Rob Page expects to welcome Tom Lockyer back into the Wales squad in September after the Luton defender collapsed during Saturday’s Sky Bet Championship play-off final.
Lockyer was stretchered off after just eight minutes of the Hatters’ Wembley win against Coventry and remains in hospital.
But Luton boss Rob Edwards has reported the 28-year-old is “fine” and Wales manager Page said Lockyer was in good spirits during a 20-minute telephone conversation he had with the central defender on Monday.
“You are always going to phone your players and show them support,” said Page after confirming Lockyer would be absent from next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey.
“It was just to say that we are here for him, in any capacity.
“I am not going into detail of what’s happening or what’s going to happen. That’s conversations we are going to have with Luton Town Football Club.
“It would be silly of me to even suggest what those reasons (for his collapse) were and the most important thing in this is health.
“For us it’s just about getting him fit and ready for our camp in September.”
Wales, who picked up four points from their opening two qualifiers in March, travel to Latvia in September.
David Brooks has been recalled to the Wales squad for the first time since his cancer diagnosis.
Brooks, who was diagnosed with stage-two Hodgkin lymphoma while on international duty in October 2021, announced he was cancer-free in May last year.
The 25-year-old midfielder returned to club action for Bournemouth in March and started the Cherries’ last two Premier League games.
Page said: “I wanted to pick him in March. He played some minutes before that camp and I wanted to get him involved as soon as possible.
“But I get that it was too soon and it was more beneficial for him to stay behind and play for Bournemouth Under-23s in a game that was organised for him.
“Brooksy is definitely part of the changes I wanted to make post-World Cup and the way we want to play. He’s back fit, starting games in the Premier League and has the quality to be in our plans moving forward.”
Neco Williams is also included after fracturing his jaw playing for Nottingham Forest last month. The 22-year-old has not played since.
“He’s not played minutes because of the significance of the injury but he will be fit for camp,” said Page.
“You can’t take away every risk and I think he’s got a protection to wear for that reason.
“He’s so many weeks down the line so I’d think the opportunity of a refracture is very unlikely. We’ll get the medical team to assess him on camp and take away the risk as much as possible.”
Midfielder Aaron Ramsey (calf) and goalkeeper Danny Ward (dislocated finger) have also been named in Page’s 25-man squad despite fitness issues over the pair.
Skipper Ramsey has missed Nice’s last three games in Ligue 1.
Page said: “The little niggle, and that’s all it is, has probably come at a good time for him.
“He’s at an age now where he knows his body and how to manage it.
“He’s got one eye on these two games and it is not an issue. Aaron has played more football this season than he has done for the last few years.”
Bristol City youngster Joe Low has been called up into the senior squad for the first time to replace Lockyer.
Cameron Norrie has hit back at Novak Djokovic’s accusations of poor sportsmanship.
The pair had an unexpectedly fiery clash in Rome two weeks ago, with the main flashpoint coming when Norrie hit Djokovic on the ankle with a smash after the Serbian had turned away to walk back to the baseline.
In his press conference afterwards, Djokovic criticised Norrie not just for that moment but for what he perceived as the British number one celebrating in his face after winning points, as well as a medical timeout he took prior to the final game of the match.
Djokovic, who won the contest comfortably, said: “Those are the things that we players know in the locker room it’s not fair play, it’s not how we treat each other.”
Norrie did not see what the fuss was about, saying of the smash: “I apologised straightaway and I didn’t see him. I looked up and hit the ball down low. I didn’t see him turn and concede the point.
“I wanted to win, it was one of those matches where he’s one of the best players in the world and I wanted to play my best and compete as hard as I could.
“I didn’t think I was in his face at all. I think, if anyone knows me, I’m pretty vocal in some matches. It was a regular tennis match for me.
“I was feeling feeling my hip a little bit and I took the medical time-out. It is within the rules. And for him also it’s in the rules to start the match on his time – being late.”
The last comment was a pointed reference to the fact Djokovic turned up more than 10 minutes late for the match after spending time in the treatment room.
