The international break might bring respite from the packed club calendar, but with Qatar 2022 now just 20 months away, top players have little chance for rest.
Still, the start of the European World Cup qualifiers brings an opportunity for the new names on the international scene to impress, particularly with more established stars unlikely to be involved in every minute of matches over these two weeks.
Several of the continent's top teams have offered first-time call-ups to those enjoying fine form and, while some were anticipated, others have left even the players themselves surprised.
We have picked through a selection of the new faces to look out for, with a sprinkling of Opta data to highlight why they deserve a chance to impress for their country.
Belgium: Orel Mangala and Albert Sambi Lokonga
Stuttgart's Orel Mangala has been linked with Arsenal and RB Leipzig due to his performances for Stuttgart this season. Only three midfielders have regained possession more often in the Bundesliga than the 23-year-old (166).
Also hoping to make his senior Belgium debut at the heart of midfield is Albert Sambi Lokonga, who assumed the captain's armband at Anderlecht less than a month after turning 21.
Lokonga, who could get a chance in place of the injured Axel Witsel, has regained possession 35 more times than any team-mate this season (157) and is also fourth for chances created (22).
Croatia: Kristijan Lovric
With Ante Rebic and Bruno Petkovic injured, the coming matches could offer a real chance to impress for Kristijan Lovric.
The HNK Gorica star is second in the top scorer standings in Croatia's top flight, with 15 goals in 24 appearances. With four assists also to his name, Lovric is behind only Tottenham's Europa League slayer Mislav Orsic and Ramon Mierez (both on 20) for direct goal involvements this season.
It's a seriously impressive return for the 25-year-old, particularly as he plays predominantly wide on the left of the Gorica attack.
England: Ollie Watkins
West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone may get the chance to win a first senior England cap, but a man almost certain to be given a chance in attack is Ollie Watkins.
The Aston Villa forward became the 10th Premier League player to score a hat-trick against Liverpool, and the first in a decade, in October's extraordinary 7-2 win over the reigning champions.
He has 10 in the top flight this term, while only captain Jack Grealish (17) has had more direct goal involvements than Watkins (15) in all competitions for Villa this season. Not bad for a man who was playing in England's sixth tier just six years ago.
Germany: Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala
Rising Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala was expected to be named in Joachim Low's squad after he pledged his international future to Germany rather than England.
The 18-year-old, who only signed his first professional contract this month, is Bayern's youngest ever Champions League goalscorer and has already played 18 times in the Bundesliga this season.
Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz has also earned the right to shine on the senior stage. He is one of just two players under the age of 20 to be directly involved in at least eight goals across the top-five European leagues this season.
Italy: Rafael Toloi and Matteo Ricci
Brazilian-born Rafael Toloi has made it to the age of 30 without a senior international appearance, but his performances for Gian Piero Gasperini's outstanding Atalanta side made him hard to overlook.
Toloi averages seven possession regains per match for Atalanta this season and is comfortable when using the ball, completing 493 passes in the opposition half, the most of any Atalanta defender barring Berat Djimsiti.
Spezia midfielder Matteo Ricci, meanwhile, boasts 19 chances created in Serie A this season as well as 151 times winning back the ball, by far the highest tally for his team.
Netherlands: Jeremiah St Juste
Jeremiah St Juste has impressed at the back for Mainz this season, despite their involvement in a tense battle to avoid the drop.
There are only five Bundesliga defenders to win more tackles and duels combined than the 24-year-old this season (he has managed 165).
Previously a full-back with Feyenoord, St Juste brings a vital commodity to modern central defending: speed. Last season, he clocked a sprint of 22.1 miles per hour, bettered only at the time by Bayern winger Kingsley Coman.
Poland: Kacper Kozlowski
A relative unknown outside Poland, even Kacper Kozlowski himself was shocked to be called up to Paulo Sousa's squad this month.
Clearly, though, he has caught the eye for some all-action displays in the top flight for Pogon Szczecin. The 17-year-old averages 8.3 duels won and 17 passes ending in the final third per 90 minutes, each the most of any teenage midfielder in the competition.
Kozlowski, who is also renowned for a fierce long-range shot, has been linked with some of the world's biggest clubs since making his senior debut at just 15, with Manchester United said to be among them.
Portugal: Joao Palhinha and Nuno Mendes
Linked with Manchester City (among others), Sporting CP full-back Nuno Mendes has been described as the standout young talent in Portugal's top flight.
Only Wilson Manafa (49) has completed more dribbles among defenders this season than Mendes (29), who has played in all but four of the unbeaten leaders' league matches.
