Sadio Mane has suffered an injury scare less than two weeks before the World Cup after limping off during Bayern Munich's Bundesliga clash with Werder Bremen.

The Senegal forward was substituted in the 21st minute at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday, having received treatment on the pitch and subsequently signalled to the bench he could not continue.

Mane was involved in Bayern's opening goal, which was scored by Jamal Musiala, but his substitution will clearly concern his country.

Senegal's World Cup opener against the Netherlands is on November 21, giving Mane little time to recover from any issue.

Jose Mourinho has taken aim at misfiring Roma striker Tammy Abraham, suggesting the England international may be distracted by the World Cup.

Abraham enjoyed a prolific debut season with the Giallorossi, scoring 27 goals in 53 appearances during the 2021-22 campaign, but he has only netted three times in 18 games this term.

The Roma head coach appeared to question the focus of the former Chelsea forward, whose last Serie A goal came in the 2-1 win over Empoli on September 12.

"You should ask him what’s the problem," said Mourinho during his press conference ahead of Wednesday's clash with Sassuolo. "If he is distracted, if he has a problem or if he thinks about the World Cup."

However, Mourinho defended Roger Ibanez, who was subjected to criticism after his error culminated in Felipe Anderson's winning goal during the derby defeat by Lazio on Sunday.

"Respect is due to somebody who has always given his best since day one," the coach added.

"When we played in Seville [against Real Betis in the Europa League last month], I saw him in the morning and thought it was impossible for him to play, but he made it. To me, he is untouchable."

Roma travel to Sassuolo without Lorenzo Pellegrini, who is the latest player to join their lengthy injury list that already includes Paulo Dybala, Georginio Wijnaldum and Leonardo Spinazzola.

"Pellegrini has been playing too much and is struggling. He is fragile and doesn’t end many games being 100 per cent fit.

"We lost three starters in midfield [in the transfer window], [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan, Sergio Oliveira and [Jordan] Veretout. Wijnaldum hasn't played yet, then we have [Mady] Camara and [Nemanja] Matic.

"Unfortunately, we faced unexpected problems this last season. When Spinazzola got injured at the Euros, we had to take a direction we didn't like.

"I am crying a lot, but I don't like to do so, I like to say that we have had these problems that opened the door to [Cristian] Volpato and [Nicola] Zalewski. [Edoardo] Bove is improving and [Benjamin] Tahirovic will play soon."

Jamie Carragher was "surprised" by Fenway Sports Group's (FSG) announcement it "would consider" new investment at Liverpool, but Gary Neville believes a "sale makes sense".

The Athletic reported on Monday that FSG is "inviting offers" for potential new owners of the Reds, although the Boston-based company later said it was "fully committed" to the club.

The developments came as a shock to Liverpool great Carragher, even if he understands why FSG could be willing to listen to offers.

"I am surprised," Carragher said on the latest episode of Sky Sports' The Overlap. "How strong it is in terms of selling fully or trying to bring money into the club, I'm not sure.

"I just thought that with so many American owners coming into the league, I thought there was a power play in some ways where they could see something in the future given what we've seen in American sports, so I thought the owners would be here for a while.

"Maybe they woke up on Monday morning and read about how much Manchester City have made commercially and thought, 'you can't stop it, can you?!'"

FSG has come under increasing pressure in recent years, despite Liverpool's achievements since Jurgen Klopp's appointment in 2015, during which time they have won the Champions League and the club's first league title in 30 years.

John W. Henry, FSG's principal owner, was heavily criticised for his role in the club's attempts to join the failed European Super League, while a perceived unwillingness to invest in the playing squad has been blamed by some for their poor start to this season.

But Carragher believes FSG's tenure has been a success, adding: "I think FSG have done a great job at the club, and I don't think they've ever proclaimed to have the funds of Manchester United, Chelsea or Manchester City.

"They were the owners who brought the title back, the owners who brought Jurgen Klopp, the stadium has been transformed, the training ground has been transformed. They've almost been a model for clubs like Arsenal.

"Will the club ever be valued as highly as it is right now again? With Klopp as the manager and the team having been so successful over the last few years? Maybe there's something in that."

Neville thinks now might be the right time for FSG to sell up, explaining: "I think the Liverpool sale makes sense.

