The Cincinnati Bengals will likely be without their franchise quarterback for the rest of training camp, and his status is in jeopardy for the team’s season opener.

Joe Burrow will be out “several weeks” with a strained right calf, Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Friday.

When asked to clarify Burrow’s timeline for a return, Taylor repeated his previous phrasing.

“It will take several weeks, and that’s all the information we have,” Taylor said.

Burrow came up limping after scrambling during a play in Thursday’s practice. He eventually went to the ground, where he was examined by training staff before riding off the field on a cart.

Burrow was wearing a compression sleeve on his right calf, but Taylor said he was unaware of any pre-existing injury or symptoms before the play.

Jake Browning and Trevor Siemian handled quarterbacking duties in Friday’s practice with Burrow out.

The first overall pick in the 2020 draft, Burrow is still in negotiations with the Bengals on a long-term contract extension that will likely make him one of the league’s highest-paid players.

After a shortened preseason in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, injury rehab in 2021 and appendicitis during last year’s training camp, Burrow had said earlier this week that he was hoping to play a full preseason schedule this year.

“Joe got more days this July than he’s ever had in the NFL,” Taylor said Friday. “So I feel really good about the progress we made during those July practices with Joe, and if he’s able to get back, we’ll be able to keep working with him.”

A 2022 Pro Bowl selection, Burrow has 11,774 passing yards, 82 touchdowns and 31 interceptions in 42 career games.

The New York Yankees activated slugger and reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge from the injured list Friday ahead of the team’s series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

Judge, who set the AL record for home runs last season, has been sidelined since tearing a ligament in his right toe on June 3 while crashing into the outfield wall at Dodger Stadium.

Judge faced live pitching for the first time in his rehab on Sunday and progressed to a simulated game Wednesday before rejoining his teammates in New York.

The Yankees, who enter Friday in last place in the AL East at 54-48, went 19-23 during Judge’s stint on the IL. During that span New York scored 3.88 runs per game, ranking 27th in baseball.

The Yankees are 30-19 this season with Judge in the starting lineup and 14-1 when he hits one or more home runs.

Judge is batting .291 with a 1.078 OPS in 49 games this season with 19 home runs and 40 RBI.

After hitting an AL-record 62 home runs last season, Judge signed a nine-year, $360million contract to stay with the Yankees in the offseason.

Since his first full season in the majors in 2017, no one has hit more home runs than Judge’s 235.

New York is eight games back of the Orioles in a competitive AL East and sits 2 ½ games back of a wild card spot.

Stuart Broad was content to give Steve Smith “the benefit of the doubt” after his run-out reprieve left England and Australia neck and neck after day two of the fifth Ashes Test.

Substitute fielder George Ealham, the 21-year-old son of former England all-rounder Mark, came close to swinging things decisively in the home side’s favour when he produced a lightning fast gather and throw to leave Smith scrambling.

Memories of former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting having his stumps thrown down by Gary Pratt 18 years ago came flooding back, but Smith was spared that fate as replays cast doubt over the role of wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.

He appeared to nudge a bail loose with his arm before gathering the ball and completing the run out, leading TV umpire Nitin Menon to spare Smith on 44. Australia added exactly 100 runs for three wickets after the incident, finishing 295 all out and 12 runs in front.

The decision did not go down well with the majority of the sold-out Kia Oval crowd, but Broad admitted his own grasp of the technicalities was imperfect and accepted the verdict.

“I don’t know the rules to be honest. I think there was enough grey area to give that not out,” he said.

“What are the rules? Was it the right decision? It looked like benefit of the doubt sort of stuff. The first angle I saw I thought ‘out’ and then with the side angle it looked like the bails probably dislodged.”

Broad’s bowling partner James Anderson also sought to take any heat out of the umpires’ call, telling BBC Sport: “It felt like one of those where Australia think it’s not out and we thought it was out.

“I’ve not had a proper look on the TV, but it felt like a very close decision. We have to trust that the third umpire knows what he’s doing and got the decision right.”

Smith, who top-scored with 71, accepted his near miss but doffed his cap in Ealham’s direction after admitting the Surrey second teamer had caught him unawares with his rapid response.

