Eddie Howe insisted he is enjoying the selection headache his Newcastle players have presented him after coming from behind against Wolves last time out.

Two goals in five minutes from Fabian Schar and Harvey Barnes moved the Magpies up to third in the early-season standings as they aim to return to the Champions League this season.

With Newcastle struggling with injuries for much of last season, Howe said that despite the difficulty of the decisions he has to make every week, it is part of being a head coach in the Premier League.

"Those are the headaches you want. Leaving Harvey out and other players in this game was very, very difficult but it what you're paid to do,” Howe said.

“All you want then is when the player enters the pitch to try and prove that he should try and start the next game.

"The fixture list is never easy, every game in the Premier League is always difficult. Four points from Wolves and Bournemouth is good and we go away to Fulham next."

Fulham, meanwhile, suffered a shock midweek exit in the Carabao Cup to Championship side Preston North End at Deepdale.

The Cottagers were beaten on penalties after a 1-1 draw in normal time, eventually being dumped out of the competition in unusual fashion, losing 16-15 after Timothy Castagne saw his penalty saved, with Ryan Ledson sending North End through.

Head coach Marco Silva was left ruing his sides missed opportunities during the encounter, and is hoping his players can find their clinical edge against the high-flying Magpies this weekend.

"I'm sure that we did enough during the 95 minutes to win the game," Silva told reporters after the 34-kick shootout.

"From the first minute, we took control of the game and I think we created enough chances... the crossbar, a lot of crosses, a lot of moments where we should've scored."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Fulham – Emile Smith-Rowe

Smith Rowe has made a positive start to his Fulham career, netting his second goal involvement since his move from Arsenal with his assist for Raul Jiminez’s goal against West Ham.

The 24-year-old also boasts an impressive record against the Magpies, winning four of the five games he has played against them (L1), scoring once.

Newcastle – Harvey Barnes

Barnes has either scored (two) or assisted (one) a goal in each of his last three Premier League appearances for Newcastle.

Only in January 2021 at Leicester has he registered a goal involvement in four consecutive games in the competition before.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Newcastle have enjoyed their recent visits to Craven Cottage, winning each of their last four away league games against Fulham, having previously lost six in a row before this.

The Magpies also boast an expected goals (xG) against total of 6.5 in the Premier League this season, but have conceded just three goals, with their difference of 3.5 between goals conceded and xG against the best in the division so far.

With 10 points (W3 D1), this is Newcastle’s best start to a Premier League campaign after four games since 1995-96 under Kevin Keegan (12 points) – the Magpies haven’t gone unbeaten in their opening five top-flight matches since 2011-12 under Alan Pardew (W2 D3). 

Fulham, meanwhile, are winless in their last eight Premier League meetings with Newcastle (D2 L6), losing each of the last five in a row.

Silva’s side have also struggled on home soil, having won just one of their last six Premier League home games (D2 L3), having won four of their previous six at Craven Cottage (D1 L1).

While Opta’s data-led simulations expected a draw between the two sides, none of Fulham’s 16 Premier League home games against Newcastle have finished level, with the Cottagers winning nine and losing seven. The only exact fixture to be played more without being drawn in the competition’s history is Everton v Fulham at Goodison Park (17).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Fulham – 34.7%

Draw – 25.7%

Newcastle – 39.7%

Kamindu Mendis continued his phenomenal start in Test cricket, hitting his fourth red-ball ton as Sri Lanka ended the day 302-7 versus New Zealand at the Galle International Stadium. 

Mendis struck 114 runs from 173 deliveries before being caught by Daryl Mitchell, with the tourists picking up two late wickets to keep themselves in with a chance. 

Sri Lanka got off to a poor start with the losses of Dimuth Karunaratne (two) and Pathum Nissanka (27) to Will O'Rourke inside the first six overs. 

New Zealand's persistence continued to pay off after lunch as they grabbed a further three wickets, only for Mendis to come to the crease and steady the ship. 

He formed a steady partnership alongside Kusal Mendis, going on to notch 11 fours during his 273 minutes on the field before his day came to an end. 

Ramesh Mendis (14 not out) and Prabath Jayasuriya (0 not out) were left in play at stumps on what was a promising start for the hosts. 

Data Debrief: Mendis the man

Mendis has set the world of Sri Lankan cricket alight since his debut, with his performance against New Zealand his fourth Test 100 in just his seventh appearance in the format. 