"FSG haven't got the money to compete with the other top teams in the league, they've already developed the stadium, they've got Jurgen Klopp, and it's now a case of for how long is he going to be around for? Two or three years?

"They certainly can't compete financially with some of the other clubs in the league, so I don't think it's as big a surprise when you look at some of the evidence."

Roberto Martinez will make a last-minute decision on whether to include injured Inter striker Romelu Lukaku in Belgium's World Cup squad.

Lukaku has been plagued by injuries since returning to Inter from Chelsea on a season-long loan in June, featuring in only three of their 19 matches this term.

The 29-year-old made his return from a thigh problem with substitute appearances against Viktoria Plzen and Sampdoria late last month, but he has since suffered a setback.

Simone Inzaghi confirmed on Saturday that Lukaku will not play for Inter again before the World Cup, which begins for Belgium against Egypt on November 23.

The Red Devils then face Canada on November 27 and Morocco four days later, and Martinez is hoping the striker will at least be available for the last of those matches.

Ahead of announcing his 26-man squad on Thursday, Martinez told L'Equipe: "The decision will be made just before we announce the list.

"It will relate to the three first-round matches. If he is fit to participate in one of those, he is a player we want in our team. If he cannot, he will not be retained."

Lukaku is Belgium's all-time leading scorer with 68 goals in 102 caps, including five goals in four matches during his side's successful qualifying campaign for Qatar 2022.

However, the Chelsea loanee's fitness remains a big concern for Martinez, who is heading into his third major tournament as Belgium boss.

"The management of the muscle injury is very personal," he said. "We are seeing signs of improvement, but we will wait until just before the announcement to give us more time.

"We have to assess the improvement in his tissues to help estimate the timeline for his recovery. If he's fit by December 1, he'll be with us."

Ben Stokes is backing England to improve on their group-stage performances when they face India in a "do or die" T20 World Cup semi-final.

Stokes' unbeaten 42 helped England to a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka on Saturday, ensuring they progressed from Group 1 after bouncing back from their below-par start to the tournament.

Things looked bleak for Jos Buttler's team when they slipped to a shock defeat against Ireland in their second group game, while they were also forced to endure a nervy finish against Sri Lanka after losing five wickets in the space of just seven overs.

However, Stokes expects England to produce a more polished display in Adelaide on Thursday, saying: "We had a few up and down moments in the group stages, but we can forget about those now. 

"We know if we execute anywhere near where we want to be then we will be a very hard team to beat.

"We're in a position now that it's do or die. What I don't think anyone will do is take a backward step. 

"We talk a lot about how we want to play when it comes to the pressure moments, and what we'll see here is us trying to deliver on what we talk about, not taking the cautious option."

Stokes was part of the England team that beat India en route to being crowned ODI world champions in 2019, and he thinks Buttler's side must replicate the approach they adopted in that win.

"It's the way we went out and played that game, rather than looking at the result, just look at the mindset and mentality," Stokes said.

"We didn't take a backward step, so I think we can take a lot of confidence, knowing that if we go in with a similar mindset then hopefully, we'll do alright."

Meanwhile, Stokes says England will trust the advice of security consultant Reg Dickason as they prepare for a red-ball tour of Pakistan next month, with the build-up to that visit being overshadowed by a gun attack on Imran Khan.

"Obviously what happened last week was a bit of a shock to see," Stokes said. "But Reg has been out there. He's the best man to assess the situation.

"Whatever Reg comes back with, the players and the people going out on that tour 100 per cent trust him, because he's a man you trust with your life."

Ecuador will keep their place at the 2022 World Cup after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled in their favour on Tuesday, following attempts from Chile and Peru to have them thrown out of the tournament. 

Chile and Peru appealed to FIFA after discovering Ecuador had used ineligible right-back Byron Castillo in their successful qualification campaign.

The Federacion de Futbol de Chile (ANPF) provided proof that Castillo was born in Colombia and not Ecuador, as stated on his official documents.

FIFA dismissed all charges in June and again in September when the fresh evidence came to light, but Chile and Peru took the case to CAS with a further appeal.

However, the hearing on November 4 and 5 adjudged that "no violation of the rules on eligibility has occurred", leaving Ecuador free to compete in Qatar later this month.

