Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is excited by the prospect of Deshaun Watson making his debut for the team in Week 13 after serving his 11-game ban.

Watson was suspended for 11 games in August after the NFL ruled he had violated the league's personal conduct policy amid accusations of sexual assault and misconduct.

The quarterback, who was traded to the Browns in the offseason, practiced with the team for the first time two weeks ago, and is primed to make his bow against his former franchise the Houston Texans on Sunday.

With the 4-7 Browns keeping their slim playoff hopes alive with Sunday's win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Chubb hopes the quarterback can help them to a positive end to the season.

"We're all excited," Chubb said. "We've waited a long time for him to come back.

"He's special – he's a playmaker. He puts the ball exactly where he needs it go. Guys like that. The guys are excited."

Cornerback Denzel Ward echoed Chubb's thoughts regarding Watson, adding: "He's a great player. You can't go wrong with great players."

Having sat out the entirety of his final campaign with the Texans, Watson has not played a regular-season game since January 3, 2021, but linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah hopes he can hit the ground running.

"There's an excitement, for sure," he said. "We know what he can do with what we've seen so far. So we're looking forward to seeing him [play]."

For the first time in his illustrious career, an injury will prevent Los Angeles Rams seven-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Aaron Donald from taking the field. 

Coach Sean McVay said on Wednesday that a high-ankle sprain suffered in the Rams' 26-10 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 12 will sideline Donald for Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. 

This will be the first game the 31-year-old Donald will miss since Week 17 of the 2017 season, when the Rams rested a number of starters ahead of the playoffs. The only other game he missed in his nine-year career was Week 1 of the same season because of a contract holdout. 

Despite missing those two games in 2017, he still won his first of three NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards. 

Donald, who has five sacks, 10 tackles for a loss, 11 quarterback hits and a forced fumble in 11 games this season, is the latest Rams star to be saddled with an injury, joining quarterback Matthew Stafford (concussion protocol) and 2021 AP Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp (high-ankle sprain). 

Unlike Kupp, whose high-ankle sprain required surgery, Donald won't need surgery, and is considered week to week, according to McVay. 

Although the injury isn't thought to be season-ending, there is a possibility the team ultimately decides to shut him down seeing as the Rams are essentially playing out the string. 

Last Sunday's loss was the fifth straight for Los Angeles, dropping the defending Super Bowl champions to 3-8 – alone in last place in the NFC West. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced defenseman Kris Letang will be out "indefinitely" after suffering a stroke on Monday, though his NHL career is not thought to be in doubt.

Letang was previously out of action for two months after suffering a stroke in 2014, with subsequent tests showing he was born with a small hole in the wall of his heart.

Speaking to the team's website, Pittsburgh's general manager Ron Hextall revealed the 35-year-old had suffered symptoms on Monday before undergoing testing, which will continue in the coming days.

"Kris reported symptoms to the training staff on Monday and was immediately taken to the hospital for testing," Hextall said. 

"The test results were shocking to hear, but we are grateful that Kris is doing well. We are thankful to the medical staff and the physicians at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

"He is a warrior on the ice, but first and foremost, he is a son, father, husband and friend. His health is our number one priority."

Letang, meanwhile, is optimistic he will make a swift return to action.

"I am fortunate to know my body well enough to recognise when something isn't right," Letang added. "While it is difficult to navigate this issue publicly, I am hopeful it can raise awareness. 

"It is important for me that my team-mates, family and the fans know that I am okay. I am optimistic that I will be back on the ice soon."

Letang has spent the entirety of his 17-year career with the Penguins, playing 962 regular-season games, 543 of which have come since he suffered his first stroke eight years ago.

Ben Stokes remained non-committal on his England future in ODI cricket but refused to rule out a possible return for the Cricket World Cup in 2023.

The 31-year-old called time on his 50-over international career in July as he cited an "unsustainable" workload alongside his Test captaincy commitments and T20 interests.

Stokes subsequently guided England to their second T20 World Cup title with a vital 52 not out to help Matthew Mott's side to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the November 13 final.

The star all-rounder will turn his attention to the first Test against Pakistan, which will start on either Thursday or Friday depending on England's fitness after a viral outbreak in the tourist's camp.

But Stokes, speaking on Wednesday, left the door open for a potential return to 50-over cricket – the format in which he powered England to Cricket World Cup glory in 2019.

"[Rob Key] pulled me to the side and as soon as he said '50-over World Cup' I just walked away," the England Test captain said.