To go along with his phenomenal record, he has also now scored more than 50 runs in eight Test matches too. 

Diego Simeone has called for patience with Julian Alvarez, after the forward opened his Atletico Madrid account last weekend.

The Argentina international netted his first goal for Los Rojiblancos against Valencia on Sunday, rounding off a commanding 3-0 victory at the Metropolitano Stadium.

It was Alvarez's fifth appearance since completing his move from Manchester City on a six-year deal reportedly worth up to €95million (£81.8million).

The 24-year-old linked up with his new team-mates following an extended break, having starred in Argentina's Copa America triumph in July.

Simeone insists Alvarez still needs time to settle into life in the Spanish capital, but is confident he will score plenty of goals throughout the campaign.

"[Alvarez] is a noble, hard-working boy, who surely has a lot of important things to give us," he told reporters at his press conference. "But he is coming from a summer, in which he had a brief holiday.

"It was that stir of: 'I'm going to go, I'm staying, have to start playing, got to go with Argentina, have to come back'. It was intense and, luckily, he is in a group of team-mates who are working very well and understand the situation.

"We are always going to demand what he can give us because we know and believe in his potential. Hopefully, him scoring his first goal the other day will be the first of many to come."

Alvarez could make his European bow for Atletico when they welcome Leipzig for their Champions League opener on Thursday.

And Simeone hopes his players and the Atleti supporters will respond to the occasion.

"We are looking forward to returning to compete in the Champions League," he added. "I can imagine a stadium with the energy required to return to this competition.

"Hopefully, we can transmit all the enthusiasm and energy that I'm counting on from this group."

Arne Slot aims to utilise the set-pieces that proved fruitful in his first Champions League game in charge of Liverpool when they welcome Bournemouth to Anfield this weekend.

Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk netted headers from corner kicks in the Reds’ 3-1 win over Milan in midweek, bouncing back from their shock defeat to Nottingham Forest last Saturday.

Liverpool’s loss to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side marked the first of Slot’s era since taking over from Jurgen Klopp, but the Dutch head coach is confident that the Red’s new-found weapon can punish the Cherries and get their Premier League campaign back on track.

“I don't look at the other team, I always look at my own team,” Slot said.

“I think we were a bit disappointed with the result against Nottingham Forest, [but] we were also disappointed from getting eight corner kicks and not scoring, but we were very close.

“I think [it was] two very good set-pieces and two very good headers that got us two goals, which was important because I think we were very comfortable on the ball, pressed well, but in the end, you need goals as well.”

Bournemouth, meanwhile, were on the end of a late defeat to Chelsea in their last Premier League fixture as Christopher Nkunku came off the bench to score for the visitors.

The Cherries had the opportunity to take the lead against Enzo Maresca’s side from the spot, only for £40million record signing Evanilson to see his spot-kick saved by Robert Sanchez.

In his first three league games, Evanilson has failed to score with his seven shots on goal, but head coach Andoni Iraola is confident the Brazilian will soon find his feet in England.

"I will not value his performance because he has scored. He has had a lot of chances. He created the penalty, and he has been very good," Iraola said. 

“He wants to score for sure, but I will not focus on this. I am very happy with his performance.

"It's football. We played at home against Newcastle and Chelsea with two very good games, and we have one point. We played very well, had more chances, pushed them and you have to punish them, and we didn't.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

Salah has enjoyed previous meetings against Bournemouth, netting nine goals in nine Premier League appearances against them.

Should he score against the Cherries this weekend, it will be the fourth team he has reached double figures against in the competition (after Manchester United, Arsenal and West Ham).

It would also make the Egyptian the sixth player to score 10+ goals against four different opponents after Alan Shearer (12), Wayne Rooney (seven), Harry Kane (six), Andrew Cole (six) and Thierry Henry (four).

Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo

Semenyo has started the campaign in fine form for Bournemouth, recording three goal involvements (two goals and one assist) in his first four Premier League games.

The Ghana international also has previous at Anfield, having scored in the third minute of the Cherries’ 3-1 defeat on Merseyside at the start of last season.

MATCH PREDICTION: LIVERPOOL WIN

Liverpool come into the encounter as the overwhelming favourites to return to winning ways in the Premier League, having won nine of their last 10 Premier League meetings with Bournemouth, with the exception being a 1-0 away defeat in March 2023.

