England coach Sarina Wiegman believes Leah Williamson is ready to make her long-awaited return in Friday’s Euro 2025 qualifier against Sweden.

Williamson trained on her own on Tuesday after coming off at half-time of Arsenal’s Conti Cup final win over Chelsea on Sunday.

But she trained with the group on Wednesday and if she makes it through Thursday’s session unscathed she will be in contention to make her first international appearance in 12 months as the Lionesses begin their qualification campaign.

She has not featured for her country since suffering an ACL injury last April, having pulled out of a training squad in March with a hamstring strain.

“We need to manage it a little bit. She had a full training session on Wednesday, she will be on the pitch today (Thursday), so that looks really good,” Wiegman said.

“We know where she has come from, she is still building but she is in a good place and she is ready, if she comes through today OK.

“It’s just really good that she is back, first of all for herself because she is so excited to come back, that means she is fit, it is good to have a quality player in the squad.

“We are in a good place already and now we are in an even better place.”

Williamson, who returned to club duty in January, captained the Lionesses to glory in Euro 2022 and Wiegman said she would resume her leadership duties if she was selected at Wembley.

“We have another training session. Leah is our team captain – that will not change, but we want to get through this training session first and then see what final decision we make tomorrow,” the Dutchwoman added.

“If she plays, she would be captain, we just want to get through the training session and see how she is and how the team is. She needs that team environment from where she has come.”

Wiegman was asked for her opinion on Emma Hayes’ confrontation with Gunners counterpart Jonas Eidevall after that final at Molineux.

The Chelsea boss said after the game that male aggression was a problem in the women’s game, but Wiegman did not bite.

“It was a great final, very competitive, so the emotion builds up,” she said.

“I haven’t been there in that situation so I really don’t want to comment about that one day before the most important game in a couple of months for us.”

Rio Ferdinand believes Marcus Rashford may have to leave Manchester United to reignite his career.

Rashford’s form has dipped this season in an inconsistent United side, scoring just eight goals in 36 appearances.

The 26-year-old’s off-field lifestyle has also come under the spotlight after he went to a party following October’s derby defeat by Manchester City and reportedly spent an evening at a Belfast nightclub in January before missing the following day’s training due to illness.

Former United defender Ferdinand feels Rashford, whose place in the England squad for Euro 2024 this summer could be in jeopardy, needs to look at the people he surrounds himself with and possibly make a fresh start elsewhere.

“I think it’s a pivotal moment in his career now, he’s not a kid anymore,” Ferdinand told Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast.

“I think there’s a big decision to make, from him. He’s got to look at who’s around him, who are the external people? Are they the right people?

“Are they enabling him to make excuses for himself behind closed doors? Or are they saying ‘look at yourself and be accountable for what you are doing’?

“He needs to look at that and own that and make big decisions.

“When I left West Ham (for Leeds) I could have gone to Chelsea, that’s probably a club I would have preferred to go to at the time. But the reason I went to Leeds was it was out of London and the external people around me, I needed to get away from.

“He might need to go ‘you know what, I’ll get rid of them and stay in Manchester, or I’ve got leave Manchester and get rid of those people’.”

Former United captain Roy Keane suggested a more old-school approach to get Rashford firing again.

He said: “We make excuses for him. There’s a structure, a team around him. There’s no question mark about his ability but there’s something amiss with him.

“A player can have an off spell, or a dip, but he’s certainly not enjoying his football.

“The people around him, family, the manager, who’s on his case every day? There’s nothing wrong with the old fashioned kick up the a*** and going ‘come on, we need more from you’.

“I don’t think there’s anybody on his case. But that doesn’t mean he can’t produce and start running a bit more.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is braced for another Premier League title race that could go down to the final day of the season.

The defending champions are playing catch up in a tight three-way battle with Liverpool and Arsenal.

They kept the pressure on with an impressive 4-1 rout of a depleted Aston Villa side on Wednesday as Phil Foden’s hat-trick highlighted a display closer to their devastating best.

