Erik Ten Hag is confident Manchester United’s encouraging run will not be derailed by Lisandro Martinez’s knee injury.

The Argentinian defender was forced off in the second half of last weekend’s victory over West Ham and faces two months on the sidelines after suffering ligament damage in his right knee.

It was only Martinez’s fourth game back following a lengthy spell out because of a recurrence of a foot issue, with United winning three of those matches and drawing one.

“It is a setback, of course. Licha was returning, you see his contribution to the team when he is playing, apart from the technical skills also the mentality,” said Ten Hag.

“It is a big setback for Licha, he is very disappointed about it but he is a fighter. He will be back stronger and we think he’ll be back by the end of the season so there are games to play.

“As a squad, we have to replace him and we have very good players in that position who can play there and will play there. As a squad we have to deal with it.”

Raphael Varane replaced Martinez while Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans are also options for Ten Hag for Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa.

“We have options, how to deal with that position,” said the Dutchman. “We have good centre-halves in our squad. The others are all available, Luke (Shaw) can play also there.

“I’m quite confident we can keep this process going, that others can fulfil that position and also contribute, play in high levels. Those players are experienced and are very good players so it’s up to them now.”

United have been plagued by injury problems this season and Ten Hag revealed Aaron Wan-Bissaka suffered a setback in training on Thursday, while Mason Mount and Tyrell Malacia also remain sidelined.

Martinez attempted to play on after initially going down, but Ten Hag does not believe that had an effect on the eventual diagnosis.

“I don’t think so, but it was his decision,” said the United boss. “He was comfortable to be back on the pitch but after he tried and then I think stopped in the next attack.

“In some situations it is clear and obvious but there is always a grey area and it’s very difficult to see when you are on the sideline. We have the screens and we see it as well, and our medics are over there and they are communicating with the player, but to assess in one or two minutes is impossible.

“You need 24 hours minimum and sometimes even longer, so how can you do this in two minutes?”

Ten Hag, meanwhile, welcomed the news that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is reportedly keen to invest heavily in Old Trafford.

“If that is his view then I would say it expresses the ambition of this club, which is good. But it is not my task in this club to deal with stadium questions, with facilities, my job is to manage the team and to build the squad,” said Ten Hag.

Another three points on Sunday would be a major boost to United’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League and the associated financial injection that would provide.

They go into the clash eight points behind Villa but at a slightly shaky moment for Unai Emery’s team, who have won only one of their last five matches.

“I’ve said to the team from the start of January, every game is now a final,” said Ten Hag.

“That was also our approach to West Ham. We were one point behind them but this is a final, we have to take this challenge, we have to see this as a final. That will be every game from now on so we are already in that mood.”

Major champions Brooks Koepka and Graeme McDowell are poised to swap their golf clubs for the racecourse later this month to watch their Cheltenham prospect Givemefive run in Kempton’s Coral Adonis Juvenile Hurdle.

Trained by Harry Derham, the four-year-old has made a flying start to his juvenile hurdling career, impressing at Warwick when an 18-length winner last time.

Givemefive carries the colours of Smash Racing, a syndicate that includes Northern Ireland’s 2010 US Open hero McDowell and his American colleague Koepka, who claimed back-to-back victories in the same event in 2017 and 2018 and has also won three PGA Championships.

They became owners in Derham’s yard after McDowell challenged the young handler to a nearest the pin shoot-out during a Pro-Am golf tournament, promising to put together a syndicate to own a horse if Derham came out on top.

Koepka’s good friend Daniel Gambill is also involved with the gelded son of Holy Roman Emperor and a break in the golfing calendar means both Koepka and McDowell are hoping to pay a visit to the Sunbury venue on February 24 before carrying on to their next assignments.

Derham said: “They are going to come because they are flying from Florida to the Middle East and are going to stop over, hopefully watch ‘Five’ run really well and then carry on to the Middle East.

“I don’t think Brooks has ever been racing, but he’s a first-time owner who has had a horse who has won two races so is obviously enjoying it.

“He’s really enthusiastic about it and he and one of his best mates, Daniel, own the horse with Graeme. They are obviously loving it because they have a really exciting horse and it will be good to give them a nice day out at Kempton – and hopefully ‘Five’ will read the script.”

Givemefive’s run in the Adonis could tee-up a shot at the Cheltenham Festival for the big-name owners and after winning his first two outings with ease, the Grade Two event will determine if they have a genuine Triumph Hurdle contender on their hands, or if they should aim at the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.