However, the Reds have now lost two of their last five Premier League home games (W3), having lost just one of their previous 58 at Anfield. They’re looking to avoid consecutive home league defeats for the first time since March 2021 (a run of six).

But no side has faced fewer shots (28) or conceded fewer goals (one) than Liverpool in the Premier League this season, while the Reds also have the lowest expected goals (xG) against (2.8) and fewest shots on target faced (10).

The Cherries have struggled on Merseyside in recent years, losing nine of their 10 away games against Liverpool in all competitions, with the exception being a 2-2 draw in the Premier League in April 2017.

Bournemouth have also only won two of their 29 Premier League away games against teams starting the day in the top four, losing 25 of those matches (D2) – the exceptions are wins at Stamford Bridge over Chelsea, 3-0 in January 2018 and 1-0 in December 2019.

But Iraola’s side have shown signs of their attacking improvement. Only Brighton (67) and Manchester City (66) have had more shots than Bournemouth (65) in the Premier League this season, with the Cherries’ average of 16.3 per game their highest in a single top-flight campaign.

OPTA WIN PROBABILTY

Liverpool – 69.7%

Draw – 16.9%

Bournemouth – 13.4%

The WNBA announced Wednesday it has awarded an expansion franchise to the City of Portland that will begin play in 2026.

Portland joins the California Bay Area and Toronto as new franchises set to enter the WNBA within the next two years, bringing the league to 15 teams. The Golden State Valkyries will debut in 2025, with Portland and Toronto starting the following season.

The Portland franchise will be owned and operated by the Bhathal family, which paid $125 million for the club. Lisa Bhathal Merage will serve as controlling owner and WNBA Governor, while Alex Bhathal was named Alternate Governor. 

“For decades, Portland has been the global epicentre of sports lifestyle and today, we are now the global epicentre of women’s sports,” said Lisa Bhathal Merage. “We believe in the transformative power of women’s sports and are thrilled that the W will call Portland home.

"We know that Portland’s vibrant and diverse communities will highly support and rally around this team. Our goal is to grow this organisation in partnership with the Portland community, and we look forward to supporting the best women’s basketball players in the world when they take the floor at the Moda Center in 2026.”

The Bhathals also own the National Women's Soccer League's Portland Thorns and are investors in the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

Portland previously had a WNBA team, known as the Fire, that folded after three seasons in 2002. 

“As the WNBA builds on a season of unprecedented growth, bringing a team back to Portland is another important step forward,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Portland has been an epicentre of the women’s sports movement and is home to a passionate community of basketball fans. Pairing this energy with the Bhathal family’s vision of leading top-flight professional sports teams will ensure that we deliver a premier WNBA team to the greater Portland area.”

Engelbert said in April the WNBA's goal is to expand to 16 teams by 2028, though it's unlikely the league adds another franchise before 2027.

Marcus Rashford is hopeful Manchester United can build on their dominant EFL Cup success over Barnsley when they go to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday, highlighting the importance of their attackers building positive relationships.

Rashford scored twice as United routed the third-tier side 7-0 at Old Trafford, reaching the fourth round of a competition they won in Ten Hag's first season at the helm in 2022-23.

On Saturday, they return to the scene of one of their most humiliating defeats under the Dutchman, facing a Crystal Palace side that thrashed them 4-0 in May.

Rashford – who also opened his Premier League account for the season in last week's 3-0 victory at Southampton – believes the confidence garnered from United's midweek win could take them far.

"It's important to have those relationships on the pitch but I think as a front unit, linking with the midfield, we did very well," Rashford told Sky Sports.

"Before the first goal, it was a little difficult but after the first one, we found better spaces and we probably made better decisions in order to score."

Asked if the goals would now start to flow for him, Rashford said: "It's early to say but I hope so. We'll move onto the next game now and just rest, recover and focus on the next one.

"Football is football, sometimes you have ups and sometimes you have downs. We have to use these games to find momentum and find consistency."

Palace, meanwhile, are 16th in the table with two points from four matches, though they did earn a 2-1 EFL Cup win at Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday.

Having netted on his return to his former club, attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze said: "Of course, to come back here and to score is a great feeling.

"That was the main thing as to what we wanted to come here and do: win, go through to the next round, and put in a performance.

"It's a difficult place to come. You can see the atmosphere, it's not easy to play under, but we did what we needed to do, and that's the most important thing."