The 18-year-old is joined in the Portugal squad by team-mate Joao Palhinha, a robust midfielder who has won 208 duels in the Primeira Liga in 2020-21 – no player in his position has won more.
Spain: Bryan Gil and Pedri
Pedri has been a revelation for Barcelona in his first season at Camp Nou, establishing himself as a key part of Ronald Koeman's midfield despite only turning 18 last November.
He has played 42 times already in 2020-21, the most of anyone at the club, and became the youngest player to record 100 touches in a single LaLiga game for at least 15 years against Osasuna this month.
Bryan Gil, meanwhile, has been thriving on loan at Eibar from Sevilla and in January became the second player born this century to score twice in the same LaLiga match, following in the footsteps of Ansu Fati.
Kevin De Bruyne's scintillating long-range strike against Borussia Monchengladbach last week was Manchester City's 100th goal of the season and maintained Pep Guardiola's record of his sides reaching a century in each of his 12 seasons in top-flight coaching.
At Barcelona, Bayern Munich and now at Manchester City, Guardiola the tactician is loath to go on the defensive.
However, whenever he feels the quality or worth of one of his players might have been called into question during a news conference, that position is second nature.
"He's an incredibly important player for us," the Catalan snapped back unequivocally when Raheem Sterling's declining output in front of goal was raised this year, two days after he put a penalty against Brighton and Hove Albion into orbit to prolong a lean spell of three goals in 18 games.
"Everything we have done in the past, without him would not have been possible."
Quite simply, that is a whole lot of everything.
Under Guardiola, City have won six major honours. They became the first team to reach the 100-points landmark when lifting the Premier League in 2017-18 and retained the title as part of an unprecedented domestic treble the following season.
A 14-point lead at the top of the table and next month's dates in the EFL Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals mean a clean sweep in England is once again a possibility as Borussia Dortmund await in the last eight of the Champions League.
One of the points of difference this time around is Guardiola's apparently assertion the past couple of weeks that more of the success he craves might be possible with Sterling confined to the margins.
After being defended by his manager in January, Sterling embarked upon a run of six goals in nine games across all competitions, including one in a deeply cathartic 4-1 win over former club Liverpool at Anfield and concluding with an early winner at Arsenal in February.
He has not added to a 13-goal haul in 2020-21 since and after, wasting two glorious late chances in the 2-0 derby defeat to Manchester United, Sterling was an unused substitute for the subsequent 5-2 win over Southampton.
That decision apparently prompted a row denied by both men – "nothing happened" said Guardiola, "FALSE" tweeted Sterling – after the England international was omitted from the travelling squad for a 3-0 win at Fulham.
It means, as Wednesday marks the ninth anniversary of the 26-year-old's top-flight debut, that one of the most impressive Premier League careers of the past decade has encountered some unusual on-field turbulence.
Chasing Shearer and Rooney
Aside from a tempestuous end to his final season at Liverpool as Sterling sought to leave and a patchy start at City as Manuel Pellegrini's tenure spluttered to an end, the winger's trajectory has aimed relentlessly upwards since Kenny Dalglish introduced him as a substitute against Wigan Athletic on March 24, 2012, aged 17 years and 107 days.
He has 144 direct goal involvements in 284 Premier League games, with 95 goals and 49 assists. Ranking all players in Premier League history before their 27th birthdays, this puts Sterling eighth – one place above David Beckham (128 goal involvements).
Wayne Rooney leads the way (215) from Alan Shearer (172), Harry Kane (163), Thierry Henry, Robbie Fowler (both 162), Michael Owen (156) and Romelu Lukaku (148), meaning a few of that esteemed group are within reach for Sterling before he turns 27 on December 8.
Overall, Shearer remains king, his all-time record haul of 260 Premier League goals among 325 goal involvements, ahead of Rooney on 311 (208 goals, 103 assists).
By all accounts, Sterling should be entering his peak years and is fractionally ahead of Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane (92 and 91 respectively) in the race to become the 30th member of the Premier League's 100 goals club.
Along with having the chance to join Rooney and Frank Lampard as the third dual goals and assists centurion in league history, Sterling's overall output means he will get close to Shearer and Rooney's levels if he can maintain it.
All of which makes Sterling's absence from a certain conversation fairly curious.
From #TheHatedOne to Premier League great?
In recent years, Manchester City bade fond farewells to the first batch of superstars that propelled the club's transformation from also-rans to trophy collectors.
When they departed, Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany and David Silva were all acclaimed as being among the very best in their positions to grace the division. Similar talk will accompany Sergio Aguero if, as looks increasingly likely, he leaves the Etihad Stadium when his contract expires in June.
