards the team, but also to individuals within the team. For myself, probably a lot more, appreciation for my presence within the team.”And globally? That’s still to be determined, and Bavuma knows it. He is eyeing at least another two years in the game, both as ODI captain with a home World Cup to prepare for and as Test captain in the current cycle, which is where he believes this team will really be measured. “We have our own goals,” he said. “We know we want to do it as a team, and we know at what point we want to start measuring ourselves. We know that after two years, we can’t consider that a proper legacy. Winning the Test Championship was big in a lot of ways but we’d like to see ourselves after four years. We will continue doing what we set out to do two years ago.”By then, Bavuma will be 37, would have played international cricket for 13 years and will likely be on the cusp of retirement. He probably won’t play another Test series in India between now and then which makes this one crucial to his place in cricket’s pantheon.

Suryakumar finds form before washout in Canberra

Only 9.4 overs of play was possible in the T20I series opener between India and Australia

Andrew McGlashan29-Oct-20251:53

‘Baffling’ – Chopra on Arshdeep’s non-selection in the XI

Rain in Canberra ruined the opening T20I of the five-match series between Australia and India, also cutting short an eye-catching display from captain Suryakumar Yadav who was beginning to rekindle the form he had showed at the IPL earlier this year.Suryakumar and Shubman Gill had carried India to a promising 97 for 1 in the 10th over of a contest already reduced to 18 overs per side by an earlier stoppage when heavier rain came through and eventually forced the call-off shortly before 10pm.Moments before the rain returned, Suryakumar had tucked into Nathan Ellis’ second over with two fours and a six. He had been given a life on 18 when Josh Philippe couldn’t hold onto a tough chance running back from mid-on and was able to pass 20 for just the second time in his last 15 T20I innings – a period which, of course, sandwiches the prolific IPL.Mitchell Marsh had continued his impressive run with the coin, and unsurprisingly, opted to bowl as he had done on all 18 previous occasions in T20Is when he has had the choice.India’s intent was clear from the very start when Abhishek Sharma, facing Australia for the first time, charged at Josh Hazlewood’s opening delivery. Abhishek ended the first over by again using his feet and carved Hazlewood through point.Gill survived a close lbw shout against Ellis on 11, when he was beaten by a back-of-the-hand slower ball, which Australia reviewed and the replays showed it was clipping the top of the bails. However, Abhishek’s powerplay was cut short when he drove a catch to Tim David at mid-off to hand Ellis a wicket on his opening over.

The fifth over brought a terrific mini-contest between Suryakumar and Hazlewood, who is only available for the first two matches of this series before turning his focus to Ashes preparation.The first ball, a bouncer, whistled past Suryakumar as he considered a ramp to deep third, the second was unplayable as it nipped away from back of a length to beat an ambitious drive, but then Suryakumar responded with an audacious flick over deep square leg for six. Two dots followed before Suryakumar ended it by working a single.Gill, meanwhile, had played briskly between the stoppages and shortly before the final stoppage had slog-swept Matt Kuhnemann powerfully over deep midwicket.Despite conditions being a world away from Dubai, India retained the three frontline spinners they used in the Asia Cup final with Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy all finding spots in the XI. Jasprit Bumrah was set to lead the pace attack which also included Harshit Rana. Allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy was ruled out of the opening three matches as he recovers from quad and neck problems.From a likely first-choice side, Australia were missing Cameron Green (Shield cricket), Glenn Maxwell (available from game three) and Adam Zampa (personal reasons).

موعد والقنوات الناقلة لمباراة الجزائر والبحرين اليوم في كأس العرب 2025

يلتقي منتخب الجزائر، اليوم السبت، مع نظيره البحرين، ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس العرب 2025 المقامة في دولة قطر.

وتقام مباراة الجزائر والبحرين على ملعب خليفة الدولي ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية من دور المجموعات ببطولة كأس العرب 2025.

طالع.. مجموعة مصر | موعد والقنوات الناقلة لمباراة الكويت والأردن اليوم في كأس العرب 2025

وكان منتخب الجزائر قد تعثر في مباراته الأولى مع السودان بالتعادل السلبي، بينما خسر منتخب البحرين أمام العراق بهدفين مقابل هدف.