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta

Since Glasner's first game in charge in February, only Erling Haaland (19) has scored more Premier League goals than Mateta (15 in 17 games), including a goal in May's 4-0 rout of the Red Devils.

In that time, he has also scored multiple goals on four occasions (three braces, one hat-trick) – only Wilfried Zaha has ever scored more than once in more different Premier League games for the Eagles (six braces).

Manchester United – Bruno Fernandes

United captain Fernandes has had more shots without scoring than any other player in the Premier League so far this season (13).

Overall, United have the third-highest expected goals total in the Premier League this term (7.9 xG) but have scored five goals, with only Southampton (4.6 xG, one goal) registering a worse underperformance. They will hope Fernandes can lead from the front here.

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

Glasner's Palace beat United 4-0 in the Premier League last season – only eight managers have ever won their first two games against the Red Devils in the competition, most recently Roberto De Zerbi with Brighton in September 2023.

That victory was part of a Premier League double by the Eagles, the first time they have ever beaten United in consecutive league matches.

United have now lost two of their last three away league games against Palace (one draw), having gone unbeaten through their previous 13 such visits to Selhurst Park, winning nine and drawing four.

The Red Devils have struggled in London more generally under Ten Hag, only winning two of their last 16 away Premier League games in the capital (four draws, 10 defeats), with both victories coming at Fulham (2-1 in November 2022, 1-0 in November 2023).

With Palace winless in the Premier League so far this season (two draws, two defeats) after ending 2023-24 with six victories in their final seven games (one draw), it may not be a surprise to see the spoils shared.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY 

Crystal Palace – 35.9%

Manchester United – 39.1%

Draw – 25%

Vincent Kompany insists Leon Goretzka "will continue to be important" for Bayern Munich, despite his limited game time this season.

The Germany midfielder has fallen down the pecking order behind the likes of new signing Joao Palhinha, and played just 21 minutes this term.

Nine of those came on Tuesday, when he scored as a late substitute to complete his side's 9-2 rout of Dinamo Zagreb in their Champions League opener.

Though the 29-year-old has found opportunities hard to come by, Kompany maintains he is an integral part of Bayern's squad.

"He's important for us and will continue to be," Kompany told DAZN. "The team loves him. I only have players who want to play and accept the competition for places. 

"At Bayern, it's always easy to talk about individual players. But I want to talk about the team. That’s important to me.

"He is very important in this team. He's doing well, but so are the others."

Goretzka has made over 200 appearances for Bayern since joining from Schalke in 2018, including 42 across all competitions last season.

The midfielder has also won five Bundesliga titles during his time with the Bavarian giants, as well as the Champions League in 2019-20.

Sean Dyche is hoping Everton can find their clinical edge upon their return to Premier League action having been dumped out of the Carabao Cup in midweek by Southampton.

Everton were beaten on penalties by the Saints on Tuesday after seeing Abdoulaye Doucoure’s goal cancelled out by Taylor Harwood-Bellis.

The Toffees ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.54 compared to Southampton’s 0.53, but could only manage four shots on target, the same as their opponents.

Taking opportunities in front of goal has been a persistent problem for Everton this season, with Dyche acknowledging his side must improve when they travel to face Leicester this weekend.

“Yet again we’ve created golden chances, and you’ve got to score those chances and that changes the whole game,” Dyche said.

“There’s been times we’ve scored goals and looked like we can score goals, but you’ve got to kill games off. If you’re not keeping clean sheets, you have to kill games off and we’ve not done that.

“That’s a nemesis for us. It’s been here a long time, and we’ve tried to correct it and tried to find those moments, but that’s the hardest bit as a manager.

“We’ve got in some amazing positions again tonight, with one on ones, but we haven’t scored a second goal. Obviously, the work continues.”

Leicester, meanwhile, had to settle for a point in their controversial 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace last time out as Jean-Philippe Mateta’s penalty shared the spoils at Selhurst Park.

Foxes head coach Steve Cooper was left wanting answers from decision-makers at the Premier League following the award of Palace’s first goal, having seen it initially ruled out for offside, only for VAR to overturn the decision.

However, Cooper insisted he was pleased with his side’s display against the Eagles, saying his players must keep going in their quest to get their first three points on the board.

“There was so much good in the performance, particularly in the first half, but I'm not going to shout that from the rooftops because of obviously how we're feeling about the results,” Cooper said.