“It was pretty tight, but when I looked the second time it looked like Jonny might have knocked the bail before the ball came in,” he said.

“It looked a close one but it got given not out, didn’t it? He was quick! I know now he’s very quick.

“The next one we hit out there we kind of pushed and he was haring round the boundary, coming in at pace. Had I known that previously, I might have just stayed there for the single.”

England will begin their second innings on Saturday morning, with barely anything to separate the sides as an enthralling series enters its final chapter.

There have been two distinct styles on show, with England scoring at a rampant rate 5.17 across less than 55 overs and Australia taking almost twice as long to get their runs at 2.85.

The tourists have already retained the urn with a 2-1 lead, but both teams have a viable route to victory as they look to finish the series on a high.

“It’s going to be another cracker, I think. Both teams played pretty different on it but pretty successfully,” Broad said.

“At one stage when Smith was nearly run out we thought we could get a pretty decent lead, but the Aussies battled pretty hard there and I think it’s just set up to be a cracking game again. That is the way the Aussies play, they try to see off the new ball, grind you down, and see off a huge number of overs.”

Smith added: “It’s ebbed and flowed the whole way…a few of us got good starts but couldn’t go and get a big score.

“We’re 12 runs in front so it’s pretty much a one-innings game from here. One positive out of the game so far is we have put more overs into their bowlers than the 50-odd ours bowled.”

West Ham are unlikely to go back in for Manchester United captain Harry Maguire after seeing a £20million bid knocked back, the PA news agency understands.

The Old Trafford giants made the England international the most expensive defender in history when bringing him in from Leicester for £80million in 2019.

Maguire was swiftly handed the captain’s armband, but a lack of form and game time led Erik ten Hag to this month name Bruno Fernandes as United’s new skipper.

Numerous clubs have been linked with a summer move for the out-of-favour defender and West Ham have seen a £20m bid for the 30-year-old rejected.

PA understands the Europa Conference League winners are unlikely to make another move for him after seeing that bid rebuffed.

Maguire has dropped down the pecking order at United under Ten Hag, yet sources indicate he is still seen as a valuable part of the squad and stressed they are not forcing him out.

The defender has remained a key member of the England squad, despite enduring a poor 2022/23 campaign, but his place could come under threat if things do not improve before Euro 2024.

Kent dropped into the bottom two of LV= Insurance County Championship Division One as they crashed to a heavy defeat against Nottinghamshire on Friday.

Dane Patterson took five for 41 and Brett Hutton four for 44 as Kent, set a notional target of 407, were skittled for just 85 in their second innings at Trent Bridge.

The hosts had declared on 372 for six after Will Young and Ben Slater both scored 87 and Joe Clarke a blistering 73 from 40 balls.

Bottom side Northamptonshire batted out for a draw against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

The Red Rose finally declared in their first innings with a lead of 202, having reached 544 for seven with overnight pair George Balderson and Tom Hartley unbeaten on 49 and 24 respectively.

Northamptonshire were 213 for five, with captain Luke Procter and James Sales having shared an unbroken stand of 51, when the players shook hands. Emilio Gay had top-scored with 61.

Derbyshire openers Luis Reece and Harry Came shared in a county record first-wicket stand to earn a remarkable draw against Glamorgan at Derby.

The pair put on 360 as they batted throughout the final day, with Reece hitting 201 and Came 141.

Glamorgan, who had begun the day 125 ahead and hoping to force victory, failed to take a single wicket despite trying nine bowlers.

Worcestershire are in a dominant position after three days of their game against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.

Joe Leach, Dillon Pennington and Adam Finch all finished with three wickets apiece as the hosts were bowled out for 301 in their first innings, to concede a deficit of 105, despite 115 from Oliver Price.

Jake Libby then top-scored with 117 and Matthew Waite added 62 as Worcestershire built up a commanding lead of 421 by reaching 316 for eight before the close.

Yorkshire’s clash with Durham at Scarborough was abandoned as a draw as play was washed out for a second successive day.