“He wanted some more time on the physio bed and the match was scheduled for 11am,” said Norrie. “And we walked out maybe 11.12am, 11.13am. I don’t think he saw any problem with that. He never said anything to me. And he never apologised.
“I asked: ‘Was that OK to do that?’ They said: ‘Yeah, it is within the rules.’ After 15 minutes, he gets defaulted. I said: ‘OK,’ and I continued warming up.
“I’ve never seen that before from any player. Regardless if it’s a tennis match or not, you turn up on time for whatever it is.”
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Djokovic’s complaints have sparked a debate in tennis about where the line is drawn between firing yourself up and disrespect towards your opponent, with Marton Fucsovics also complaining about Sebastian Baez celebrating the Hungarian’s mistakes during a match in Lyon last week.
“If you’re doing it right in front of someone’s face and looking at them and trying to taunt them, that’s not great,” said Norrie.
“I was not doing that, Baez was not doing that, and I think it’s part of the game. I love seeing players compete and really get up for the matches and really wanting to win. You see it in all sports.
“For me, I’m competing as hard as I can. I’m not trying to do it to distract the other guy or anything. This is the only time that anyone’s had an issue with it.”
Norrie could have had reason to complain about a very partisan crowd for his dramatic five-set win over Benoit Paire but the 27-year-old enjoyed the atmosphere and can expect more of the same in the second round on Wednesday when he takes on another Frenchman, Lucas Pouille.
The 29-year-old was ranked in the top 10 in 2018 but an elbow injury the following year began a downward spiral, with Pouille battling depression and turning to alcohol.
He did not play any matches in the second half of last year but returned to the circuit in January and came through qualifying here before winning his first grand slam match since 2019.
Pouille has been roared on by the French crowd and led them in a rendition of the Marseillaise on court following his first-round win.
“It’s really special,” said Pouille, who beat Norrie at Roland Garros back in 2018.
“That’s why also I think I took another 30 minutes on court to sign all the autographs, take all the pictures, because we finished pretty late and the court was still packed, and they were cheering me from the first point to the last one. The energy was just incredible. It was so many good emotions.”
Royal Ascot’s Hardwicke Stakes is still the aim for Brigadier Gerard Stakes winner Hukum, who handed Derby winner Desert Crown his first defeat at Sandown earlier this month.
Owen Burrows was happy to report the Shadwell-owned six-year-old returned to his Lambourn yard in fine fettle after his first run for 11 months.
Hukum had three screws inserted in a hind leg after suffering an injury when winning last year’s Coronation Cup at Epsom.
Having made a remarkable recovery, under a fine ride from Jim Crowley, he produced a telling burst to collar Desert Crown and take the Group Three 10-furlong prize by half a length.
“Hukum thankfully trotted up sound the next morning all good and had a little canter on Saturday. That was the most important bit,” said Burrows.
Victory over the trip opens a few more doors for the year-older brother to the brilliant Baaeed. Hukum had won over a mile and three-quarters in the past, although he has predominately raced over a mile and a half.
Burrows added: “He is trip versatile. We are just going to be in the lap of the gods to see what sort of summer we have this year.
“He doesn’t need it soft, but he does need it safe, good ground.
“Jim has always made that point and I’m in agreement. Talking to (Shadwell owner) Sheikha Hissa the following day, she was in agreement as well.
“I’ve not got him in the Prince of Wales’s or an Eclipse, but as you know well with the British summertime, if the forecast is a bit wet, we might just have to have a conversation.”
Should ground conditions be favourable, there is the fascinating prospect of a clash with stablemate Anmaat, who won Monday’s Prix d’Ispahan at ParisLongchamp.
“We have Anmaat in both the Prince Of Wales’s and the Eclipse, so it would be a nice problem to have,” he added.
“We will be watching the weather with Hukum and I always said the Brigadier Gerard would be a prep for the Hardwicke, but if the Hardwicke turned up good to firm, we might have to wait.
“There is the Eclipse at the beginning of July and a race in France in early July over a mile and a half. There is the King George at the end of July, but we will be on a constant weather watch.”
England boss Sarina Wiegman names her squad for this summer’s World Cup on Wednesday with injuries having been the major talking point in the build-up to the announcement.