“We come up against a team who have invested over a number of years and put a team together and been in the Premier League for a long while.  

“It's a pity that we conceded the goals in the way that we have because I don't think that really typified the mentality that we showed, but we have to own it, and we have to keep going. We have to stick together, be positive, and that's what we'll do.”

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Leicester – Wilfried Ndidi

Ndidi has assisted three goals in his last two Premier League appearances for Leicester, as many as he had in his previous 62 games combined in the top-flight.

He is only the second Foxes player to assist three goals in their opening four Premier League games in a season, along with Marc Albrighton in their title-winning campaign of 2015-16.

Everton – Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Calvert-Lewin has scored in 14 Premier League defeats for Everton, including in his last two games against Bournemouth and Aston Villa.

That’s the most games scored in and lost for the Toffees in the competition, one ahead of Duncan Ferguson who lost 13 times when scoring for Everton.

MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

Both sides head into the encounter at the King Power Stadium in search of their first three points of the season, but Leicester have struggled against the Toffees of late.

The Foxes have won just one of their last seven Premier League meetings with Everton (D3 L3), a 2-0 away win in November 2022.

And for only a fourth time, Leicester have failed to win any of their first four Premier League games in a season (D2 L2) – in all three previous seasons in which they’ve won none of their first four, they were relegated, in 1994-95, 2003-04 and 2022-23.

However, Everton failed to win any of their first five league games in both 2022-23 (D3 L2) and 2023-24 (D1 L4). In Premier League history, the only team to fail to win any of their opening five games in three consecutive seasons is Sunderland, who did so in four in a row between 2013-14 and 2016-17.

Dyche’s side have been 2-0 up in each of their last two Premier League matches but gone on to lose both 3-2 against Bournemouth and Aston Villa, becoming just the second team in Premier League history to lose consecutive games from 2+ goals ahead, after the Cherries in November 2022. No team has ever failed to win in three games in a row when leading by two or more goals.

But 16 of the 34 Premier League meetings between Leicester and Everton have been drawn, the highest percentage for any fixture to have been played 30+ times in the competition (47%).

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Leicester – 38.5%

Draw – 26.3%

Everton – 35.2%

Paulo Fonseca cited a loss of "mental balance" that contributed to Milan starting their Champions League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Tuesday. 

Milan made a flying start when Christian Pulisic netted after two minutes and 47 seconds, the earliest the Serie A side had scored in the competition since Alexandre Pato's goal against Barcelona in 2011 (24 seconds). 

But two headers from Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, both from set-pieces, gave the visitors the lead before Dominik Szoboszlai sealed the victory after the break.

Liverpool dominated proceedings after their early setback, registering 23 shots on goal, 11 of which were on target compared to Milan's eight and two. 

Arne Slot's side ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 3.09, while Milan could only muster a tally of 0.61 from their attempts on goal. 

Ahead of kick-off, Fonseca expressed the importance of being defensively perfect against the Reds, but upon Espen Eskas' full-time whistle, the Milan head coach was left furious with his side's display. 

"We played against Liverpool, who are a huge team," Fonseca began.

"We started well, both attacking and defending, but then we conceded two goals from set plays that changed the game.

"We lost our mental balance because when the team lacks confidence, we develop problems and don’t do what we prepared in training.

"I told the players, you cannot make those mistakes in this kind of game.

"At the same time, I have to admit Liverpool are more of a team right now than we are, we need to keep working to have not 20 good minutes, but 70, 80, 90 minutes playing our football.

"After we conceded the second goal, the team stopped playing, and it became difficult after that.”

Milan's danger man Rafael Leao also endured a quiet evening, despite completing more dribbles (five) than anyone during the fixture. 

The Portugal international lost possession 15 times, the most in the Milan side, with Trent Alexander-Arnold coming out on top in their respective duels. 

Fonseca reiterated his game plan was for Leao to attack Alexander-Arnold but lamented the lack of service provided to the winger by his midfielders. 

“It was something we prepared in the little time that we had, try to put Leao against their right-back," he said.

"We did it once or twice in the match. What we prepared was to send Rafa one-on-one against him and we hardly did it.”

Jude Bellingham lauded yet another landmark moment in the career of Kylian Mbappe after the Frenchman marked his Champions League debut for Real Madrid with a goal. 