“Givemefive is going to run in the Adonis and depending on how he gets on there, he could run at Cheltenham,” continued Derham.

“The Adonis will tell us more (about him). He was really impressive last time out, but that form didn’t work out yesterday (when Orchestra was beaten at Ludlow).

“I don’t think he has done enough to run in the Triumph straight away and officially on ratings he has a stone to find with the favourite, which sounds quite a lot, and the Adonis will tell us.

“I’m not using the Adonis as a stepping stone though, and for a trainer who has only been training a year, it is an enormous deal to have a runner in that race and we will go there all guns blazing.”

Ireland assistant coach Mike Catt insists there is plenty more to come from rookie fly-half Jack Crowley ahead of his maiden Guinness Six Nations appearance in Dublin.

Crowley celebrated his full debut in the championship by overcoming a few kicking errors to help his country register a thumping 38-17 round-one win away to France.

The 24-year-old is expected to retain the number 10 jersey for Sunday’s clash with Italy at the Aviva Stadium as head coach Andy Farrell searches for Johnny Sexton’s long-term successor.

England World Cup winner Catt believes “nothing fazes” Crowley and was impressed by the Munster player’s response to a nervy start in Marseille.

“It’s something Andy has been driving over the past number of years,” Catt told the Irish Mirror.

“It’s ‘don’t get in the way of yourself, don’t worry about it. It’s gone’.

“For a man with inexperience, to block it out like that is very good. Nothing fazes him, like a lot of the boys in the team.

“We still haven’t seen the best out of Jack, there’s still a lot more to go, but it’s not a bad start.”

Crowley made his Six Nations debut with a three-minute cameo in a 34-20 victory in Rome last February.

Following 13 points at Stade Velodrome last Friday, he is likely to be given far more time to shine against Italy this weekend, with Farrell set to name his team on Friday afternoon.

Ireland, who have won 23 of their previous 24 Six Nations clashes against the Azzurri, are strong favourites to extend their winning run on home soil to 17 matches.

Back-row forward Jack Conan feels the demolition of pre-tournament favourites France showed a “snippet” of how good the reigning Grand Slam champions can be as they ruthlessly responded to the disappointment of their World Cup quarter-final exit in October.

“We had already closed the chapter on the World Cup but for our next performance to be a good one and get a win was huge,” Conan, who came on as a replacement against Les Bleus, said, according to RTE.

“I don’t think there was a hangover from the World Cup but it’s definitely important that you are not backing up losses even though there’s months in between it.

“It was a good start to the campaign. There was so much energy and freshness to the squad from the World Cup.

“The lads bounced into camp and were so eager to get back to winning ways and to show how good we can be and that was a snippet of how good we can be at the weekend.”

Title-chasing rider Sean Bowen was delighted to return to the saddle at Huntingdon on Thursday, despite being narrowly denied a dream comeback aboard Roccovango.

The 26-year-old has been leading the race to be crowned this season’s champion jockey for several months, but has been sidelined by an injury since suffering a nasty fall from from Gordon Elliott’s Farren Glory in the Grade One Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on Boxing Day.

During the intervening period, Harry Cobden has significantly eroded Bowen’s advantage, with only four winners splitting the top two prior to Thursday’s action.

Bowen headed to Huntingdon for a solitary ride for his boss Olly Murphy, with Roccovango a 3-1 shot for the Mulberry Developments Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.

Despite being hard at work some way from home, Roccovango responded to his rider’s urgings to ensure he was still in the fight jumping the final flight, but in the end he had to make do with the runner-up spot, going down by a neck to 11-10 favourite Nordic Tiger.

“It’s nice to be back and the horse ran well. We didn’t quite get there in the end, but it was a nice one to get me back started on,” Bowen said.

“To be fair he absolutely winged the last and showed a good attitude, but he just couldn’t get me the fairy tale comeback.

“All felt in good working order and I’m good to go.”

When asked if it has been tough watching Cobden eat into his lead since the turn of the year, the jockey added: “You can’t get frustrated by it because when I was off, unless Harry was doing something seriously wrong, he was going to ride a lot of winners in that time.

“It was inevitable what was going to happen and I just need to come back and ride plenty of winners.”

Weather permitting, Bowen’s next port of call is Kempton on Friday before he heads to Newbury to partner the Murphy-trained Go Dante in the Betfair Hurdle.