Lionesses captain Leah Williamson has been ruled out of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand that gets under way on July 20 after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament last month.
Fellow Euro 2022 winner Fran Kirby will also be absent due to a knee problem and Beth Mead, who won the Golden Boot and was named player of the tournament for that competition, is a serious doubt as she recovers from an ACL injury sustained in November.
Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze (both knee) have been sidelined of late as well to add to Wiegman’s worries, while one-cap goalkeeper Sandy MacIver has made herself unavailable for selection as she focuses on recovering from a groin issue.
The injury to Williamson has prompted speculation over whether her fellow defender and predecessor as skipper Steph Houghton, who is yet to play under Wiegman, might be recalled.
The 35-year-old was included in the provisional Euros squad last summer as she worked her way back from an Achilles operation but did not make the final cut and, while featuring regularly for Manchester City of late, she has not had further involvement with England.
Speaking shortly before Williamson’s injury, Wiegman said the chances of Houghton making the World Cup squad were “not that high” while stressing she would “never close the door”.
In attack, there could be a return for Bethany England, a member of the Euros-winning squad who was last called up by Wiegman for matches in September.
The forward has scored 12 Women’s Super League goals since moving from Chelsea to Tottenham in January.
England kick off their World Cup campaign by facing Haiti in Brisbane on July 22 and will also play Denmark and China in Group D.
Their 30-game unbeaten run under Wiegman that included last summer’s Euros triumph on home soil, the first major trophy in the team’s history, ended in their most recent outing, when they were beaten 2-0 by Australia in Brentford last month.
Wiegman, a runner-up at the 2019 World Cup in France with her native Netherlands, will be at a grassroots club in Birmingham for the announcement of her 23-player squad on Wednesday afternoon.
Sutton Coldfield’s Boldmere St Michaels FC, formed in 1883, is home to 70 teams covering 18 different age groups across women’s, men’s, girls’ and boys’ football. Around 60 girls and boys are set to be taking part in half-term sessions there on Wednesday.
The Football Association said in a statement that the location decision “follows the Lionesses’ equal access success and has been made to highlight the strong connection between the grassroots game and England teams”.
It added: “This will reinforce the squad’s determination to positively impact participation levels, inspire future generations and also the crucial role grassroots clubs have played in the players’ development.”
Earlier this year the Government announced a package to boost school sport and equal access to it, which followed the England squad calling for change in an open letter published just after they won the Euros last summer.
The FA said that while that had been achieved, it remained its “strategic objective for girls to have equal access to football in the community through growing the number of girls teams within grassroots clubs and ensuring Weetabix Wildcats and Squad sessions are easily accessible”.
Captain Ryan Edwards will lead the exodus from Dundee United in the wake of their relegation from the cinch Premiership after the Tannadice club confirmed the names of six players departing this summer.
Demotion to the Championship was confirmed on Sunday, ensuring a rebuild will be required as manager Jim Goodwin – who was handed a two-year contract on Saturday – bids to shape his team for a tilt at instant promotion.
Skipper Edwards, who joined three years ago, will leave under freedom of contract, along with Liam Smith, who had four seasons at Tannadice, Ian Harkes and Peter Pawlett, both of whom arrived at the club in January 2019.
On-loan pair Jamie McGrath and Loick Ayina will return to their respective parent clubs, Wigan and Huddersfield.
“Dundee United wish to thank all six players departing for their efforts in Tangerine and wishes them all the best for the future,” the club said in a statement on Tuesday.
Caernarfon is reminding Jack Channon of some of the great fillies of his past ahead of her tilt at the Betfred Oaks at Epsom on Friday.
The daughter of Cityscape provided Channon’s father Mick with success in the Montrose Fillies’ Stakes last autumn and it would be somewhat fitting if she was to build on her 1000 Guineas fourth and provide the younger Channon with a Classic victory in his first season since taking over the training licence at West Ilsley.
As well as assisting his father, Channon has previously spent time working for Clive Brittain, and having been encouraged by what he has seen from Caernarfon since Newmarket, is now looking forward to her next big-race assignment, believing she compares favourably with some former top-class fillies.