Mbappe, who has five goals in his first seven games for his new club, opened the scoring in Los Blancos' 3-1 win over Stuttgart on Tuesday. 

The 25-year-old's effort saw him net his 49th Champions League goal, with only Robert Lewandowski (61) scoring more in the competition since Mbappe's debut. 

He also became the second Frenchman to score on his debut for Madrid in the competition, joining Christian Karembeu who netted against Bayer Leverkusen in 1998. 

Bellingham explained how quickly Mbappe has settled into life in the Spanish capital, saying: "He's going to be a huge player for us, this season and beyond.

"He always delivers so far, it's a lot of pressure coming to a club like Madrid, but he's taken to it really easily and the lads love him already."

The encounter against Stuttgart also marked Bellingham's return to the side after the England midfielder missed the last four games with a muscle injury. 

Upon his return, Bellingham won more tackles (two) and accumulated the highest pass accuracy (93.3%) of anyone in the Los Blancos side. 

Across all competitions last year, Bellingham made 42 appearances, notching 23 goals and laying on a further 13 assists in his debut year at the Santiago Bernabeu. 

Having also starred for England at Euro 2024, the 21-year-old was excited to be back out on the pitch and is aiming for more success this term. 

"Three-and-a-half weeks [out] has been difficult. I've not been injured a lot in my career, so whenever it happens, I'm a bit impatient," he said.

“But this time I wanted to take it slowly and agreed this would be the game I came back in – maybe off the bench – but I was buzzing to start.

"In the first half I left it all out there, I was that excited and all over the place, just wanting to create and get in the box.

“Second half, I probably just ran out of a bit of steam, so I stayed a little bit deeper, but I'm getting used to being back, finding my feet again and I'm sure I'll be fine this season."

Adrien Rabiot's wait to find a new club is finally over after his move to Marseille was officially confirmed on Tuesday. 

Rabiot joins the Ligue 1 club following his departure from Juventus at the end of last season and has signed a two-year contract with Roberto De Zerbi's side. 

The 29-year-old was reportedly of interest to several Premier League clubs, including Manchester United, but the France international has opted to return to his homeland. 

Rabiot offers the French outfit an experienced option in midfield, having made 163 Ligue 1 appearances during his seven-year stint with Paris Saint-Germain. 

He won 18 major titles during his time with the Parisiens before making the move to Juventus in 2019. 

The Frenchman appeared 212 times in all competitions for the Serie A giants, netting 22 times and laying on a further 15 assists across his five-year stay in Turin. 

In his final season with Juventus, Rabiot made 31 league appearances, with his 39 tackles won a total only bettered by Bremer (42) and Manuel Locatelli (43) in their squad. 

Rabiot becomes the latest addition to a Marseille side that has started the new campaign with 10 points from their opening four games under new head coach De Zerbi. 

Jordan Spieth is expecting to return to action for the 2025 PGA Tour season after undergoing successful wrist surgery last month. 

Spieth, who last competed at the FedEx St. Jude Classic at TPC Southwind, failed to find his best form during the recent campaign out on the course. 

The former world number one started the season strong, finishing third in The Sentry and then, a few weeks later, tied for sixth in the WM Phoenix Open

But the American missed the final two playoffs in the BMW Championship and Tour Championship, while also missing seven cuts, one of which included the Masters. 

Spieth was seen sporting a cast on his first appearance since the surgery and was able to reveal the timeline for his return to action. 

"I think that by 2025, by Jan. 1, it's my goal to be tournament-ready," Spieth told Golfweek in a Q&A published on Monday.

"And for me, that would be not just going out and seeing how it feels, you know, but expecting to play at my ceiling."

Spieth has three major wins and 13 overall victories on the PGA Tour but has not emerged victorious since the RBC Heritage in April 2022.

The American did not earn entry into the 2025 season-opening tournament. However, he is able to play in the Sony Open in Hawaii at the start of January.

While the 31-year-old's main reason for surgery was to see him return to form, he also detailed the personal reasons for his decision to go under the knife. 

"I would say the number one reason why I ended up getting it done was because it affects my way of life at home," Spieth said.

"Like when it would dislocate and I couldn't get it back in, it would happen when I'm getting my daughter out of the bath, I'm putting a sweatshirt on or it just so random that it was like, I didn't want it to continue, and it happened more and more.

"And it wasn't going to heal itself based on a number of different docs and scans and whatever. So it's just inevitable."