"Who knows? At the moment, being out here, my focus is solely on this series.

"Going to a World Cup is an amazing thing to do, to represent your country. But at the moment I'm not even thinking about that."

Next year's schedule leaves the opportunity for Stokes to reverse his retirement decision, given a large portion of England's contests are loaded into the front half of 2023.

A two-Test tour of New Zealand in February follows after three red-ball outings against Pakistan before the start of the Indian Premier League, which Stokes has put himself forward for in the draft.

England then face Ireland in a four-day Test as a warm-up for The Ashes at home against Australia, which will be finished by the end of July, with four T20Is to follow against New Zealand.

Should Stokes have a change of heart on his decision, six ODIs split between the Black Caps and Ireland across September would serve as a perfect warm-up for October's Cricket World Cup in India.

Fernando Hierro has hailed a "great generation" of youthful Spain and England talent shining at the World Cup, referencing the likes of Jude Bellingham and Gavi,

Bellingham, 19, and 21-year-old Saka have impressed in Qatar for England as Gareth Southgate's side secured progression to the knockout stage as Group B winners after Tuesday's 3-0 victory over Wales.

Spain are within touching distance of the knockout stage in the Middle East as well, needing to just avoid defeat against Japan on Thursday to qualify, while victory will take them through as Group E winners.

Bellingham has been ever-present and Saka scored twice for England in a 6-2 win against Iran, with Pedri, Gavi and Ferran Torres leading the way for Luis Enrique's side, much to Hierro's delight.

"I am surprised at the number of young kids with enormous talent who are feeling important in a World Cup, who are 19 or 20 years old, and that's incredible," Hierro told Stats Perform.

"It's something that I find hard to think about, that kids are so prepared with just 19 or 20 years in them and that they are playing as if they are 27 years old.

"They are very young players. Bellingham, Saka, Pedri, Gavi and Torres. It's incredible, unbelievable.

"The great generation of young boys. That speaks very well of the grassroots work that England and Spain have."

David Villa, a 2010 World Cup winner with Spain, echoed Hierro's sentiment but insisted Enrique's current crop should not be compared against the La Roja side that won FIFA's top tournament in South Africa.

"It would be a mistake if we compared the team all the time [to the 2010 one]," Villa told Stats Perform at the Adidas house in Doha.

"They are all good players, they are talented players, young players, they are great. They have a great team and if all the time we try to compare to the 2010 side, it is a mistake for me.

"We need to believe in these guys and believe they can do it."

On teenager Gavi, Villa added: "He is 18 years old. It is incredible the way that he has been playing, not just now, but the last year with the national team and with Barcelona at this age.

"So, his future is bright. I don't know what will happen with this player, but he will have an amazing career because at 18 years old, it is very difficult to show the things he is doing."

The likes of Andres Iniesta, Villa and Xavi have made way for Pedri, Gavi and Torres in Spain's youthful and exciting side, but one face remains the same.

Spain captain Sergio Busquets was part of Vicente del Bosque's World Cup-winning side and remains a key cog in Enrique's team – though that comes as no surprise to Villa.

"I think Busquets is the best player playing this position, for me, of all time," Villa continued.

"He showed in this World Cup that he has continued to be important for the national team, he continues to be important for the world of football. But you never know, to still be playing in four years' time is a lot."

While Villa believes Spain "have a chance" to win their second World Cup, the former La Roja striker suggested England are among the favourites for global glory.

"They have great players, they have a strong team," the 40-year-old said. "For me, I’ve said from the beginning, England are one of the favourites to take the trophy because the squad they have is amazing."

Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez has issued an apology to Lionel Messi after he accused the Argentina forward of disrespecting the Mexico flag in the World Cup.

The boxing superstar reacted furiously after a video from the dressing room following Argentina's 2-0 victory over Mexico appeared to show Messi catching a Mexico shirt with his foot during the celebrations, which was on the floor.

Canelo declared "I ask God that I don't find him" but, having attracted criticism following his comments, has now backtracked and issued an apology to the Argentina captain.

"These last few days I got carried away by the passion and love I feel for my country and made comments that were out of place for which I want to apologise to Messi and the people of Argentina," he posted on Twitter. "Every day we learn something new and this time it was my turn.

"I wish both teams much success in their matches today and here we will continue supporting Mexico until the end."

Both sides went into the final round of matches in Group C with hopes of advancing to the knockout stage of the competition, with Argentina tackling Poland and Mexico taking on Saudi Arabia.