منتخبا الجزائر والسودان يحتلان المركزين الثاني والثالث بنقطة وحيدة، خلف العراق المتصدر بثلاث نقاط، بينما البحرين رابعا دون نقاط. موعد مباراة الجزائر والبحرين في كأس العرب

وتنطلق المباراة بين الجزائر والبحرين في الساعة الثالثة والنصف عصرا بتوقيت القاهرة والساعة الرابعة والنصف عصرا بتوقيت الدوحة والسعودية والبحرين، الثانية والنصف ظهرا بتوقيت الجزائر. القنوات الناقلة لمباراة الجزائر والبحرين في كأس العرب

وتبث المباراة عبر قنوات بي إن سبورتس HD المفتوحة، بالإضافة إلى قناة الكأس، أبوظبي الرياضية، ودبي الرياضية وإم بي سي مصر 2.

ويمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة عبر مركز المباريات من هنا.

Ngidi takes five, Breetzke, Stubbs shine as South Africa win series

South Africa completed a fifth successive bilateral ODI series win over Australia, dating back to 2016, and this one, with a game to spare. Their 84-run victory in the second match followed a similar pattern to their triumph on Tuesday which was set up by a strong batting effort that was well defended under lights.Half-centuries from Matthew Breetzke and Tristan Stubbs, who also shared in an 89-run fourth wicket stand, took South Africa to a competitive total on 277, with Breetzke becoming the first player in men’s ODI history to pass 50 in his first four ODI matches. Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi then led the way in defence. Ngidi was player of the match with 5 for 42, his second five-for in ODIs and second against Australia.Australia have now lost their last three bilateral ODI series and will be concerned about a lack of contributions from their line-up. As was the case in match one, there was only one individual score of note, this time Josh Inglis’ 87.Related

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South Africa’s performance, while trophy-winning, was far from flawless. After a good start, they faded away with the bat and lost 5 for 44 in the last 10 overs and dropped three catches, to add to a growing tour tally. Stubbs, who scored his first fifty 16 international innings across all formats, put down two and has grassed six across the five matches in Australia so far.Still, South Africa will be pleased with their performance in the field which came with regular captain Temba Bavuma being rested for workload management and senior seamer Kagiso Rabada out of the series with an ankle injury. In Rabada’s absence, Burger and particularly Ngidi stepped up.Burger bowled with good pace to start proceedings and had early success. In the third over the chase, Travis Head tried to loft him over mid-on and was caught by a backpedalling Aiden Markram. Seven balls later, Ngidi offered Marnus Labuschagne some width, Labuschagne drove hard and edged to Ryan Rickelton. Australia were 7 for 2 in the fourth over, and things could have got a lot worse.Lungi Ngidi had Marnus Labuschagne caught behind•Getty Images

Cameron Green edged Ngidi’s next ball to Stubbs at second slip but he could not keep his hands on the ball. Three overs after that, Mitchell Marsh, on 13, drove Burger to Stubbs in the covers and he dropped another. Luckily for Stubbs only the first would prove somewhat costly. Marsh added five more runs before he pulled Wiaan Mulder to Corbin Bosch at mid-on and left Australia 39 for 3 after the first 10 overs.Markram brought himself on in the 18th over and Inglis took a liking to him. He reverse-swept the second ball over backward point, and then played one of the shots of the match when he danced down the track to lift Markram over cover for six. Markram took himself off and brought Mulder back and the move should have paid off when Inglis, on 42, chipped Mulder to cover where Tony de Zorzi spilled the chance.There was some relief for South Africa when Green was caught by Senuran Muthusamy in his follow-through to end Australia’s best partnership on 67 but Inglis continued to pose a threat. He top-edged Mulder short of deep third and then pulled and cut him for back-to-back fours and his fifty came off 46 balls. What Inglis lacked was someone to stay with him.Alex Carey flayed Burger to backward point where Dewald Brevis took a good catch. Inglis responded by taking 19 runs off Keshav Maharaj’s next two overs to enter the 18s. But it was all Ngidi from there.He deceived Aaron Hardie into popping a slower ball back to him and then took a low return catch. He also accounted for Inglis, who made room for himself on the drive but bottom-edged to Rickelton, and then had Xavier Bartlett caught at mid-on. Ngidi’s fifth came in the 38th over when Adam Zampa skied him to mid-on and Australia were bowled out with more than 12 overs remaining in their innings.Matthew Breetzke pulls behind square•AFP/Getty Images

