Ronald Araujo has withdrawn from the Uruguay squad for their two upcoming friendlies after suffering a thigh injury during Barcelona's win over Real Madrid on Sunday.

The defender was able to complete a dramatic 2-1 El Clasico victory for the Blaugrana at Camp Nou, but he will not face Japan on Friday or South Korea next Tuesday.

Barca revealed Araujo underwent tests on Monday and discovered he has done damage to his left adductor.

The 24-year-old scored an own goal to put Madrid in front, but Sergi Roberto equalised just before half-time and Franck Kessie's late winner put Xavi's side 12 points clear of their fierce rival at the top of LaLiga.

Uruguay will also be without attacking midfielder Giorgian de Arrascaeta.

Diego Hernandez and Sebastian Caceres have been called up as replacements by interim coach Marcelo Broli.

The Brooklyn Nets will attempt to arrest their slide in the Eastern Conference when they host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

Brooklyn and the Cavs square off twice in New York this week, the second meeting coming on Thursday.

And the Nets head into the first game of the doubleheader on the back of a three-game losing streak.

The Nets, sixth in the East, are now 39-32, just two games in the loss column ahead of the Miami Heat at 39-34.

As such, they are at risk of slipping into the play-in tournament places, and the Nets understand they must get better at rebounding if they are to return to winning ways.

The Nets are last in total rebounds in home games and were outrebounded 40-33 by the Denver Nuggets in Sunday's loss to the Western Conference leaders.

Cleveland represent formidable opposition, with the Cavs sitting at 45-28, fourth in the East. They have won seven of their last 10 games.

But this is a matchup in which the Nets may actually have an edge on the boards to help them end their losing run.

PIVOTAL PLAYERS

Brooklyn Nets – Mikal Bridges

Bridges has quickly become the Nets' talisman having been acquired in the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns, and he has been one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA in March.

He is averaging 27.1 points per game this month, putting him 10th in league. No other Brooklyn player is averaging 20.

Cleveland Cavaliers – Jarrett Allen

The player who will bear much of the responsibility for ensuring the Nets continue to struggle on the boards is a former Brooklyn player.

Cavs center Allen has thrived on the glass this season, averaging 9.8 rebounds per game, the 11th-most in the NBA.

KEY BATTLE – Can Nets win the rebound challenge?

After their struggles on the boards against the Nuggets, head coach Jacque Vaughn was asked about how the Nets need to go about improving their rebounding.

"We have to accept it, it's truth, it's staring us in the face," he said. "The scouting report says try to go to offensive rebound versus the Nets, and we have to understand that and really do a diligent job of trying to do it together. We can't do it with two people or three people.

"We're trying to be systematic in how we embrace this problem, but I just want our guys to embrace it and realise that it is really a big difference from us being a pretty good defensive team, and that challenge we have to take on, and we have to win it. We have to win that challenge."

Winning that challenge may be easier against the Cavs who, despite Allen's prowess on the glass, are 25th in the NBA in rebounds per game with 41.4, just 1.2 more than the Nets.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Nets were victorious over the Cavs in their previous meeting in Cleveland on December 26 and have won five of the last six games between the teams.

Frenkie de Jong will play no part in the Netherlands' two opening Euro 2024 qualifiers due to injury.

The Barcelona midfielder played the full 90 minutes as the Blaugrana beat Real Madrid 2-1 in Sunday's El Clasico to move 12 points clear at the top of LaLiga.

But he was left with "upper leg complaints", the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) said, leading to his withdrawal from the Oranje squad for their upcoming fixtures.

Ajax forward Steven Bergwijn has also had to pull out with a knee injury.

PSV midfielder Joey Veerman and Borussia Dortmund's Donyell Malen have been chosen by Ronald Koeman as the respective replacements.

The Netherlands begin their campaign against France in Paris on Friday, before hosting Gibraltar at De Kuip three days later.

Friday's trip to France will be the first game of Koeman's second spell in charge.

The former Barcelona boss was confirmed as the Oranje's new head coach before last year's World Cup, with Louis van Gaal presiding over their run to the Qatar 2022 quarter-finals.

Marcus Rashford and Nick Pope have withdrawn from England's squad for their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine after sustaining injuries.

As confirmed by Chelsea head coach Graham Potter last week, Mason Mount has also pulled out through injury.

Pope reported an injury following Newcastle United's 2-1 win at Nottingham Forest on Friday, while Rashford suffered a knock during Manchester United's 3-1 FA Cup quarter-final victory against Fulham on Sunday.

Tottenham's Fraser Forster has been called up to replace Pope, though England boss Gareth Southgate has decided not to bring in cover for Rashford or Mount.