City have been in similar positions before under Guardiola and been able to put together a long winning run to come out on top.

The Catalan remains adamant his side are only third favourites to lift the trophy, but he expects his players to keep up the fight as they seek a fourth straight title.

“If we win all our games it will go until the last day because they are not five, six, seven points in front,” he said.

“It will not be easy. The feeling I have is not easy. I see Liverpool and Arsenal playing, they don’t drop points, it will not be easy.

“But we have to do our job and don’t regret, ‘Oh, we should have won that game because they lost after’. We cannot do anything, we do not play against them any more so we don’t control what Liverpool and Arsenal do. All we can do is win our games.”

Even with Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland only among the substitutes as next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looms, City turned in a dominant performance.

Although Jhon Duran cancelled out Rodri’s opener on Wednesday, Guardiola’s side had 25 efforts at goal compared to eight for Villa, with Julian Alvarez a regular threat and substitute Sergio Gomez hitting the post in stoppage time.

But when asked if it was a sign that City were hitting their stride just in time, Guardiola pointedly referenced some of the criticism directed at his side following Sunday’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal.

He said: “We were out of the title race three or four days ago and not playing good, the team was not playing like we did the last six seasons. Now we are in the best form in the league? Come on, guys…

“We’ve won a lot of the last games. I cannot say in the game against Arsenal I didn’t recognise my team. We were there all the time, we didn’t create chances because of the quality of defence and because we missed some presence in the box, but the rest, I recognise completely my team.

“That’s why we are calm. As I said, it’s tight, it’s not seven or eight points. It’s close. We have to wait. They have to lose points, otherwise it will not be possible, but again the team has been exceptional this season, exceptional.”

Wednesday’s result was a setback for Villa’s pursuit of a top-four finish, but one that came with a number of key players missing.

Ollie Watkins sat out injured while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez pulled out with a stomach problem after being initially named in the team. In total, there were six changes to the side that started Saturday’s win over Wolves.

However, Emery indicated that both Martinez and Watkins could come into contention to face Brentford at the weekend, while John McGinn will return from suspension.

“We are without some players in some positions and it’s very important again to recover,” Emery said. “We will need these players, and this was also why we try to give some others minutes.”

British racing has launched a new campaign designed to promote and share the facts around welfare in racing.

HorsePWR will have its own dedicated website (www.horsepwr.co.uk) to provide information about the sport and the thoroughbred, the lives they lead and the high welfare and safety standards within racing.

The website explores the areas that racing has committed to improve, such as the lives after racing horses go on to have, reducing risk on and off course and facts surrounding the whip.

Grand National-winning trainer Lucinda Russell said of the new campaign: “This is just what racing needs. We must provide the facts, help educate, and confront the tough questions head on.

“The facts matter. We understand our responsibility and respect our horses, and we want to make sure the public know this too.

“It’s good to see us taking a new approach, showing pride in the lives we give our horses, and challenging and correcting inaccurate information which is put into the public domain by those who are opposed to the sport.”

Robin Mounsey, BHA head of communications and member of the sport’s Horse Welfare Board, said: “The HorsePWR campaign sees the sport take a new approach when it comes to talking about welfare.

“It is about being up-front, open, and transparent. It is about tackling head-on the elements of the sport that we know are areas of concern and providing information to educate and reassure.

“Those who work in the sport are rightly proud of our record and standards when it comes to welfare. This campaign provides a platform to allow those connected with the sport to share their pride.

“It will be aimed at racing’s current and potential fans, seeking to ensure that future generations of racing followers are not lost to the sport due to negative perceptions around the welfare issues which are tackled by this campaign.

“HorsePWR has received significant support from across the racing industry, and we are especially grateful to the Jockey Club for providing additional funding to support the initial stage of the campaign.”

This afternoon’s National Hunt meeting at Warwick has become the latest victim of the current wet spell, with course officials left with no option but to abandon the fixture due to a waterlogged track.