Ecuador will, however, be deducted three points in qualifying for the 2026 tournament after being found to have used false information to obtain a passport for a Colombian-born player.

The South American nation, who face hosts Qatar in the opening game of the tournament on November 20, must also pay a fine of 100,000 Swiss Francs ($101,605).

In a statement released on their official website after the verdict was delivered, the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF) suggested they may themselves appeal those sanctions.

"The Ecuadorian Football Federation is analysing the next steps to follow, since it does not share the sanction imposed," the statement read.

Castillo appeared eight times in qualifying for Ecuador, including in both of their two meetings with Chile, but he did not play in either game against Peru.

Chile argued Ecuador should forfeit the games Castillo played in, having finished fourth in CONMEBOL's qualification group, while Peru felt they should have replaced Ecuador in Qatar as they finished fifth.

With only four teams qualifying automatically, Peru instead dropped into the intercontinental play-offs and were beaten 5-4 on penalties by Australia following a goalless draw.

Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are the other nations representing CONMEBOL at the global showpiece event, which runs until December 18.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner says Max Verstappen's "perfect" 2022 campaign is the most dominant he has seen during his time in Formula One.

Verstappen retained his world title with four races to spare by emerging victorious at last month's Japanese Grand Prix, and he has since posted wins in the United States and Mexico.

The Dutchman broke F1's single-season wins record – previously shared with Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel – at the Mexican Grand Prix, securing his 14th race victory of 2022.

The numbers therefore back up Horner's claims this has been a season like no other for Verstappen.

Asked whether his driver had produced the best campaign in recent memory, Horner said: "There's been years of domination with Mercedes, but I think, as an individual driver, probably yes. 

"He's won the most grands prix in a year now, within 22 races. On top of that, he's won two sprint races, and he's not won all of them from pole position. He's had to fight and race for a lot of those victories.

"I think when we look back at the end of the year, it is an absolutely outstanding year that Max has driven. He hasn't put a wheel wrong. 

"He's been perfect throughout the season. It's incredible, the level of consistency that he's been able to achieve."

Last year, Verstappen became the first Red Bull driver to win the world championship since Vettel clinched the last of his four successive titles in 2013, and Horner believes he does not get the recognition he deserves. 

"They are two very different drivers, two phenomenally successful drivers," Horner said of Verstappen and Vettel.

"I think that what Sebastian has achieved in his career puts him among the greats and most successful drivers in the sport, but I think Max, what we're seeing today and this year, we're actually witnessing something very special. 

"I actually think his achievements sometimes don't receive the plaudits that they should, because I think what we've witnessed this year is an absolutely outstanding performance from a driver that is very much at the top of his game."

UEFA has hit out at the "greedy plan" to revive the Super League following Tuesday's meeting with the competition's backers A22 Sports, accusing them of jeopardising the future of football.

It was revealed last month that Bernd Reichart was heading up plans for a revival of the Super League, which retains the support of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus following a failed launch in April 2021.

On Tuesday, UEFA announced it had reaffirmed its opposition to the Super League project at a meeting requested by A22, which was attended by several big-name executives including Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Bayern Munich chief executive Oliver Kahn.

However, European football's governing body was infuriated by a subsequent statement from A22, accusing UEFA of seeking to preserve the "status quo" and possessing a monopoly over continental competitions.

UEFA then released a second statement of its own, saying A22 had disrespected football's organisers and possessed no concrete plans for a new Super League format. 

"A22 Sports Management has published an account of their visit to UEFA Headquarters in Nyon today. UEFA is currently checking the recording to see if they are talking about the same meeting," the statement began.

"The 'other executives' they refer to were not faceless bureaucrats but senior stakeholders from across European football; players, clubs, leagues and fans, people who live and breathe the game every day. To fail to recognise that is disrespectful.

"If there is a 'takeaway' from today, it should be that the whole of European football opposes their greedy plan, as was clearly communicated in our media release. 

"European football has constantly demonstrated its openness to change, but it must be for the benefit of the whole game, not just a few clubs.

"A22 wanted dialogue, so we gave them two-and-a-half hours of time from all of the game's stakeholders, and each one rejected their approach. 