Chelsea have agreed a resolution with UEFA that will see them hand over 10million euros (£8.57million) after owning up to “incomplete financial reporting” under the Roman Abramovich regime.

A new ownership group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital completed their takeover of the club in May last year from Abramovich, who was sanctioned over his links to Russia president Vladimir Putin.

UEFA, which has also banned Juventus from competing in the Europa Conference League this season due to financial irregularities, confirmed it was approached “proactively” by the Boehly-led consortium.

They detected instances of partial financial information being submitted in historical transactions occurring between 2012 and 2019, breaching UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play regulations.

A UEFA statement said: “Following its assessment, including the applicable statute of limitations, the CFCB (Club Financial Control Body) First Chamber entered into a settlement agreement with the club which has agreed to pay a financial contribution of 10million euros to fully resolve the reported matters.”

England’s hopes of squaring the Ashes might have turned on the tiniest of margins at the Kia Oval as Australia’s Steve Smith came desperately close to being run out by substitute fielder George Ealham in a pivotal moment in the fifth Test.

Australia were 295 all out off the final ball of the second day, 12 runs ahead, as Smith rode his luck to top-score with 71 following a scare just after tea.

The 21-year-old son of former England all-rounder Mark Ealham looked to have replicated Ricky Ponting’s famous 2005 dismissal by the unknown Gary Pratt, combining with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow to leave Smith diving for the line.

Smith initially looked bang to rights but, instead of departing for 44 and leaving his side 195 for eight, he was reprieved by TV umpire Nitin Menon.

Replays suggested Bairstow had begun to nudge one of the bails loose with his arm before collecting the ball cleanly and there was some debate over whether either bail was fully dislodged before Smith’s bat slid home.

What mattered most was the ‘not out’ decision that appeared on the big screen and the 100 runs which followed.

That was easily Australia’s most productive period of a day that had seen them embark on pedestrian go-slow in the morning session and a jittery collapse in the afternoon.

Having watched England blaze 283 in 54.5 overs, Australia crept just above that mark in 103.1, Ben Stokes taking an excellent two-stage boundary catch to end the innings in the closing moments.

England were one bowler down due to Moeen Ali’s groin strain, but Australia came out with nothing but survival on their mind, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne scoring just 13 runs off the bat in a first hour that tested English patience in the field and in stands.

Labuschagne was completely bereft of intent, scratching out nine off 82 deliveries before Mark Wood finally drew the outside edge England had spent almost 90 minutes probing for.

It looked a regulation catch for Bairstow but he froze on the spot, leaving Joe Root to hurl himself into action at first slip and claim a brilliant one-handed grab. That was the height of the pre-lunch entertainment, with the scoreboard trudging to 115 for two by the break.

Australia had put miles in the English legs and taken time out of a game their rivals need to win, but they had barely moved the dial in real terms.

The limitations of that approach were exposed in the afternoon, with England taking five for 71 to take control of proceedings. Stuart Broad played the role of ringleader, dismissing Khawaja and Travis Head in successive overs to inject some electricity into a game that had gone to sleep.

Khawaja had spent more than four-and-a-half hours in defiance when Broad speared one in from round the wicket and trapped the left-hander in front of leg. Five balls later the seamer was celebrating again, challenging Head outside off stump and getting the nick.

England continued burrowing through the middle order as James Anderson belatedly opened his account for the match in the 16th over, bowling Mitch Marsh off a hefty inside edge and cracking a long overdue smile in the process.

The mistakes kept coming, Alex Carey chipping Root’s tempter to short cover and Mitchell Starc flapping Wood straight up in the air.

Smith was shaping up to be the key figure as he reached tea on 40, but he came desperately close to a self-inflicted dismissal.

Turning back for a second as Ealham sprinted in from the deep and flung a flat throw to the keeper, he looked to be struggling as he dived for his ground.

Replays initially seemed to seal his fate, with his bat short of the crease line as the stumps were broken. He was halfway to the pavilion when he sensed something might be amiss, with the slow-motion footage suggesting Bairstow had nudged one bail loose before gathering the ball in and parting the stumps.