While persistent rain continues to play havoc with the racing programme, no inspection was planned at Warwick, with only minimal rainfall forecast overnight.

However, the track posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday morning: “Following 16 millimetres of rainfall overnight and into this morning, which is a significant change from the three millimetres initially forecast, the track is now waterlogged and therefore unraceable.

“All tickets will automatically be refunded.”

Southwell’s Thursday card is set to go ahead as scheduled after the course passed a precautionary check at 7.30am, but racing at Clonmel in Ireland has been called off.

Further disruption looks likely heading into the weekend, with Friday’s meeting at Wetherby subject to a 3pm inspection this afternoon and Saturday’s Premier Raceday at Kelso also under threat.

The Borders track is due to host a high-profile card, part of which will is set to be shown live on ITV, but the ground is currently heavy, waterlogged in places and an inspection will take place at 8am on Friday to assess the latest state of play.

Lewis Hamilton has tipped Sebastian Vettel as an “amazing option” to replace him at Mercedes.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton is moving to Ferrari from next season, leaving big shoes to fill at a team where he has lifted all-but one of his drivers’ titles.

Vettel, meanwhile, has hinted at a return to the Formula One grid next year having left in 2022.

The German won four titles back to back between 2010 and 2013 with Red Bull and has recently had a test with Porsche that could see him race at Le Mans later this year.

Since 2000, three of the six world champions to leave the sport later returned to the grid, with Vettel potentially set to add to that list.

Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen all had time away from F1 before being enticed back and Vettel admitted in a Sky Sports interview on Wednesday that “it does cross my mind” when it comes to securing a new drive and has spoken to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

The departing Hamilton said it was never a consideration of his to take time away from the sport, before hailing Vettel as an ideal replacement at a team that has struggled for pace in the past two years.

“No, I’ve never thought about taking a year or two off and then coming back – When I’m gone, hopefully I’m gone for good,” he said.

“You’re always going to miss it. It’s the greatest sport in the world and it’s the greatest experience in the world and the most amazing feeling to be working with the people towards winning something.

“Probably there’s nothing that’s ever going to feel the same. I’ve not asked any of the drivers what they’re missing but I would love for Seb to come back and I think it would be an amazing option for the team.

“A German driver, multi-world championship winning driver, and someone who has amazing values who would continue to take the team forward. I’d love it if he came back.”

Pushed further on who he would like to take his seat – whether it be Vettel, reigning champion Max Verstappen or an F1 rookie, Hamilton replied: “The only thing I really care about is that the team takes on someone that with integrity.

“That are aligned with the team and where the team’s going. Someone compassionate that’s able to work with great people and continues to lift them up. There’s so many great people in this team.”

Hamilton’s current team-mate George Russell is confirmed for Mercedes in 2025 and was enthused when it was pitched to him that he could be joined by a returning Vettel.

“Sebastian’s a great person,” he said.

“He’s a four-time world champion and for sure his personality is missed on the grid.

“I think it is important that we have the best 20 drivers in the world all competing for race wins and championships.

“I’m really happy and open to have anybody as my team-mate, you know, whether it’s world champion, whether it’s a rookie, it doesn’t change how I go about my business.”

What the papers say

Bruno Guimaraes could be on the way out at Newcastle in an effort to satisfy Premier League financial rules. According to The Sun, club bosses believe they will face an uphill battle to keep the midfielder, with French giants Paris St Germain leading the chase for his signature.

The Evening Standard says Manchester United have commenced discussions about signing Nice defender Melvin Bard. The 23-year-old is said to be on the verge of a call up for France, and has emerged as an ideal candidate for the Red Devils as they look to bolster their squad with a new left-back.

Leeds are eyeing a return for Kalvin Phillips the Daily Star reports. The midfielder has made just six starts for Manchester City since making a £50million move to the Etihad from Leeds back in 2022. He is currently on loan at West Ham, but it is believed City would be willing to sell him for around £25m, with Leeds among his potential suitors – pending their promotion.