The latter has been saved for this lucrative prize since winning at Cheltenham in mid-December and his rider is looking forward to being reunited with the eight-year-old this weekend.

“I’ll have a couple of warm-up rides and he’s the exciting one for the weekend,” said Bowen.

“I saw him the other day and he seems in really good form, so he’s one you’ve got to be looking forward to.”

Jonny Lomax says St Helens will draw on relative adversity and relish their unfamiliar role as underdogs when they kick off the new Betfred Super League season next week.

Saints saw their four-year reign end in a play-off semi-final defeat to Catalans Dragons in October, and will lose their status as world club champions to either Wigan or Penrith.

The 33-year-old Lomax, who was confirmed as his club’s new captain earlier this month, will also be leading Saints into something of the unknown this year following the retirement of talismanic hooker James Roby after 551 appearances.

But Lomax, the obvious choice to step into Roby’s shoes, believes the unusual situation will bring out the best in a club that had grown accustomed to both starting and finishing the season on top of the pile.

“Last season still hurts but having had the pressure of chasing more titles released in some ways, there’s a new excitement and a hunger to go out and chase it again,” Lomax told the PA news agency.

“It’s a nice tag being champions, but now someone else has to wear that and take the added pressure and scrutiny that comes with it.

“When you are winning all the time we are never satisfied. If we’d won the title last season we’d have wanted number six then number seven. When you’re chasing something, it really makes you appreciate the ups and downs that get you there.”

Lomax is better placed than most to acknowledge the difficulties of sustaining a career at the pinnacle of the sport.

He overcame a life-threatening head injury as a teenager, after which doctors told him he would never play again, plus three serious ACL surgeries that left him contemplating retirement.

Lomax admits that none of those setbacks were far from his mind when he was asked to replace Roby as captain by head coach Paul Wellens last month.

“I was a little bit taken aback and emotional when I was given the task,” he admitted.

“The good is never without the bad. We see the bad as something we want to push away, but the reality is that that’s where you learn the most – the good habits, the good practice, the resilience and desire to keep showing up.

“It’s probably more about the down moments. They make the highs feel sweeter, and they have probably shaped me into the person who others see as having the right mindset to lead by example.”

There were few higher points for Lomax than their stunning world club win over Penrith in Sydney a year ago, when half-back partner Lewis Dodd converted a golden point drop goal.

And the pain of seeing that title slip from their grasp – potentially into the hands of their Lancashire rivals – at the DW Stadium later this month, is evident for a player who signed for Saints as a 14-year-old in 2005.

But he believes the way in which Penrith responded to the crushing disappointment of their loss to Saints by going on to retain their NRL title last season provides a blueprint for a similar revival.

“To see Penrith go on and win it (the NRL) after that, and to see how that disappointment really drove them on, is a lesson for us,” added Lomax, who is anticipating Wigan’s crack at the Australian champions with mixed emotions.

“In some ways I hope they (Wigan) win,” he smiled. “The NRL is the pinnacle competition, certainly from a financial perspective, but at the same time I think we are guilty of downplaying our own competition a bit.

“We should be proud of the competition and the players we’ve got here. There are players who are certainly good enough to go to the NRL but for whatever reason they might not want to. I think we should champion ourselves a bit more.”

The future of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone has been secured for another decade following the announcement of a new long-term deal.

Silverstone’s five-year contract with F1’s American owners Liberty Media was up for renewal this summer.

And while – unlike in previous years – the race at the Northamptonshire track owned by the British Drivers’ Racing Club was not in major doubt, Thursday’s announcement safeguards one of the jewels of the country’s sporting summer until at least 2034.

The deal is understood to be worth around £300million, or £30m per year.

A record-breaking crowd in excess of 150,000 attended last year’s Grand Prix with nearly half a million spectators passing through the gates over the course of the weekend.

F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali said: “I am delighted to announce that the British Grand Prix will remain on the calendar for 10 more years with this agreement.

“Silverstone is an iconic venue at the heart of F1 history and as it approaches its ninth decade hosting Grands Prix, the event continues to attract fans from around the world for fantastic racing on track and the amazing fan experience off it.”

Silverstone chief executive Stuart Pringle added: “This long-term commitment reflects the importance of the British Grand Prix to Formula 1 and their acknowledgement of our ability to deliver a world-class experience.

“The cheers of support for the home teams, and particularly for the British drivers on the grid, makes the Silverstone atmosphere unique.”