Australia forward Mitchell Duke said "bring on whoever" when asked about taking on Lionel Messi or Robert Lewandowski in the World Cup round of 16.

The Socceroos progressed to the knockout stage of a World Cup for only the second time in their history, 16 years on from first doing so in 2006, by beating Denmark 1-0 on Wednesday.

Australia's victory at Al Janoub Stadium was required, with Tunisia stunning a much-changed France side in Group D's other game.

Messi's Argentina or Lewandowski's Poland are the most likely candidates to face Australia on Saturday, though Saudi Arabia could yet sneak through as Group C winners.

But whoever Australia have to face, Duke said they will be ready.

"Bring on whoever, I feel like we could take on anyone right now," he told reporters. "That's the belief, we go out with that mentality.

"Don't write us off. You can see there's something special building here, there's lot to be excited about."

Duke, who scored Australia's winner against Tunisia on matchday two, wants to make more history in Qatar, with the 31-year-old adding: "It doesn't really feel like it's sunk in quite yet.

"That's what some of the boys were saying when they walked in. 'Do we realise what we've just done?'

"Playing a part in history right now, we've got two clean sheets, six points out of a group with two world class teams. It's unbelievable, a lot of people would have written us off but the belief in our team is unbelievable.

"Everyone wrote us off, we've finished second in the group, it's massive and we're not done yet – we want to make history."

Australia captain Mat Ryan added that the team's unity is what has pushed them to successive World Cup wins for the first time.

"The pride of the whole group, we have such a great team – youngsters, leaders," Ryan said.

"The togetherness is our backbone, our identity and the foundation. The world keeps giving us reasons to be proud of ourselves.

"It's great to see we’re an ambitious group. We're enjoying the victory but the comments are already coming out – we want to keep going, keep having victories like this and go as deep as we can, make the nation as proud as we can.

"Everything's a collective, from front to back, the commitment from everyone. The ones who haven't got on yet, the ones who have, the ones who haven't played as much as the others, the mentality and attitude has been top class and that's what we strive for. Everyone sets the standards high."

It's officially Tony Finau's world. The rest of us are just living in it.

The 33-year-old continued his winning ways last month at the Cadence Bank Houston Open, steam rolling the competition en-route to a four-shot victory. It was his third PGA Tour victory over his last 30 starts after the Utah native won just once in his first 185 tournaments.

"This is definitely the most all parts of my game have been clicking, but I would say I've played a lot of good golf for a while," Finau said afterward. "I didn't have a lot of wins to show for it, but I've pieced together a game and that's what you have to do out here.

"I feel like I've been a very solid player for a long time, but it's exciting for me that I'm getting better and that's all I can ask of myself is try and get better in the areas that I really need to.

"And then remember why you are where you are. I think I don't go too far away from the DNA of my game and how I see the game and I think I'm kind of bearing the fruits of how I see the game now and I'm able to hit the shots that I can see, which is pretty cool."

The DNA of Finau's game has been easy to identify – putting and driving. Simple enough, right?

At the Houston Open, Finau finished with a 75 percent driving accuracy for the week, the fourth time in his five TOUR wins he's accomplished that feat.

Amazingly, it was the worst percentage among all his recent victories – he finished with a 76.8 percent accuracy at this year's 3M Open, a 78.6 percent accuracy at the 2021 FedEx St. Jude Championship, and a career-best 82.1 percent accuracy at the Rocket Mortgage Classic earlier this summer.

"Probably the best driving week I've had in my career, at least that's how I felt,” Finau said. "For the first time in my career I hit all 13 fairways, 100 percent of fairways in regulation. I've never done that in my career, so definitely drove the ball.

Wahbi Khazri conceded it was a bittersweet evening after his winning goal against France proved insufficient for Tunisia to qualify for the World Cup knockout stages.

Khazri was named man of the match after a wonderful display capped by a 58th-minute goal that handed Tunisia a 1-0 win at Education City Stadium.

Unfortunately for Jalel Kadri’s men it was not enough to secure a place in the round of 16 as Australia beat Denmark 1-0 to finish second in Group D behind Les Bleus.

Khazri, who plays his club football in France for Montpellier, said: "It's a mixed feeling. We are happy to beat a team like France, we gave a very good performance and we leave with our heads held high but it's bittersweet as it would've been perfect to win and go through.

"Ultimately, it’s our fault as we didn’t do enough in the first two games."