“We’re really excited and she ran an absolute belter in the 1000 Guineas,” said Channon.
“I’ve been very lucky to have been around some very good fillies in the shape of Rizeena and obviously some of dad’s very good fillies – Samitar, Queen’s Logic, Music Show, Nahoodh and all those – and it’s very exciting to have one again. They are very hard to come by, but she gives me a similar feel to some of those good ones.”
Caernarfon was staying on strongly in the closing stages of the 1000 Guineas but will now have to prove her stamina as she takes the leap up to a mile and a half on the Downs.
However, Channon has always felt she would benefit from tackling further than a mile and is quietly confident she will take the challenge of the Oaks in her stride.
He continued: “Her work has taken a step up since Newmarket and she did a wonderful piece of work on Friday that has got everyone very excited. We’re quietly hopeful she stays.
“We felt going into the Guineas she would benefit from going up to a mile and a quarter. It’s one of those where we don’t know if she will stay a mile and a half but she has all the assets to and she looks a stayer physically, even if her pedigree doesn’t reflect that.
“The way she runs and the way she races will say there is a chance and she looks to have improved a bundle since the Guineas.
“Her work has improved immeasurably and her well-being and her coat and everything else, I couldn’t be happier with. We’re excited to give it a whirl.”
Willian understands the frustration Arsenal will have after their failure to push on for the Premier League title, but believes the Gunners can challenge again next season.
Arsenal came close to ending a 19-year wait for a top-flight title before a late-season collapse saw incumbent holders Manchester City seize another crown.
The manner of Arsenal's faltering finale represented a dramatic downturn after they had led the Premier League table for 248 days of the season.
Willian, who spent a single campaign at Emirates Stadium during the 2020-21 season, has backed his former club to be challengers again soon enough.
"When I was there, I could see that Arsenal had a bright future ahead of them very close because of the way [Mikel] Arteta was working," the Fulham attacker told Stats Perform.
"The way I saw him working the team, I had no doubt that Arsenal would be back fighting for the top in the next few years.
"Unfortunately, they were fighting with a team that [is on] another level. It's an outstanding team. It's not easy to fight for the title with Manchester City.
"They must have a sense of frustration. They were fighting for the title the whole [season], and they let the title slip away practically.
"But they are back in the Champions League. Of course, there must be a bit of frustration, but they have to be happy with what they did.
"Without a doubt, Arsenal [had] an excellent year, and they have everything to fight for the title again next season."
City's latest title is their fifth Premier League crown in six seasons under Guardiola and looks poised to form part of a generation-defining treble with the FA Cup and Champions League finals to come.
The latter in particular remains the chief honour left for the club to win, and Willian believes that it is Guardiola's intelligent grasp of his squad that makes them such a threat.
"I think Guardiola, with his ideas, [is key]," he added. "He converges that with the execution of the players, which are, as they say here, "top class" players.
"I heard Guardiola once say that he gives the ideas, he tells them what to do, but they also have to have quality on the pitch. Otherwise, it's no use.
"He is a great manager, I think the best in the world in years, and together with the quality of the players on the field, City is very strong and hard to be beat."
Jayson Tatum lamented an untimely injury while Grant Williams bluntly said the Boston Celtics "got punked" after their defeat to the Miami Heat.
The Celtics fell short of becoming the first team in NBA history to win a seven-game series after going 3-0 down, as the Heat ended their season with a 103-84 win in Boston.
With talisman Tatum hampered by an ankle injury that he sustained on the first play of Monday's game, the Celtics could not get going as Jimmy Butler led the Heat to the NBA Finals.
Tatum finished with 14 points on 5-for-13 shooting, and was left to reflect on a missed opportunity.
"It was just frustrating that I was a shell of myself," Tatum said.
"It was tough to move. Just frustrating, with it happening on the first play."
Williams' assessment was a blunt one.
"We got punked," the Celtics forward told ESPN.
"We didn't play our game from start to finish. Defensively, we just lost it all, and then offensively we were scrambled and trying to do everything ourselves and just didn't go our way.
"You hate to have that be the end of your season, especially with the fight that we've shown. But shots didn't fall either, so that didn't help. It's just tough."