The British Grand Prix has been an ever-present on the F1 calendar, dating back more than 70 years, with Silverstone staging the sport’s first world championship race.

Liberty has flirted with the idea of staging a street race in London, but a number of roadblocks have thwarted any serious progress.

Liberty has also been criticised for taking the sport away from its traditional European heartland. But the American conglomerate’s commitment to Silverstone comes just weeks after a new race in Madrid was confirmed from 2026.

The new F1 season starts in Bahrain on March 2, with Silverstone hosting the British GP on July 7.

Recently-appointed co-captain Rory Darge will start Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations match at home to France following six weeks out with a knee injury.

The 23-year-old Glasgow flanker takes over the number seven jersey from previous skipper Jamie Ritchie, who drops out of the 23 altogether, in one of three changes – all in the forward-line – to the team that started the 27-26 win away to Wales.

Darge, who has recovered quicker than anticipated from an injury sustained away to Edinburgh on the last weekend of December, is listed as co-captain alongside stand-off Finn Russell for the Murrayfield showdown with a French side aiming to bounce back from their chastening 38-17 home defeat by Ireland.

Number eight Jack Dempsey and lock Grant Gilchrist, who was suspended last weekend, return to the side in place of Luke Crosbie and Richie Gray, both of whom picked up tournament-ending injuries in Cardiff.

The backs department is unchanged, meaning Kyle Rowe, who made his first international start in Wales, continues at full-back in the absence of the injured Blair Kinghorn.

On-form Saracens back-rower Andy Christie has been named among the subs after missing out on the 23 last weekend.

This afternoon’s meeting at Doncaster has been called off due to heavy snow.

Having initially passed an early morning inspection, snow began to fall about an hour before the first race.

As the opening contest approached at 12.55pm, it was snowing heavily and by the time the jockeys had entered the paddock to mount, an inspection was called.

A deputation of course officials, jockeys and stewards went out on the track but even in the short time that took, visibility was getting worse and the meeting was soon abandoned.

Clerk of the course Paul Barker told Sky Sports Racing: “It’s very disappointing.

“I walked it this morning it was nice and we’d had nothing overnight. I walked it again at 10.30am with the stewards panel chair and it had just started to sleet and no snow but nothing was settling.

“Jockeys were arriving and so were the trainers and all were happy.

“Then about 45 minutes before the first, the snow started falling heavier and never really stopped.

“Concerns were raised by everybody during the inquiry and I spoke to the weather station who said we had about 45 minutes more snow and then it wasn’t going to thaw.

“You just can’t beat Mother Nature.”

Doncaster was not the only fixture called off on raceday, with officials at Thurles cancelling their card due to heavy rain.

Friday’s fixture at Kempton is also subject to a precautionary inspection at 7.30am due to the threat of rain, while Bangor’s card will have to pass an initial 4pm inspection with the course currently waterlogged.

Plans for Gaoth Chuil are still to be finalised after Ted Walsh’s consistent mare continued her fine campaign when finishing second at the Dublin Racing Festival.

The six-year-old, whose name translates to tailwind in English, has proven a progressive performer this term and after two placed efforts over two and a half miles, relished the step up in trip at Christmas when striking at Leopardstown in a Pertemps qualifier.

She looked poised to add to her tally in the Irish capital last weekend when fighting out the finish of the valuable Listed handicap with Maxxum, but eventually went down fighting by less than a length to her game rival.

Walsh said: “She’s a good, sound filly, a nice little filly who does everything well. She tries her heart and soul out and is probably getting to the limit of what she can do now after crawling up the handicap, but she has had a good year.

“It would have been nice if she had won the other day, it was a big pot, but she ran nicely to be second.”

Gaoth Chuil is currently disputing favouritism for the Pertemps at the Cheltenham Festival, but despite being delighted with his charge’s efforts this term, Walsh is hesitant to commit the mare to Prestbury Park, pointing out there are other options which may appeal to owner Michael Ryan.

On Cheltenham, Walsh added: “It will all depend, it’s four or five weeks away and I’ll see what the race is looking like.

“If everything was suitable, she might, but Michael Ryan likes Liverpool, he’s had a lot of luck there over the years with Al Eile, who won four times there.

“If he feels like he wants to go to Cheltenham, we will go to Cheltenham – and if not, we will go to Liverpool. She could even stay at home for Fairyhouse and Punchestown, there’s no set idea yet.