"As the Football Supporters' Association said, the UK has had as many Prime Ministers in the last two months as they have supporters of their plans.

"They claim not to represent the three remaining clubs. They refuse to define what their alleged new approach is. They claim to want dialogue. But when presented with the chance, they have nothing to say.

"The time for real dialogue is tomorrow, when the Convention on the Future of European Football reconvenes here in Nyon. 

"National associations, clubs, leagues, coaches, players, fans, agents and administrators will gather to discuss the real issues facing the game, not to spend time indulging bankers and marketing executives on ideas that put the future of the world's favourite game in jeopardy."

Richarlison could make his Tottenham return in Wednesday's EFL Cup trip to Nottingham Forest after recovering from a calf injury, Spurs' assistant coach Cristian Stellini has confirmed.

Richarlison suffered the injury in Tottenham's 2-0 win over his former club Everton last month and subsequently said he was worried about missing Brazil's World Cup campaign.

However, the forward was included in Tite's 26-man squad for the Selecao's campaign in Qatar on Monday, and he could feature at the City Ground after returning to training this week.

"Richarlison started training with the team yesterday," Stellini said on Tuesday. "For us, it's great news.

"We've missed Richarlison, like we've missed [Dejan] Kulusevski and everyone we've missed in this last month.

"He's only just started to train with us, we can use him, but we have to be careful, and we work day by day to take the right decision."

Spurs have battled an injury crisis in recent weeks, only welcoming Kulusevski back from a hamstring injury on Sunday, while Son Heung-min sustained a fracture around his left eye last week.

Stellini warned of the need to manage players' minutes as the end of a congested pre-World Cup schedule nears, adding: "Antonio [Conte] will take the decision tomorrow for the squad.

"It's not only Richarlison or Kulusevski, but also, we've played 11 matches [since October 1] and many players maybe have a small problem or fatigue to recover [from].

"Kulusevski came back in the last match and has been an important player for us for a long time. We are really happy to use him again. 

"He's an important player, like all the players we have, because in this type of schedule, full of matches, all the players are important."

UEFA reaffirmed its opposition to the founding of breakaway competitions in a meeting with Super League backers A22 Sports on Tuesday.

It was revealed last month that media executive Bernd Reichart was heading up plans for a revival of the Super League, which endured a failed launch in the face of public and media pressure last year.

While nine of the competition's 12 founding clubs withdrew in the face of widespread criticism, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus remain committed to the project.

Reichart, who represented A22 Sports at Tuesday's meeting, told the Financial Times in October there is "a lot of sympathy" for the Super League.

Following the meeting, however, UEFA declared European football's organisers remain committed to competitions based on "openness, solidarity and meritocracy".

"UEFA accommodated a meeting request from A22 Sports, a private commercial venture, today in Nyon by offering them a chance to address all the genuine representative authorities of European football," a UEFA statement began.

"Top management of UEFA, led by president Aleksander Ceferin, and high representatives from the national leagues, clubs, players and fans, stressed together that the opposition to the self-proclaimed Super League [ESL] remains overwhelming today as it has been since April 2021.

"In line with the unity of European football, UEFA and the participating football stakeholders once again unanimously rejected the rationale underpinning projects such as ESL during today's discussion. 

"The participants took note, with surprise, the claims of A22 Sports' CEO that this company is not representing any clubs in any capacity, including the three clubs who continue to openly support the project.

"UEFA and football stakeholders remain committed to the foundations of European football, which are based on openness, solidarity and meritocracy and serve broader objectives of sporting principles and societal interest, rather than on privilege and self-entitlement.

"European football will continue to stand together firmly for the positive future development of the game and society."

As well as Ceferin, several big-name executives attended the meeting, including LaLiga president Javier Tebas, Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Bayern Munich chief executive Oliver Kahn.

Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus have continued to call for the establishment of a Super League in recent months, and are awaiting the ruling in a legal case at the European Court of Justice after accusing UEFA of possessing a monopoly over international competitions.

Eddie Jones believes England's loss to Argentina was partly down to being too focused on next year's Rugby World Cup as he accepted full responsibility for the defeat.

England were on the end of a surprise 30-29 reverse at a packed Twickenham on Sunday – only their second ever home defeat to Argentina.