The images were scrutinised for a couple of minutes, analysing when and where the bails left their grooves, before Menon ruled in Smith’s favour. His decision was met with frustration among the home supporters and a healthy dose of confusion elsewhere, as the assembled pundits tried in vain to bring some clarity.

Smith added another 44 before skying Chris Woakes over his shoulder to Bairstow, who did his work well this time.

England should still have taken a lead into day three but struggled to mop up the tail. Pat Cummins made an assured 36 and Todd Murphy landed three sixes on his way to 34.

Woakes had the skipper lbw late on and Root finished things off when Stokes affected a smart catch-and-release take on the boundary to dismiss Murphy.

England will bat again on day three, with barely an inch to separate the sides.

Conor Benn’s suspension imposed for failing two drugs tests in the build-up to his cancelled fight with Chris Eubank Jr has been lifted.

UK Anti-Doping confirmed the news first revealed by Benn and his promoters Matchroom Boxing on Friday afternoon, but added that it has 21 days to appeal the verdict of the National Anti-Doping Panel, an independent tribunal.

Benn was formally charged by UKAD in April after twice testing positive for the female fertility drug clomifene in the build-up to October’s catchweight showdown with British rival Eubank Jr.

“UKAD carefully reviews all decisions in its cases before deciding whether to exercise its right of appeal,” UKAD said in a statement, before declining to comment further on the case.

Benn, son of boxing great Nigel Benn, had claimed on social media that he had been exonerated only for UKAD’s statement to indicate his case is not yet closed as the drugs agency considers whether to appeal.

“Today marks the end of a gruelling 10-month process, during which the WBC had already decided I was innocent of any wrongdoing,” Benn said on Twitter.

“After a hearing with the National-Doping Agency Panel and UKAD, I have now been vindicated for the second time.

“Hopefully, the public and various members of the media can now understand why I have maintained my innocence so strongly all the way through.

“The UKAD process has now formally ended and I remain free to fight.”

If Benn is cleared, he will reapply for the British Boxing Board of Control licence that was relinquished during his dispute with the governing body.

Promoter Eddie Hearn said he is already planning a comeback fight for the 26-year-old Londoner in September ahead of a clash with a high-profile opponent in December.

Benn had been banned from competing in the UK until his case had been heard by UKAD, although he was free to fight overseas.

The lucrative showdown with Eubank Jr is likely to be revived and having protested his innocence from the outset, Benn revealed his joy at what he considers to be the end of the process.

“Naturally, I am pleased that I can now put this behind me once and for all,” he said.

“As you can imagine the last 10 months have weighed heavily on me and I am anxious that if this happened to me, it could potentially happen to any honest, dedicated and clean athlete like me.

“I would like to thank my fans that have kept the faith when many have turned against me, as well as my team, Matchroom, my friends and family, sponsors and also my legal team, all of whom have shared a belief in me and a commitment to ensure the correct result being obtained and justice being services.

“Only with the strength of all this support have I been able to continue during this challenging time.

“I now intend to put this matter behind me and look forward. Which begins with fighting as soon as possible so I can remind everyone who I am.”

Max Verstappen vowed to kiss and make up with his race engineer following their X-rated row in Belgian Grand Prix qualifying.

Verstappen finished fastest in a wet-dry session at Spa-Francorchamps, but he will start Sunday’s 44-lap race from sixth following a gearbox penalty.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is promoted to pole position, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez second. Lewis Hamilton, on pole a week ago in Hungary, will line up in third.

Verstappen made it into Q3 – the final phase of qualifying – by the skin of his teeth and vented his anger at long-serving race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, known as GP, following the close-call.

“I should have just f****** pushed two laps in a row like I said,” said Verstappen, who sneaked through in 10th place.

“But you are through, Max,” replied Lambiase.

“I don’t give a f*** that we are P10, mate. It is just s*** execution,” came Verstappen’s fiery response.

Lambiase snapped back: “OK, and then when the track was two seconds quicker for your final lap and you didn’t have any energy left, how would that have gone down?”

A surly Lambiase added: “But you tell me what you want to do in Q3 and we’ll do it. Tyre sets, fuel, run plan.”