And The Times says Wolves defender Max Kilman is on Manchester United’s summer transfer shortlist.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Dani Ceballos: Newcastle are interested in the Real Madrid midfielder, Mundo Deportivo reports.

Viktor Gyokeres: Caught Offside says the Sporting Lisbon forward is high on Arsenal’s list of striker options.

George Russell believes it would have “opened a can of worms” if Fernando Alonso had not been hit with a hefty penalty following the Mercedes driver’s dramatic late crash at the Australian Grand Prix.

Alonso was handed a 20-second time penalty after Russell’s car ended up on its side having rebounded off the wall in his pursuit of the double world champion in the closing stages in Melbourne two weeks ago.

Following a post-race investigation, Alonso was found to have breached Article 33.4 of the sport’s regulations – effectively finding the Aston Martin racer guilty of driving erratically and in a manner that could be deemed as dangerous.

Speaking ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix this weekend, Russell revealed the pair had bumped into one another in a coffee shop recently but did not discuss the issue – Alonso jokingly said: “I didn’t get my coffee, that was the least that could have happened.”

Russell, though, did double down on his criticism of Alonso’s driving in Australia, and felt the Spaniard overstepped the mark of fair racing.

“I think it was a bit of a strange situation that happened – I said at the time, I was totally caught by surprise,” he said.

“If it were not to have been penalised it would have opened a can of worms for the rest of the season and in junior categories saying you are allowed to brake in a straight.

“Every driver is open to change a line, break earlier, power through the corner, do whatever. But when we start breaking in the middle of a straight, down-shift and accelerating, up-shifting again, then breaking again for a corner. I think that goes beyond the realms of adjusting your line.

“We’ve got so many duties to take care of when we’re driving… if you add into the mix that you’re allowed to break in the middle of a straight to get a tactical advantage. I think that is maybe one step too far.”

Alonso, meanwhile, continued to defend his actions and said there would have not even been a topic of debate on his driving style had Russell not ended up in the wall.

Asked if the incident would have been been forgotten had there not been an accident, he replied: “Oh 100 per cent.

“I was a bit surprised by the penalty in Melbourne but there’s nothing we can do, we have to accept it and move on and concentrate on here, but I think it will not change much on how we drive, how we approach racing.

“There is no obligation to drive 57 laps in the same way. Sometimes we go at a slower pace, to save fuel, to save tyres, to save battery.

“So all those things are completely normal and it was, it is and it will be forever in motorsport. So we had one penalty, probably a one-off that will never be applied ever again.”

Where the pair – as well as a host of other drivers – did agree was on the need to address what has become a dangerous corner on the Albert Park track.

“We lost two points or whatever it was for the team but I think the big thing is turn six in Australia is not the safest corner at the moment on that track. That’s probably for me a more important point to change for next year,” said Alonso.

Russell was in agreement, adding: “The corner is amazing, probably one of the best corners on that circuit. So I wouldn’t want to see that corner change. But it is true. If you hit that wall, you just bounce back into the track. I think everything is correct, just the position of that wall.”

England took an unassailable 2-0 lead in their ODI series against New Zealand with a 56-run win in the second match in Hamilton.

After being dismissed for a duck in the first match on Monday, opener Tammy Beaumont bounced back with a stellar 81-run stand to get England off to a hot start at Seddon Park.

Once Maia Bouchier was caught by Hannah Rowe for 20, England captain Heather Knight set about building an intimidating target alongside Beaumont.

The pair combined for 70 runs before Knight was dismissed by Jess Kerr.

Beaumont was not fazed however, continuing to belt boundaries despite the quick exits of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Alice Capsey.

She lifted England to 158 for five before she was finally dismissed by Rowe.

Amy Jones took the baton from there, contributing 48 from 40 balls as England set a lofty target of 253.

Despite a staunch 57 from Brooke Halliday and a blistering 47 off 48 balls from Izzy Gaze, New Zealand’s batters were unable to threaten England’s score, ultimately being bowled out for 196.