"[We were] missing shots, and then they're coming down and hitting shots," added Marcus Smart.
"It puts a lot of pressure on our defense to get stops. They were hitting some shots and they got in a rhythm and we weren't making ours."
German Jorg Schmadtke has been appointed as Liverpool’s new sporting director.
The 59-year-old, who left a similar role at Bundesliga side Wolfsburg at the beginning of 2023 after more than four years, will take up his post on June 1 once work permit formalities have been completed.
He will replace Julian Ward, who is due to leave the club this summer after more than a decade.
Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon told the club’s website: “Firstly, I would like to welcome Jorg to Liverpool Football Club in the knowledge that he will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience into a role in which such qualities can only be beneficial both to him and us.
“Jorg will work with our football operations department as it continues to provide support for Jurgen Klopp, in keeping with our ongoing endeavour to keep growing and developing the club in all areas.
“At the same time as we welcome Jorg, we must also bid a fond farewell to Julian Ward, who has served us with unstinting diligence, fortitude and energy in a number of roles, the most recent one being sporting director.
“We wish Julian and his young family the very best for the future and thank him for everything he has done for Liverpool FC during the past 11 years.”
Former goalkeeper Schmadtke made more than 300 Bundesliga appearances for Fortuna Dusseldorf, Freiburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach during his playing career before moving into administration.
He had spells at Cologne, Hannover and Alemannia Aachen before joining Wolfsburg.
Schmadtke joins a club which, by compatriot Klopp’s admission, endured “a bad season”, finishing fifth in the Premier League and missing out on Champions League football next term as a result.
Highfield Princess is fully on course for the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot following her good return to action at York.
John Quinn’s stable star gave best to the match-fit Azure Blue in the 1895 Duke of York Stakes, but nevertheless ran a fine race to finish second, beaten only half a length.
It is a result that gives hope the six-year-old can replicate the blistering form she showed last season when she entered the winner’s enclosure on five occasions, picking up a hat-trick of Group One contests in the process.
The daughter of Night Of Thunder has shown her versatility over the years and although returning over six furlongs on the Knavesmire, she will drop back to the stiff five furlongs of the King’s Stand when appearing at the Royal meeting next month.
“She’s in grand nick and has come out of York fine,” said Quinn.
“She will go to the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot next, all being well.”
It is 20 years since Aussie speedball Choisir did the King’s Stand/Jubilee Stakes double, but although holding entries for both sprinting Group Ones at the showpiece fixture, Quinn is unsure if his flying mare will attempt to become just the second horse along with Blue Point to achieve that rare feat since.
“I don’t know,” he continued. “She’s in both races and we’ll jump the first hurdle and she will be in the other race if we so decided. Tuesday is the aim.”
Chelsea have announced the appointment of Chris Jurasek as their new chief executive while president of business Tom Glick is set to leave after less than a year in his role.
The Blues’ 12th-place Premier League finish in owners’ the Clearlake group’s first season has led to Mauricio Pochettino being named head coach and tasked with improving their on-field fortunes.
Further upheaval off the pitch came with the announcement that Jurasek will oversee all business areas at Chelsea and report to the board alongside co-sporting directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley.
“I’m delighted to be joining Chelsea, a club which is loved and followed all over the world,” Jurasek said. “I’m enormously proud to be leading it into the next chapter in its rich history.
“We have huge opportunities to grow on and off the pitch and to engage our exceptional fans both in London and wherever they are supporting us from.”
Behdad Eghbali and Jose E Feliciano, co-controlling owners, said: “Chris’ skill and expertise will help us to drive the club forward in all areas, particularly in supporting our long-term plans for Chelsea.
“Our focus will continue to be on ensuring the club is competitive and sustainable both from a sporting and business perspective, with a talented and ambitious leadership team.”
Former Manchester City executive Glick will be exiting the club, having only been appointed last July – although no departure date was announced by the club, who said the former president of NFL franchise the Carolina Panthers wanted “to pursue other opportunities”.
Glick will work closely with Jurasek in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition before leaving.