That made South Africa’s batting effort, which Breetzke initially thought was 20 runs short, appear far above-par against a well-resourced Australian attack. Australia made use of seven bowlers, including three spinners. Between them, Zampa, Head and Labuschagne bowled 17 overs for 94 runs and took five wickets. Nathan Ellis was the standout seamer, with 2 for 46, and Xavier Bartlett did a good job upfront in the absence of Ben Dwarshuis, who was rested.Playing in his third ODI, Bartlett opened the bowling and enjoyed early success. Markram chipped him to midwicket for a fourth-ball duck before Rickelton was caught behind in his third over.Breetzke announced himself when he took on Hardie, with a four down the ground and two sixes flicked over fine leg in a signature show of his strength on the leg side. At the other end, de Zorzi also showed off his stroke-play with clean straight hits and a couple of cracking square drives.Breetzke and de Zorzi demonstrated some excellent, proactive run-scoring but also rode their luck. Breetzke charged Bartlett and top-edged a bouncer over Inglis while de Zorzi pulled a half-volley just short of midwicket. Their partnership had grown to 67 when de Zorzi gifted Zampa a simple return catch off a leading edge.Breetzke and Stubbs went five overs without scoring a boundary, during which time Breetzke brought up a 46-ball fifty, and it allowed Stubbs to settle. His confidence grew when flicked a Zampa googly over midwicket for six as South Africa targeted spin. Breetzke swept and pulled Zampa for successive fours and Stubbs reverse-swept Head.Xavier Bartlett made early inroads on his return to the side•Getty Images

Marsh brought Ellis back at the halfway stage and it worked. Breetzke, who had pulled well throughout the innings, could not control one off Ellis that found Carey at deep square leg. Breetzke remains ODI cricket’s best performing batting newcomer scoring more runs than any other player in history across four matches from debut.Stubbs brought up his fifty with a single off Labuschagne and found a good finishing partner in Mulder, albeit he could have been out for 3. Mulder pulled Labuschagne to Marsh at midwicket but the captain put it down. In the next over, Labuschagne dropped Mulder on 5.Stubbs and Mulder put on 48 together and took South Africa to 233 for 5 with 10 overs to go but neither finished the job. Mulder was the first to go when he slog swept Labuschagne to Green at long-on. Muthusamy sent a full toss to Hardie at deep midwicket. Stubbs skied Zampa to midwicket and Burger holed out to long-off where Green completed his fourth catch of the innings, equalling the most outfield catches for Australia in ODIs.But that won’t be the statistic that grabs the headlines. For the first time since 2009, Australia had lost four consecutive ODIs at home, having been bowled out in four consecutive home ODIs for just the second time in history and for the first time without passing 200 in any of them. They have also lost seven of their last eight ODIs in total.

Man charged after pleading guilty to stalking Liverpool Women midfielder Marie Hobinger and sending her 'inappropriate and sexualised' messages

A man has pleaded guilty to stalking Liverpool star Marie Hobinger after sending her inappropriate and sexualised messages. Mangal Dalal, from London, sent the midfielder a string of messages via Instagram, which included his mobile number and postcode, as well as asking her to visit him. The 42-year-old was also charged with stalking as a result of the electronic communications between January and February this year.