Roared on by a boisterous support, Tunisia dominated a France team containing nine changes from that which beat the Danes on Saturday. Khazri had already tested Steve Mandanda in the France goal before, 13 minutes into the second half, he slalomed his way through a static backline and slotted into the bottom corner.

France thought they had found an injury-time equaliser but Antoine Griezmann, introduced off the bench by Didier Deschamps alongside Kylian Mbappe, was adjudged to have been offside before volleying past Aymen Dahmen.

Khazri had no excuses and blamed Tunisia’s display in their 1-0 defeat to Australia at the weekend as the reason why they are heading home.

"When I came off [in the 59th minute] I saw the score in the other game," he added. "We were hoping for a goal from Denmark but that’s what happens when you depend on others in football, and in life in general.

"I am sure the Tunisia fans are proud of us, it's a shame we cannot celebrate properly."

Tunisia coach Jalel Kadri echoed Khazri’s sentiments but backtracked on an earlier claim that he would resign if his side did not progress.

"I don't know why you insist that I resign," he said. "We have been able to continue our work and the contract I have in Tunisia is based on objectives. The objectives were not fulfilled but we still have to do the analysis, and it will be up to the Tunisian Federation to decide if I have achieved the targets or not.

"We beat the defending champions and did our best. It wasn't easy to collect four points. We played well for five and a half halves with only one – against Australia – not being good enough."

Deschamps defended his decision to make so many changes with his second-string side producing a disjointed display.

He said: "We came up against a strong squad and were timid, late into the one on ones and made technical errors. But when we brought on the more experienced players, we had a couple of goalscoring opportunities and thought we'd equalised at the end of the game.

"The first objective was to secure a place in the round of 16. We took this game into consideration but [our approach] will pay off in a few days' time.

"We need all 24 players to be available to play on Sunday. We needed to juggle the squad.

"Say if we'd won, it wouldn't have changed the fact we play in four days' time and we topped the group."

Deschamps was mystified by the decision to disallow Griezmann's goal, with VAR intervening after New Zealand referee Matthew Conger had already appeared to have blown the final whistle.

"I need to look at the rules maybe but why did the referee blow the final whistle and then look at VAR?" he added. "I'm not sure this is allowed."

France will play the team that finishes second in Group C on Sunday – one of Poland, Argentina, Saudi Arabia or Mexico.

Ben White has left England's World Cup training base and returned home for "personal reasons".

The 25-year-old defender is yet to play a single minute in Qatar, where England sealed their place in the last 16 after Tuesday's 3-0 win over Wales ensured they topped Group B.

White – who has been in impressive form for Premier League leaders Arsenal this season – is unlikely to return to Qatar before the tournament ends. 

A statement released by the Football Association on Wednesday read: "Ben White has left England's training base in Al Wakrah and returned home for personal reasons.

"The Arsenal defender is not expected to return to the squad for the remainder of the tournament.

"We ask that the player's privacy is respected at this moment in time."

Gareth Southgate's Three Lions face Senegal in their last-16 tie at Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday.

Cristiano Ronaldo's future is of no concern to the Portugal squad amid reports of a mammoth deal being offered to the 37-year-old, according to team-mate Andre Silva.

Portugal's World Cup campaign has endured the sideshow of Ronaldo's next destination following the mutual termination of his contract with Manchester United, leaving him a free agent for the tournament.

On Wednesday, ESPN reported that Ronaldo has been offered a mouth-watering deal by Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr worth £100million per year, with a contract said to last for three-and-a-half years.

Ronaldo will reportedly only decide his future after the conclusion of the World Cup, though that has not stopped many of his team-mates being asked about his situation.

Silva was the latest to find himself front and centre for the barrage of questions and offered a blunt response, suggesting the significance of Ronaldo's situation was far from influential.

"Does the market end tomorrow? Oh, just checking," the striker said. "Those questions concern nobody apart from Ronaldo. It does not affect the group at all.

"And in Ronaldo's case, he is a very experienced player and knows very well how to deal with these kinds of situations. The group is not affected at all."

While Ronaldo's second stint with United ended with an unceremonious exit, Silva made it clear that his worth on the international stage remains as high as ever.

"Regarding Ronaldo, Cristiano is our captain. He is a very, if not the most important figure in Portuguese football," he added.

"And of course, it's very important to be on our side and it makes the group stronger too."

Portugal have already booked their spot in the knockout stage of the World Cup, while a point in their final group match against South Korea on Friday will secure top spot in Group H.