Sciver-Brunt led the way for England’s bowlers with three wickets from her seven overs.

The final match of the series takes place on Sunday.

Shohei Ohtani hit his first home run as a Dodger and Miguel Rojas also went deep as Los Angeles completed a three-game sweep of the San Francisco Giants with a 5-4 victory on Wednesday.

Ohtani took Taylor Rogers out over the right-center field wall in the seventh inning to extend the Dodgers’ lead to 5-3. He also singled and scored in the third.

The home run came in the 41st plate appearance for the two-time MVP, who connected for his 172nd career homer.

Tyler Glasnow allowed three runs and four hits over six innings with two walks and seven strikeouts to win his second straight start.

Dinelson Lamet struck out two in a perfect ninth for his first career save as Los Angeles improved to 7-2.

Patrick Bailey and Jorge Soler had home runs for the Giants, who dropped their fourth straight overall and fell to 1-7 in their last eight meetings with the rival Dodgers.

McCann caps Orioles’ comeback

James McCann delivered a two-out, two-run single to lift the Baltimore Orioles to a walk-off 4-3 victory over the Kansas City Royals after the game was delayed by rain for five hours.

The Royals took a 3-0 lead into the eighth inning behind a masterful performance from starter Cole Ragans, but the Orioles made it a one-run game on Gunnar Henderson’s sacrifice fly and Adley Rutschman’s RBI single.

Will Smith was called on to protect the 3-2 lead in the ninth but walked Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander singled before Jordan Westburg sacrificed. After Austin Hays was intentionally walked to load the bases and Smith struck out Colton Cowser, McCann lined a single into left for the tying and winning runs.

Ragans outpitched Baltimore ace Corbin Burnes, allowing one hit and two walks over 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts.

Judge homers as Yankees move to 6-1

Aaron Judge hit his first home run of the season and had an RBI double in the 11th inning to lift the New York Yankees to a 6-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Alex Verdugo broke a 2-2 tie in the 10th with his first home run of the season and the Yankees scored twice in the 11th on a balk and Judge’s double.

New York completed a season-opening 6-1 road trip and returns to the Bronx for its home opener on Friday.

Ketel Marte homered and Blaze Alexander added the first of his career for the Diamondbacks, who had to use pitcher Scott McGough as a hitter with the bases loaded in the 11th. He took a called third strike from Caleb Ferguson to end the game.

Newcastle midfielder Lee Bowyer was fined six weeks’ wages on this day in 2005 for fighting with team-mate Kieron Dyer during a 3-0 defeat by Aston Villa.

Bowyer appeared to be the aggressor in the extraordinary scenes at St James’ Park, resulting in the England midfielder being severely censured by his club and warned as to his future conduct.

Both players were sent off and Bowyer was banned for six games by the Football Association as well as being fined by the governing body, lifting the total amount of fines he paid for the incident to £280,000.

Northumbria Police pressed charges and in 2006 Newcastle magistrates issued a £600 fine and ordered Bowyer to pay £1,000 in costs for the offence of “causing harassment, alarm or distress”.

“A moment of madness. Do I regret it? Of course I do. Nobody wants to do that, especially on the big stage, but it’s passion,” said Bowyer when reflecting on the incident in 2022.

“Obviously people have opinions and it goes from one extreme to another, everyone puts two pence in – all of a sudden it was me and Kieron hated each other, but that wasn’t the case.”

Kristaps Porzingis tallied 27 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks and the Boston Celtics won their 11th straight home game, 135-100 over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday.

Jayson Tatum added 24 points and Jaylen Brown had 23 and seven rebounds as the league-leading Celtics (60-12) clinched the NBA’s best record and home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Josh Giddey scored 17 points and Luguentz Dort added 15 for the Thunder, who had 14 turnovers and made just 5 of 24 from long range.

Oklahoma City lost its second straight and fell into third place in the Northwest Division, one game behind Denver and Minnesota.