De Bruyne is very much in the midst of his prime years, having joined City in the same 2015 close-season as Sterling, and is already spoken of in such terms.
But the notion of Raheem Sterling: Premier League great? Despite the numbers outlined above, it is a consideration seldom made.
This can be partly attributed to the vitriolic reaction that followed his Liverpool exit, which embedded poisonous and unfair perceptions of an ambitious young footballer.
"It just winds me up and angers me to the pit of my stomach," said Kop favourite Jamie Carragher of Sterling's desire to leave Anfield. John Aldridge declared a then 20-year-old "too young to think for himself", despite middle age seemingly not opening up such a capacity for the former striker.
Carragher, Aldridge and numerous other ex-Reds within the pundit class were speaking passionately in defence of the club they loved, but unfortunately with no regard for the abuse – both insidious and explicit – they helped to normalise.
Sterling was infamously dubbed "footie Idiot Raheem" in a Sun article – still available online, as it happens – following England's Euro 2016 exit against Iceland, where the City player won a penalty in a 2-1 defeat.
Earlier in the tournament, he labelled himself "#TheHatedOne" on social media. The vibrant performer from his Liverpool days began to return on the field under Guardiola, but the attitude from the terraces made it feel like Sterling had a point.
At grounds such as Turf Moor, the Hawthorns and the King Power Stadium, he was booed, despite no obvious rivalry existing between City and their opponents. For many there was grimly familiar discomfort and unease: surely it's not about that, is it?
Then, at Stamford Bridge in December 2018, Sterling was targeted by a group of home supporters, their faces contorted in anger. The incident led Chelsea to banning a fan for life for using "racially abusive language".
The day after the match, Sterling addressed the unequal media coverage given to black and white footballers in a social media post, and what this means to those on the receiving end. He remains a powerful voice in the fight against racism in football and society as a whole.
Sterling's status as a role model and an inspiration played a part alongside his phenomenal performances for treble-winning City as he was named 2018-19 FWA Footballer of the Year.
The surrounding and frequently vile noise accompanying his career in England is not something shared by Sterling's City counterparts. The stand he took after the Chelsea match will remain a defining time in his career and, in terms of performance analysis, it might be seen as the moment where all other noise faded into the background and a rare talent was given his due.
There is, however, another elephant in the room when it comes to assessing Sterling's elite credentials. Or, more accurately, an elephant in the six-yard box.
Floored by missed sitters
The 2019-20 season was the most prolific of Sterling's career as he scored 31 times overall and hit 20 in the Premier League.
Nevertheless, it concluded with him somehow blazing over from four yards with City 2-1 down to Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. The Ligue 1 club soon led 3-1 and City were out – a nadir of the Guardiola era.
For a player who scores so frequently, Sterling's finishing remains maddeningly unreliable at times.
During City's 100-point season, Guardiola hauled him off after an implausible miss at Burnley and a couple of botched clear openings in that April Manchester derby, where City led 2-0 and lost 3-2, were a huge factor in the ultimate bragging rights of claiming a league title with victory over their bitter rivals going begging.
Then, despite contributing tirelessly to the collective effort, Sterling failed to score as England reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup. It is impossible to imagine Rooney or Shearer doing likewise in similar circumstances, making that campaign an unhelpful anomaly in any pretentions to greatness.
So, is Sterling's finishing overall as bad as those forgettable moments suggest?
Since his debut, he is the fifth-highest scoring Premier League player on 95, behind Aguero (164), Harry Kane (159), Jamie Vardy (115) and Lukaku (113).
A shot conversion rate of 15.9 per cent tracks below that quartet, with Vardy the most efficient at 22.2 and Lukaku closest to Sterling on 16.7 per cent.
Of the 31 players to have scored 50 or more Premier League goals during that time, Sterling ranks around the middle of the pack, 15th overall in terms of shot conversion – Christian Benteke's tragicomic figure of 8.7 per cent conversion bring up the rear.
In terms of those defined by Opta as 'big chances', Sterling falls into the bottom third of the group in 22nd, having netted 66 and missed 83 over the course of his top-flight career for 44.3 percent.
This is perhaps what you'd expect from a man with a reputation for missing his share of high-profile sitters, but improvements over recent seasons show why he is still able to be on the trajectory of Shearer and Rooney for goal involvements.
The bulk of Sterling's Premier League goals came over the most recent three completed campaigns, with 18 in the 100-point season backed up by 17 to retain the title and 20 last time around – comfortably his three most prolific goalscoring seasons.