Liverpool star fears for her safety

According to the Crime Prosecution Service, Dalal sent messages to Hobinger between January 27 and February 16, 2025. The messages were 'often sexually explicit,' and he also implied he would come to football games to see her. The Austrian became 'increasingly concerned' and blocked him on the social media platform before telling her club. Despite that, the Hyde Park Gardens resident travelled to the Reds' clash at Manchester City's Joie Stadium on February 16, where the 24-year-old played the whole game. A safety officer travelled to the match, which City won 4-0, and after they discovered that Dalal was waiting for her pitchside, action was taken, with the Westminster local later being questioned by police. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportAccused pleads guilty

The report adds that when he was questioned by police, Dalal owned up to what he had done but said he was mentally unwell at the time. The CPS authorised a charge of stalking and last Thursday (December 4), he plead guilty at Liverpool Magistrates' Court. He will be sentenced on January 20, 2026, at Westminster Magistrates' Court.

'Dalal’s behaviour was criminal'

At the magistrates' court, senior crown prosecutor Sarah McInerney said Dalal treated Hobinger "as an object" he could use to "air his fantasies". She added that his actions were "totally inappropriate" and his behaviour was "criminal".

She told the court: "Marie Hobinger is a talented professional sportswoman at the top of her game. Mangal Dalal targeted her and treated her as an object that he could use to air his fantasies. His messaging was intense, continual, and totally inappropriate. It had a serious impact on the player who was simply trying to play to the best of her ability in a sport and team that she loves. Dalal’s behaviour was criminal and will not be tolerated in a fair and equal society. We would like to thank Ms Hobinger and Liverpool FC for their help in bringing Dalal to justice."

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Getty Images SportWhat comes next for Hobinger?

The former FC Zurich player, who joined Liverpool in 2023 and has since gone on to play 59 times for the Women's Super League side, is currently out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. She has been doing her rehab since sustaining the setback in October. 

Braves to Activate Chris Sale From Injured List After Long Absence

The Braves may be out of contention after a rough season, but on Saturday they will get a much-needed morale boost.

Atlanta is activating pitcher Chris Sale from the injured list and he will start Saturday against the Phillies, the team announced. In a corresponding move, pitcher Nathan Wiles has been optioned to the Triple-A Gwinnett Stripers.

Sale, 36, is 5-4 this year with a 2.52 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 89 1/3 innings pitched. He has not pitched since nearly throwing a complete game on June 18 against the Mets; during that game, he suffered a rib injury making a play in the field.

In 2024, defying years of injury and stagnation, Sale dramatically returned to his 2010s form. En route to the NL Cy Young Award—an accolade that eluded him with the White Sox and Red Sox—he went 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts.

The Braves currently sit fourth in the NL East, 17 games behind first-place Philadelphia.

Powell, Green give Royals their first win of the season

Tim David’s blitz in vain for St Lucia Kings, who went down by 27 runs

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2025Captain Rovman Powell led the way, smashing an unbeaten 41 off 17 balls, as Barbados Royals secured their first win in CPL 2025. Despite that, Royals remained at the bottom of the points table and David Wiese’s St Lucia Kings remained at the top along with Nicholas Pooran’s Trinbago Knight Riders. Currently, only net run-rate separates Kings and TKR.After they were asked to bat first, Royals didn’t start well. They lost Quinton de Kock to left-arm fingerspinner Khary Pierre in the third over and by the end of the powerplay, they had managed only 39 for 1. Tabraiz Shamsi, the left-arm wristspinner from South Africa, then stifled Royals even further by taking out Brandon King (42), Kadeem Alleyne (39) and Sherfane Rutherford (16) in his four overs which cost Kings only 26 runs.When Powell joined Chris Green, Royals were 120 for 5 in the 16th over. Powell then teed off, lining up Alzarri Joseph for two sixes and a four in the 19th over. In the final over of the innings, bowled by rookie Delano Potgieter, Powell and Green combined to take three fours and a six.Green wasn’t done just yet. He struck with the new ball, dismissing Johnson Charles and Roston Chase. Wicketkeeper-opener Tim Seifert raced to 24 off 13 before he was bowled by Jomel Warrican. Tim David, one of the most dangerous finishers in the world, then threatened to take the game away from Royals until Daniel Sams interneved and cut his innings short on 44 off 28 balls.David’s dismissal left Kings at 94 for 6 in 12 overs, needing 98 off 48 balls. Cameos from Wiese and Joseph got Kings closer, but Royals finally wrapped up their first victory this season and kept their hopes of making the playoffs alive.

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