The Thunder were without All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the fourth time in five games due to a bruised right quadriceps.

Pistons’ Flynn drops 50 in loss

Malachi Flynn scored a career-high 50 points, but it wasn’t enough as Jalen Johnson had his first career triple-double to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 121-113 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Flynn blew past his previous career high of 27 points by shooting 18 of 25 from the field, 5 of 9 from long range and 9 of 12 on free throws in 34 minutes. The 50 points were a franchise record for a reserve.

Johnson had 28 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists and De’Andre Hunter added 26 points as the Hawks won their sixth in seven games to clinch a berth in the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

Davis keeps Lakers surging

Anthony Davis scored 19 of his 35 points in the first quarter and grabbed 18 rebounds to propel the Los Angeles Lakers to their eighth win in nine games, 125-120 over the Washington Wizards.

LeBron James had 25 points and nine assists and Rui Hachimura added 19 points for the Lakers, who completed a 5-1 road trip and are ninth in the Western Conference, one game behind Sacramento.

Jordan Poole scored 29 points for the Wizards, who are a loss shy of matching the franchise record of 63, set in 2008-09.

Pep Guardiola said Phil Foden can “do whatever he wants” in football after watching him fire Manchester City to a 4-1 Premier League victory over Aston Villa with a brilliant hat-trick.

With Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne dropping to the bench, Foden moved into a central position and orchestrated the demolition of Villa with an outstanding display, playing a hand in Rodri’s opener and then taking the game away from the visitors after Jhon Duran had levelled.

Foden restored City’s lead with a free-kick in first-half stoppage time when he found the gap that Nicolo Zaniolo left in Villa’s wall, then won it with two excellent goals just after the hour, the last of them a shot into the top corner after he had lost the ball but quickly regained it.

His second hat-trick of the campaign moved Foden on to 21 goals for the season and kept the pressure on in the title race, with the champions one point behind new leaders Arsenal and level with Liverpool who host Sheffield United on Thursday.

“What can I say? Three goals,” Guardiola said. “He didn’t start well but I think the goal helped him a lot for the mood. When Phil plays in a central position he has a sense for goals and he proved it again.

“He can do whatever he wants. He’s a real top-class player. We know it. But he is still open-minded, he has to understand the game, he has to focus on things, sometimes he’s a bit distracted in exactly what you have to do offensively, defensively, but he has a natural talent – a gift – which is special.

“The work ethic is unbelievable and he has an incredible sense of goal. When he has the ball and he’s attacking the back line he is going to score, you had that feeling. It is not easy to find it and that’s why he’s so special when he’s playing these central positions.”

De Bruyne and Haaland got a breather with next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid looming, but without them City turned in one of their better performances of the season and a vast improvement on Sunday’s goalless draw against title rivals Arsenal.

“We were better,” Guardiola said. “It’s true we conceded a few transitions and we lost a few balls and when that happens it’s a lesson we have to learn for the next game but we had incredible energy, four-five players up front and it was really good. We created a lot of chances.”

Villa remain fourth but the defeat leaves them only two points above Tottenham, who have a game in hand.

Unai Emery was without the injured Ollie Watkins and then also lost goalkeeper Emi Martinez to a stomach problem after he had been named in the starting line-up. But the Spaniard chose to make several more changes to his side – six in total from Saturday’s win over Wolves.

“It’s clear we were motivated and excited to try to be competitive, trying to keep it consistent like we are in the Premier League, but of course we were playing against Manchester City,” Emery said.

“We were competing until the 60th minute and as well we were trying to build our team with some players who are not playing a lot, we are trying to give them chances to play.

“Even when we were losing 2-1 we had some chances to score with Douglas Luiz, but they were pushing us a lot, they showed us their potential and they deserved to win.

“We will play a lot of matches in the next weeks, starting on Saturday against Brentford, and it was important to try to be intelligent playing against Manchester City. Of course we wanted to win but with some players injured and some players suspended we wanted to get some practice with some players.”