Each time, his shot conversion was above 20 per cent, with a high of 22 in 2018-19. The only other time he finished so efficiently was when scoring nine times from 45 attempts during Liverpool's surprise 2013-14 title tilt.
There has been a drop off this time around, with nine goals from 53 attempts amounting to a 17 per cent conversion rate, while he has missed two thirds of the big chances on offer (6/18).
On that metric, he tracked as high as 60 per cent in 2018-19, having registered 53.8 the season before – both success rates to rival any elite forward. Despite the overall strong returns of 2019-20, his big chance conversion rate dipped to 42.4 per cent.
The art of the tap-in merchant
This is another criticism some detractors like to level at Sterling: that he is a "tap-in merchant", who simply gorges on Guardiola's feast of football to pad his stats from close range.
But, as Gary Lineker is often keen to point out with a heavy helping of self-deprecation, if it were that easy then everyone would be doing it.
If the misses outlined above suggest a shortfall in Sterling's technique as a finisher, then his capacity to sniff out chances through intelligent and clinical movements stand as one of his main assets.
Throughout his City career, his shots-per-game average has ranged from between 2.3 to 3.3 when split by season. However, his expected goals (xG) figure per 90 minutes increased significantly in those three most prolific campaigns.
In 2017-18, his xG/90 was 0.56, set against 0.21 for Leroy Sane, City's other first-choice winger that year. Sane and Sterling had near-identical xG/90 scores of 0.28 and 0.27 during the previous season, Guardiola's first at the helm.
Despite averaging slightly more shots per game than Sterling in 2019-20 (3.4 to 3.3), Riyad Mahrez's xG/90 was 0.36 compared to his team-mate's 0.64.
This shows Sterling getting himself into notably better scoring areas, with a greater probability of finding the net, than team-mates playing in the same position. Even considering the fact Mahrez appears to have usurped Sterling in Guardiola's pecking order for now, his xG/90 is still half that of the England man in 2020-21 (0.21 vs 0.42).
If this suggests a notable tenacity and relentlessness around the opposition penalty area, Sterling's dribbling ability and productivity when carrying possession underlines the point.
Guardiola values forwards who can bring an unpredictable element to the possession-dominating foundations of his sides and Sterling certainly excels here, showing himself to be one of the most adept players in the division when it comes to running with the ball and making something happen.
Since joining City in 2015-16, he is ranked fifth (251) in the Premier League for shot involvements after a carry – meaning Sterling has either had a shot himself or set up a team-mate to do so.
As with his output in front of goal, Sterling's figures for carries and progressive carries are down this term, but a return to those levels seems comfortably within reach for a player of his age and ability.
At the risk of just loudly shouting, "KICK IT AT THE GOAL, RAHEEM!", he could also shoot more. An uneven return to the starting XI in Saturday's FA Cup win at Everton yielded four attempts on goal, a couple of them fairly wild.
That was up on his season average of 2.3 attempts per 90 minutes. And, if awful misses from close quarters is one of Sterling's main regrettable habits, taking too many touches and checking inside to be crowded out by defenders is another.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi average above five attempts per match. Obviously, there is a lot more to their majestic careers than just shooting a lot, but their continually handsome hauls show the value of a star forward backing themselves.
It feels like a relatively minor tweak that could take Sterling's game to the next level, when considering all his other demonstrable qualities.
A provocative newspaper interview with Marca last season, where he posed with a Real Madrid shirt, showed a man who thinks he belongs on the A-list and the returns of a nine-year Premier League career back that up. Being only the third player to score 100 goals under Guardiola after Messi and Aguero isn't bad, either.
With everything again possible for City on the other side of the international break, Sterling has the perfect platform to put a tricky couple of weeks behind him and step it up once more.
The Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers continue to go toe-to-toe in the Eastern Conference after both championship hopefuls won in the NBA on Tuesday.
James Harden led the way with a double-double as the star-studded Nets topped the Portland Trail Blazers 116-112.
In the absence of fellow superstars Kyrie Irving (personal matter) and Kevin Durant (hamstring), Harden posted 25 points and a career high-tying 17 assists to fuel the short-handed Nets in Portland.
Jeff Green finished with 20 points – 15 in the first half – Nicolas Claxton put up 16 of his own, while Blake Griffin had eight points, five rebounds and two steals in his second Nets appearance.
Enes Kanter scored 19 points and collected 19 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who also had 22 points from All-Star Damian Lillard.
The Nets (30-14) remain within a game of the Eastern Conference-leading 76ers (31-13) after they held on to beat the Golden State Warriors 108-98.