Veteran goalkeeper Forster has been getting game-time for Tottenham since Hugo Lloris' injury in February.

The 35-year-old has played 13 times for Spurs this season, keeping five clean sheets with a save percentage of 68.8.

Losing Rashford will be a particular blow for Southgate, with the United forward in the form of his life having scored 27 goals in 44 appearances for his club this season.

England play Italy at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on March 23 before hosting Ukraine at Wembley Stadium three days later.

Graham Potter feels Chelsea have shown progress under his management but acknowledges there is still work to be done for the Blues to get back on top.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion boss succeeded Thomas Tuchel in September, as new owner Todd Boehly opted for a shake-up in the Stamford Bridge dugout.

A poor post-World Cup run of form, however, had left Potter under pressure, before a streak of three wins and progress to the Champions League quarter-finals eased matters.

Saturday's 2-2 draw with Everton, in which the Toffees scored a last-gasp leveller, saw them miss the chance to make it four on the bounce, but Potter still thinks his team are taking forward steps on his watch.

"It's been an intense few weeks," he told the club's website. "We have had a couple of decent weeks. Clearly, we wanted to get the fourth win and go into this break with a victory.

"We have to keep thinking about how we can move forward, and what we have to do better. [The] stability, togetherness [and] spirit in the group has been a real positive over these tough months.

"Before the World Cup, the intensity of the games and the injuries we were picking up was crazy. The transfer window added noise we've got a young group that are falling together well. There's lots still to do."

Potter was able to name influential World Cup winner N'Golo Kante in a matchday squad for the first time since August for the draw with Everton.

With several of the club's bigger stars away on international duty, he is hopeful he can ease the Frenchman back with some match-time during the interval.

"N'Golo is due to carry on training this week, and potentially [have] a game to get some minutes," he added.

"That's the plan there. The game will probably be internal. We need to control that as much as we can. But that will be good."

Roberto Mancini defended calling up Argentina-born forward Mateo Retegui as he bemoaned Italy's lack of attacking options.

Mancini has turned to former Argentina under-19 and under-20 international Retegui for the start of the Azzurri's Euro 2024 qualifying campaign.

The Italy head coach did not expect the 23-year-old, on loan at Tigre from Boca Juniors, to accept the invitation to play for the European champions.

Eyebrows were raised when Retegui, whose grandmother was born in Italy, was named in Mancini's squad ahead of a Group C opener against England at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Thursday.

Mancini said on Monday: "We've been following him for some time, he has quality and he's a young boy. We didn't think he'd say yes, we hesitated a bit and instead he immediately said yes. The hope is that it can be important, he's a bright and young boy."

The Azzurri boss has changed his stance over calling up players who were born in a different country.

"Years ago I said that players born in Italy should play for the national team, but this problem didn't exist yet and the world has changed." he said.

"All the European national teams have players naturalised from other countries. We have had players who were taken by the national team of other nations.

"And we are doing the same thing. It is useless to talk, in Italy there are few. We are worse off than [England boss Gareth] Southgate, if there is the possibility of taking new we get players."

Mancini is concerned by the lack of options at his disposal. 

He said: "In Italy nobody plays on the street anymore. We used to play three-four hours on the street and then we went to train, today this doesn't happen anymore.

"It's no coincidence that players are still born in those countries, such as Uruguay, Argentina or Brazil, where they still play a lot on the street." 

Mancini added: "I have no idea why so few forwards come out. we are really very limited in the offensive department.

"We have three teams in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but out of three teams, there are seven or eight Italians at the most. This is the reality."

Mancini is waiting to discover if Federico Chiesa and Federico Dimarco will be fit to face England in Naples.

Former New Zealand coach Steve Hansen warned in-form Ireland they still have a huge point to prove at the Rugby World Cup this year.

Andy Farrell's side completed a Grand Slam against England on Saturday, sealing a Six Nations crown and reaffirming their place as the world's number one team.

But with France 2023 looming in just under half-a-year, they will have to overcome their own history, having never progressed beyond the quarter-final stage.

Hansen, who knocked Ireland out in the last eight with the All Blacks four years ago in Japan, feels they must defy their own tournament reputation to triumph.

"They are going well, [are] ranked number one in the world, and they have had a great year so far," he said.

"Every time a team is number one in the world, you have got to consider them to be a World Cup contender. But it is a tough tournament to win.

"They have seemed to struggle a little bit at World Cups. If it was the All Blacks, they would probably be called chokers. They have come a long way, they believe in themselves. They are a very good side.

"So they are definitely a contender. But they will have to overcome the pressure of not having gone past the quarter-finals before, and there will be a lot of pressure involved in that.

"If they get through to the semi-finals, then they are in new territory. That is something they will have to deal with that they've never dealt with before, and it is always hard to deal with something you haven't dealt with before."