After returning to finish eighth tenths clear of Leclerc, Verstappen issued an apology.

“Sorry to GP for being such on the rant,” he said over the radio.

Lambiase replied: “Slowly getting used to it, Max.”

Speaking afterwards, Verstappen added: “It happens sometimes. Most of it is blocked off.

“We are mates. We can get quite emotional, quite vocal. We sort it out afterwards.”

Verstappen’s grid drop for exceeding the allocated number of four gearboxes will provide his rivals with forlorn hope they can end his seven-race winning streak.

However, the Dutchman, a winner of nine of the 11 rounds so far this season, started this race from 14th last year owing to engine penalties and still took the victory in his all-conquering Red Bull machine.

For Hamilton, the seven-time world champion faced a post-qualifying investigation from the stewards after he ran off the circuit at Eau Rouge before re-joining in front of team-mate George Russell in Q2.

Russell was forced to slow down to avoid making contact with the sister Mercedes. Race control noted the incident and confirmed they would investigate.

Hamilton finished nine tenths slower than Verstappen, with Russell even further back in eighth, 0.8sec adrift of his team-mate.

“It was definitely very hectic because it was consistently drying up,” said Hamilton after the running started on a wet track.

“It was difficult to see with the spray. I was head down, just maximining as much as I could.

“At the end, I was still a good chunk off Max. But I am really happy with the result I’ve got.”

Carlos Sainz qualified fifth for Ferrari, one spot ahead of Oscar Piastri, with Lando Norris seventh in the other McLaren.

Daniel Ricciardo finished a commendable 13th on his F1 comeback but the Australian will line up from the penultimate spot on the grid.

Ricciardo temporarily hauled his AlphaTauri through to Q2 only to see his lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.

“F***, I am sorry,” said Ricciardo when informed of the chalked-off lap. “I just lost it through Turn 3. I am sorry.”

Spa-Francorchamps is hosting the sport’s third sprint event of the year with a shortened race on Saturday to come before Sunday’s main event – the concluding round ahead of the sport’s summer shutdown.

England substitute fielder George Ealham came agonisingly close to his own Gary Pratt moment during the evening session on day two of the fifth Ashes Test at the Kia Oval.

Ealham, the son of former England international Mark, found himself in the thick of the action from the third ball of the 78th over of Australia’s innings.

Steve Smith looked to complete a risky two against the bowling of Chris Woakes, but Ealham sprinted in from the rope and hurled in a hard, flat throw that forced the Aussie batter to dive to make his ground.

It instantly provoked memories of former Durham staffer Pratt, who memorably ran out Ricky Ponting during the fourth Test of the 2005 Ashes.

Ealham was denied a similar place in Ashes history after TV umpire Nitin Menon eventually ruled Smith remained not out owing to the uncertainty over what was an extremely marginal call.

Australia were on 193 for seven when Smith dropped the ball towards the midwicket region and set off for two runs with captain Pat Cummins.

Smith stumbled briefly on his way to completing the second run and saw England substitute fielder Ealham throw in brilliantly with Jonny Bairstow dislodging the bails.

Before a decision had been made Smith started his walk back to the pavilion having seen that he was short of his ground, but replays showed that Bairstow appeared to nudge one of the bails out of its groove a fraction of a second before taking the ball from Ealham’s throw.

Further replays also demonstrated enough uncertainty over whether both ends of the bail had left their grooves before Smith made his ground with a dive.

It sparked debate and confusion amongst broadcasters but the cold reality was Smith remained at the crease.

The Marylebone Cricket Club, the lawmakers of the game, later published a statement about the decision and referenced Law 29.1.

“The wicket is broken when at least one bail is completely removed from the top of the stumps, or one or more stumps is removed from the ground,” the MCC tweeted.

“Tom Smith’s Cricket Umpiring and Scoring, MCC’s Official Interpretation of the Laws of Cricket, adds: ‘For the purposes of dismissal – a bail has been removed at the moment that both ends of it leave their grooves’.”

Smith was able to add a further 27 runs before he was eventually out for 71 after he top-edged Woakes high into the air with Bairstow taking an impressive catch on the run.