Erik Spoelstra hailed the "intimate" and "raw" relationships within the Miami Heat's roster after his team overcame the Boston Celtics to reach the NBA Finals.
The Heat had squandered a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals, but Game 7 went their way in emphatic fashion.
Jimmy Butler led Miami with 28 points as the Heat won 103-84, ending the Celtics' bid at history in the process.
Boston was aiming to become the first team to win a seven-game series after losing the opening three encounters, but it was not to be.
"It wasn't scripted," Spoelstra told reporters.
"When you have such an intimate relationship with a locker room and they have it with each other, the staff has it with them, they have it with the staff, sometimes it's just whatever's raw, whatever's real at that time.
"Professional sports is just kind of a reflection sometimes of life, that things don't always go your way.
"The inevitable setbacks happen and it's how you deal with that collectively. There's a lot of different ways that it can go. It can sap your spirit. It can take a team down for whatever reason.
"With this group, it's steeled us and made us closer and made us tougher.
"These are lessons that hopefully we can pass along to our children, that you can develop this fortitude.
"Sometimes you have to suffer for the things that you want. Game 6, the only thing that we can do is sometimes you have to laugh at the things that make you cry."
The Heat are only the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to make the Finals, after the 1999 New York Knicks.
Butler was named the Eastern Conference finals MVP, and has full confidence the Heat can go all the way against the Denver Nuggets.
"I just know why coach Pat [Riley] and coach Spoelstra wanted me to be here," Butler said. "That's to compete at a high level and to win championships.
"I know that the group that they put around me at all times is going to give me an opportunity to do so.
"I know the work that we all put into it, so I know what we're capable of. Nobody is satisfied. We haven't done anything. We don't play just to win the Eastern Conference; we play to win the whole thing."
Spoelstra reserved special praise for the Heat's talisman.
"There's no way to quantify the confidence that he can instil in everybody. Jimmy has never had to apologise," Spoelstra said of Butler.
"I don't want him to ever apologise for who he is and how he approaches competition. It's intense. It's not for everybody, and we're not for everybody.
"That's why we think it's like an incredible marriage. We never judge him on that. He doesn't judge us for how crazy we get. It's the same language. But the confidence level that he can create for everybody on the roster is incredible.
"He's gnarly, but he knows how to have a soft touch to give somebody some confidence at the right time. That's the special gift that he has."
Adam Peaty insisted adding more gold medals to his already bulging collection would not be the cure-all to his struggles.
The three-time Olympic gold medallist withdrew from the British Swimming Championships last month after citing mental health issues and later admitted he had been on a “self-destructive spiral”.
Peaty has spoken previously about periods of depression and problems with alcohol, which he admits worsened last year as he struggled with injury, motivation and the breakdown of his relationship with the mother of his young son.
He remains hopeful of heading to the Paris Olympics next year as he looks for a third straight title in the men’s 100 metres breaststroke but was adamant that doing so would not be a silver bullet for him.
“A good friend of mine said a gold medal is the coldest thing you will ever wear,” Peaty told BBC Breakfast.
“It’s the coldest thing because you think it will fix all of your problems. It will not.
“I took a break because I was on this endless search of a gold medal or a world record and I looked into the future and I said ‘OK, if I do get that is my life fixed or any better?’ No.
“So take the time now to really think about who you are, what you want out of life and then get the gold medal.
“Hopefully when I get to the Olympics I will be in a very good mindset, very grateful and most importantly happy.”
What the papers say
Tottenham will try to resist offers from Manchester United for striker Harry Kane. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy reportedly declared he is against letting Kane go to a Premier League rival, according to the Mirror.
Bayern Munich are looking to challenge Arsenal for the signature of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, with the German club reportedly prepared to pay £95million for the England international’s services, the Mirror said.
To accommodate the gap left by Rice, the Sun reports West Ham are favourites to sign Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse for around £40million.
The Telegraph said Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is confident he can sway Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount to join the club.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
James Maddison: The Leicester midfielder has attracted interest from Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle after his club were relegated, the Mirror says his signing fee will be around £40million.
Martin Odegaard: The Arsenal midfielder is being scoped by Paris St Germain.
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