Ireland open their campaign against Romania on September 9, before they face Tonga, Scotland and reigning champions South Africa.

Andy Farrell believes Ireland have "a long way to go" before reaching the peak of their powers despite winning the Grand Slam.

Ireland were crowned Six Nations champions on Saturday after beating England 29-16 at the Aviva Stadium.

Farrell's side are top of the rankings following 10 consecutive victories and will be expected to mount a strong challenge to win the Rugby World Cup for the first time in France later this year.

Yet the Ireland head coach is demanding more from his players after they celebrated a fourth Grand Slam triumph.

"I said to you in New Zealand, 'now this was the start of our World Cup year'," Farrell said.

"The most pleasing thing is that we've continued to be successful. To find a way. Everyone was nervous about that except us.

"This is part of the journey, isn't it? Obviously this stands on its own right, as does the New Zealand tour.

"But it's part of the journey of us as a group going forward into a World Cup. Like I said, we'll get two or three months pre-season training for the first time together and I expect ourselves to be better obviously because of that.

“We've carried on winning, is that the yardstick? I don't know.

"We just go on the performances and the performances were pretty good in New Zealand and we've continued to again find a way.

"It's never been perfect, but the game is not like that, so the mental strength of our game and large parts of our game are in a good place.

"There's a long way for us to go for us to be at our best which is a great sign."

Rafael Nadal dropped out of the world's top 10 men's tennis rankings on Monday, the first time he has not been a presence there since his arrival on April 25, 2005.

After struggling with a hip injury since the Australian Open, Nadal has been unable to play much in the early months of 2023, causing his ranking to drop to 13th.

The 22-time grand slam winner has been an ever-present among the elite of the men's game for the best part of two decades.

Having spent half of his life as a top-10 player, Nadal will be determined to get back there once his injury has healed and prove there is still plenty of life in him yet, though may also be a tad sad to realise that new world number one and compatriot Carlos Alcaraz wasn't even two years old in April 2005.

In the interest of nostalgia, Stats Perform has taken a gander back at how the world looked then, and what has changed since.

The Special One makes his mark

Jose Mourinho made quite the impact when he became Chelsea manager at the start of the 2004-05 season, guiding the then Roman Abramovich-owned Blues to their first Premier League crown, and first English top-flight title since 1954-55.

After coining his own moniker of the "Special One" at his first press conference, Mourinho set about living up to it, also adding the EFL Cup in his first season at Stamford Bridge.

Two days after Nadal had entered the top 10 though, Chelsea hosted Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, drawing 0-0 at home, before losing 1-0 in the return leg at Anfield to suffer elimination at the hands of their Premier League rivals.

Mourinho did not take kindly to Luis Garcia's goal being awarded, with goal-line technology not available back then, something the now 60-year-old brought up again as recently as last week.

The Portuguese coach went on to have a storied career that is still going, having won the inaugural Europa Conference League with Roma last season.

He remains as outspoken as ever though, aiming a dig at Roma's rivals Lazio after their elimination from Europe ahead of the Rome derby on Sunday, which Lazio won 1-0 before Biancocelesti defender Alessio Romagnoli revealed: "We were already very energised before this match, his quotes hyped us up even more."

Tennant's Who-per

It was also a different time in television, pre-dating the streaming services so many rely on today, not least tennis players on the road, such as Nadal.

David Tennant was announced as the 10th doctor in Doctor Who, while the first UK series of The Apprentice came to a conclusion and adult-themed animated series Family Guy returned due to popular demand after initially being cancelled following its third season.

Nearly 18 years later, Tennant has reprised his role in Doctor Who, The Apprentice is airing its 17th series in the UK and Family Guy is airing its 21st season in the United States.

The more things change, the more they stay the same... but you can at least now stream all three shows on demand.

Charles and Camilla get married

In April 2005, Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles tied the knot, getting married at a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall.

It is fair to say quite a bit has happened in the British royal family since then, with Princes William and Harry both getting married to fairly different receptions.

With the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in September at the age of 96, King Charles III took the throne, and will have his coronation on May 6.

After Alcaraz became the youngest player to end the year as world number one in December, King Charles III will officially become the oldest person to accede to the British throne.

When Nokia ruled the world

If there is one area that has advanced almost immeasurably in the last 18 years, it is phone technology.

In 2005, it was still around two years before the dawn of the smartphone. Statistically, it is likely that even stars like Nadal had to make do with a Nokia 1110, the best-selling phone of the year.

Flip-phones were also becoming popular, with the Motorola RAZR V3 and Samsung Z500 among them, and both companies have revived the design in recent times, with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 one of the biggest selling phones of today.