The sides will meet again in their opening match of the 2023 World Cup next September, which Jones already had one eye on heading into last weekend's battle in London.

"When your team doesn't play to the potential you want, there is always something in the message that you're giving the team that's not quite clear," he said.

"We've been looking at a number of long-term strategies to get ourselves set for the World Cup. Maybe our focus wasn't tight enough on the Argentina game. 

"Maybe we were over-thinking a bit, and that's entirely my fault."

England reached the final in 2019 and are among the favourites to lift the trophy next year, alongside New Zealand, Ireland, hosts France and reigning champions South Africa.

The Red Rose endured another disappointing Six Nations campaign earlier this year, but they recovered with a battling 2-1 series win in Australia prior to losing to Argentina.

With less than a year to go before the World Cup begins, Jones is hoping to further develop his squad in time for the tournament.

"There are a cluster of teams at the top of world rugby," he said. "We want to break that cluster. To do that we have to have a number of different ways to play the game.

"This next 11 months is to get enough equipment in our armoury to play any way. 

"England rugby is traditionally about power rugby, winning the set-piece, smashing down the gain-line, but we have to learn from the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

"In the final, we came up against a side that had more power than us, and we were unable to beat them at that game."

England have made three changes to their 36-man squad for Saturday's showdown with Japan at Twickenham, which is followed by Tests against New Zealand and South Africa.

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter thinks it is unfair for Raheem Sterling to be the focus of criticism when the whole team is failing to match expectations.

The Blues had enjoyed a solid start to Potter's tenure in charge, going unbeaten in his first nine matches, but a chastening 4-1 defeat away to his former club Brighton and Hove Albion saw the honeymoon period end in abrupt fashion.

A slender 2-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb followed in the Champions League, but Arsenal inflicted a second successive Premier League loss on Chelsea at the weekend as they left Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 victory.

Chelsea's performance in that London derby was desperately underwhelming, but Potter does not want one player taking the brunt of criticism, with Sterling – who struggled against the Gunners – coming in for a lot amid a muted start to life at the club that has some questioning his England future.

When Sterling's admission that he needs to offer more was brought up at Potter's pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday's third-round EFL Cup trip to Manchester City, he said: "You can tell by his reaction, he's honest.

"Players go through moments in their career where it isn't so positive and sometimes they go through periods where everything they touch is gold, so to speak.

"I don't think you can zoom in on the individual; the team isn't functioning as well as we'd like. That has an impact on the individuals, and Raheem's part of the team, so the work is for us to improve the team, improve the structures.

"I've no doubt about Raheem's quality, ability. He's a proven top, top player."

Throughout his career to date, Potter has been praised for an ability to get the most out of his players, nurturing them to help them find a level they had not been to before.

This coaching was particularly seen at Brighton, where the club established something of a habit of signing players relatively cheaply and developing them into valuable assets.

Potter feels he has been working a similar way ever since joining Chelsea, but he was eager to point out that a significant overhaul in such a short period of time can take some adjusting to for everyone.

"You have to do that constantly," he continued. "That's what the job entails, not just for [Sterling], for lots of players because like I said, it's been a tough period.

"There's lots of things happening, change, new faces everywhere, trying to get it all to gel and settle down, and trying to develop a new playing style.

"As you can see, we've a lot of work to do, but that's why we came here, to produce a top team. There's a long way to go, but it's exciting."

Potter's excitement about the future at Chelsea certainly does not appear to have been tempered by their recent woes, and he puts that down to never kidding himself that it was always going to go well.

"I'd be lying if I said to you I didn't expect it at some point," Potter added. "When you take this job and challenge on, of course there will be times when it isn't a pleasant road.

"You have to deal with that, be honest. That's my responsibility, to take that on. We'll have a had six-week period in the end where we've had 13 matches, eight of them away.

"It takes a toll on everything. We've had injuries to key players, it can get messy, it's part of the process. I've been through it before, so it is what it is, that's part of what the job is to deal with it.

"I don't think you can ever predict football. When results were good, I was honest enough to say we still have a lot of things to improve.

"It wasn't as if we were sitting there thinking we've cracked football, by any means. Performance wise we can improve a lot. It's exciting, but that's the challenge."