“She’s good enough to run respectably at Cheltenham, but whether she is good enough to win it, there is a question mark.”

Gaoth Chuil may end up at Aintree in the spring, but one horse not making the trip to Merseyside this year is Grand National regular Any Second Now.

Third to Minella Times in 2021, he returned to finish second to Noble Yeats 12 months later. However, his third crack at the world’s most famous steeplechase saw the veteran pulled up early into the second circuit, with Walsh feeling he has now seen enough of the famous spruce.

“He ran disappointing in it last year and looked like he had maybe been there once too often,” continued Walsh.

“He’s 12 and not favourably treated in the handicap in England, so there are a whole lot of reasons and when you add them all together, he hasn’t shown a lot in his two runs so far this year and we decided not to go for the English National.

“He had a 10 or 11lb higher handicap mark in England when I entered him in Warwick. He can’t perform well off the mark he has here at the moment, so it is asking a big question to perform off such a figure in Liverpool when he was disappointing there last year.”

Any Second Now will now be campaigned closer to home, with Easter Monday’s Irish Grand National at Fairyhouse on the radar if returning to near his best over the coming months.

Walsh added: “Fairyhouse is on the Monday, 10 or 12 days before the English Grand National, so we decided maybe if he showed a bit of spark between now and Fairyhouse, he might run in the Irish National.

“If he is to run in one (a National), Fairyhouse seems to be the one, but it is a big if, he will need to be running better than he is at the moment.

“He might run at Punchestown in the National Trial (on February 18) and he will run a few times between now and Fairyhouse – he won’t go unless he has a good run somewhere.

“He wants to be competitive in some of those races and he won’t be going to make up the numbers; if he goes to Punchestown, or maybe the Leinster National at Naas, I would like to see him do something on track in one of them before I place him in any National.”

England have named an unchanged team for the first time in four years for Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Wales at Twickenham.

Head coach Steve Borthwick has retained the same starting XV and bench originally announced for the 27-24 victory over Italy in round one following prop Ellis Genge’s recovery from a foot injury.

Genge, who had been named on the bench, was ruled out of the Stadio Olimpico opener on the morning of the game but has been passed fit for the visit of Warren Gatland’s men.

Beno Obano deputised at loosehead in Genge’s absence and now drops out of the matchday 23 altogether.

The most recent occasion England named an unchanged side was under Eddie Jones for the 2019 World Cup final against South Africa in Japan, which they lost 32-12.

Jamie George will lead the team out at Twickenham for the first time since being named as Owen Farrell’s successor as captain.

Five players made their Test debuts against Italy – Ethan Roots, Fraser Dingwall, Chandler Cunningham-South, Fin Smith and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso – and have the opportunity to press their claim for ongoing selection.

Roots was named man of the match in Rome after a blockbusting display at blindside flanker while for the first time Feyi-Waboso will be facing the nation of his birth, who he declined to represent in favour of England.

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“It was both pleasing and important to have started our Six Nations campaign in Rome with a victory,” Borthwick said.

“However, we know there are areas of our game to improve as we prepare for this Saturday’s game against a spirited Wales team.

“With a new player group and a number of new caps, we have tried to develop our game on both sides of the ball.

“Such changes take time and I was pleased how quickly the players settled and adapted last weekend against Italy.

“We’re delighted to be back playing in front of a sold-out Twickenham Stadium this Saturday. The visit of the Wales team is always a fixture that creates a special atmosphere.

“I have no doubt that this group of players are relishing the challenge before them and are looking forward to creating a very special experience for our supporters.”

Conor McGregor’s UFC return is still yet to be finalised as Dana White poured cold water on the Irishman’s suggestions he would fight this summer.

The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion has been out of the octagon since losing a rubber match to Dustin Poirier in July 2021 after sustaining a horrific leg break.

A bout against Michael Chandler has been mooted for the last 12 months and McGregor revealed on New Year’s Eve he would make his comeback against the American on June 29 at the middleweight limit.

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But when asked about when McGregor would be fighting next, White told the Pat McAfee Show: “Eventually – hopefully this year. There is no date. I’m hoping we get it done in the fall (autumn).”

McGregor and Chandler were rival coaches on the UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter television series, screened in the United States from May to August last year, after which it was thought the pair would face-off.

McGregor only returned to the US Anti-Doping Agency testing pool in October although the UFC has since set up its own anti-doping programme.