Who knows, perhaps Nadal's superfast reflexes and anticipation came from logging hours and hours of practice playing Snake.

Let's see Alcaraz do that.

Jamal Musiala has withdrawn from Germany's squad for the March international break, with the Bayern Munich forward ruled out with a hamstring strain.

The attacker, who has won 20 caps for his country since his debut in 2021, had been called up for the team's friendlies with Peru and Belgium.

But he will no longer link up with Hansi Flick's squad after he picked up a leg problem during Bayern's 2-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Flick confirmed the news ahead of his team's open recovery session in Frankfurt on Monday, and confirmed he would not call up a replacement for Musiala.

"We [had] all hoped that Jamal would be fit, because he has unique qualities," he said. "That's why it's a shame for everyone that he won't be with us.

"We hope he is fit again as soon as possible and that he is back playing after the international matches."

Musiala, who was capped by both England and Germany at youth level before declaring for the latter, made his debut against Iceland in March 2021.

He was a member of their squads at both Euro 2020 – where they were knocked out by the Three Lions – and the Qatar 2022 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stages.

In his absence, Germany will face Peru in Mainz on Saturday before they travel to Cologne for a clash with Belgium three days later, with Die Nationalmannschaft not required to qualify for Euro 2024 as the host nation.

Manuel Locatelli believes he was overlooked for Italy's latest squad on technical merits, with the Juventus midfielder now determined to earn a recall.

Locatelli was omitted from coach Roberto Mancini's latest Azzurri squad for their Euro 2024 qualifiers with England and Malta this week.

A member of the Italy team that defeated the former in the Euro 2020 final, the 25-year-old won his most recent cap in June against the Three Lions again.

But he will not face them this time around, with the Bianconeri man revealing he did not receive a call from the national team coach to inform him either way.

"I was sad about not being called up to the national team," he told Rai Sport. "I'm being honest. I didn't hear from Mancini."

Locatelli missed Italy's last two squads in September and October, having been injured in the first instance before citing personal reasons for his subsequent absence.

Asked whether he felt his omission was punishment, the midfielder pushed back on the suggestion, citing the belief it came down to Mancini's tactical preference.

"[Was it for] disciplinary reasons? Absolutely not," he added. "I think it was a technical choice. I'll work harder on the pitch to get back there."

Italy host England in Naples on Thursday, before they travel to face Malta three days later, in their first matches since two friendlies in November.

The Azzurri missed out on qualification for last year's World Cup in Qatar, and will be determined to ensure they reach Euro 2024 in order to defend their title.

Dimuth Karunaratne wants to step down as Sri Lanka captain following the Test series against Ireland next month.

The opening batter revealed after a hammering by an innings and 58 runs in the second Test against New Zealand that he has offered his resignation.

Karunaratne, who was appointed in 2019, hopes his reign will come to an end after the second and final match of the series versus Ireland in Galle.

He said: "I've talked with the selectors about stepping down as captain after the Ireland series. In the next WTC cycle, you've got to do two years.

"I think it's best if a new captain does that whole cycle than for me to do half and hand over. I've talked to the selectors about this, but I haven't got a response yet. My preference is to handover to a new leader after the next series."

Karunaratne made half-centuries in both innings of a heavy defeat to the Black Caps at Basin Reserve, which consigned the tourists to a 2-0 defeat.

The 34-year-old was not content with his knocks of 89 and 51 in Wellington.

"I played Tests after eight months. I only got to play one innings in a four-day match in between," Karunaratne said.

"!'m someone who gets a big one after getting a start, so I think I don't have that patience at the moment, and I need to go back to domestic cricket and develop that again.

"After eight months, although I made some runs here, I could have done more, I think. Twice, I think I could have turned half-centuries into hundreds, and I wasted them."

Rafael Nadal has dropped out of the world's top 10 men's tennis rankings for the first time in almost 18 years.

Nadal has been in the top 10 ever since April 2005, but on Monday fell to 13th in the ATP rankings after injury forced him to miss Indian Wells.

The 36-year-old's run came to an end on the same day that teenage compatriot Carlos Alcaraz reclaimed his number one spot from Novak Djokovic after beating Daniil Medvedev in Sunday's Indian Wells final.

Nadal is yet to recover from the hip injury that has hampered him since his Australian Open exit to Mackenzie McDonald in January.

Though the 22-time grand slam winner could return to the top 10 once he is back in action, it will not be in the next month as he has also withdrawn from the Miami Masters.

The latest ATP rankings saw Djokovic drop to second place, while Medvedev moved from sixth to fifth, Felix Auger-Aliassime leapt from 10th to sixth, Hubert Hurkacz nudged into the top 10 as he moved up two places to ninth, while Taylor Fritz dropped from fifth to 10th.