Behind Tobias Harris' 25 points and 13 rebounds and Ben Simmons' 22 points, the 76ers earned their fifth consecutive road victory – the team's longest winning streak away from home since winning seven straight in 2018.
The Warriors – without star Stephen Curry (back) – threatened to complete a stunning comeback, having been outscored 35-17 at the end of the opening quarter, while they trailed by more than 20 points before half-time.
Zion makes history
Zion Williamson helped the New Orleans Pelicans top the slumping Los Angeles Lakers 128-111. The 20-year-old's 27 points and nine rebounds saw him become the first NBA player younger than 21 to score at least 20 points in 21 consecutive games. Pelicans team-mate Brandon Ingram posted a season-high 36 points.
MVP candidate Nikola Jokic had his 12th triple-double of the season as the Denver Nuggets beat the Orlando Magic 110-99. Jokic posted 28 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for a franchise-best 53rd career triple-double. Only Washington's Russell Westbrook (14) has more triple-doubles this season.
It is almost impossible to replace Joel Embiid, but Tony Bradley stepped up in a big way for the 76ers. The 23-year-old was flawless against the Warriors, going eight-of-eight for 18 points and 11 rebounds. Bradley became the first 76ers player not to miss a shot in a game on a minimum eight attempts since Dikembe Mutombo in 2002.
All-Star Julius Randle finished with 37 points to lead the New York Knicks past the lowly Washington Wizards 131-113.
Lakers feeling absence of star duo
The Lakers – who came out of the All-Star break on a 4-0 run – are now 0-3 since LeBron James suffered an ankle injury, with fellow star Anthony Davis (calf) also sidelined.
Tyler Herro headlined the Miami Heat's woes after last season's NBA Finals participants lost 110-100 at home to the Phoenix Suns. Herro was three-of-11 from the field, while he was just one-of-six from three-point range for seven points in 26 minutes.
Robinson throws it down!
New York's Mitchell Robinson got up high for a powerful dunk in the second quarter against the Wizards.
Tuesday's results
Denver Nuggets 110-99 Orlando Magic
New York Knicks 131-113 Washington Wizards
New Orleans Pelicans 128-111 Los Angeles Lakers
Phoenix Suns 110-100 Miami Heat
Brooklyn Nets 116-112 Portland Trail Blazers
Philadelphia 76ers 108-98 Golden State Warriors
Nets at Jazz
It is back-to-back outings for the high-flying Nets (30-14), who travel to the NBA-leading Utah Jazz (31-11) on Wednesday.
Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant remains sidelined until at least Friday as the former MVP is at a "critical" point in his recovery from a hamstring injury, according to Steve Nash.
Durant has been sidelined since February 13 due to a hamstring strain, which forced him to sit out the NBA All-Star Game this month.
The star-studded Nets are second in the Eastern Conference and as they eye a run to the NBA Finals, first-year head coach Nash is not prepared to rush Durant back from injury.
"We just felt like it didn't benefit him to travel across the country while he is trying to get that critical last part of his rehab done," Nash said as Durant sat out Tuesday's 116-112 win over the Portland Trail Blazers – the first of a three-game road trip.
The Nets will face the NBA-leading Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons before returning home to Brooklyn to host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday.
"Just trying to make sure that functional strength is there and that he's — we're confident that he can re-enter playing safely. That is the thing, right? Kevin is doing very well," Nash said.
"If this was the playoffs, there's a chance he'd be back, you know, very soon. But there's no point in taking a big risk with him when the most important thing is to get him back for the remainder of the season."
Nash added: "He is working out on the court pretty much every day, he looks great."
Durant is averaging 29.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game for the Nets this season.
San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. is listed as day to day heading into Opening Day after exiting Tuesday's Spring Training matchup with left shoulder discomfort.
Tatis – who signed a record-setting extension with the Padres last month – an eye-popping 14-year, $340million contract – left San Diego's 5-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning after making a play at shortstop.
The Silver Slugger will be re-evaluated on Wednesday as the Padres prepare to open their 2021 MLB season against the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 1.
"Talking to Fernando, he didn't think it was that bad," Padres manager Jayce Tingler said post-game.
"He's like: 'In season, I would probably go'. Obviously we're going to be precautious."
Tingler added: "We're going to be just day to day going forward with it.
"Hopefully he comes in tomorrow and it's feeling pretty good. We'll just have to wait and see."
Tatis won a Silver Slugger award last season, having hit .277 with 17 home runs and 45 RBIs in the coronavirus-shortened 2020 campaign.
The powerful 22-year-old is the first player in MLB history to have at least 35 home runs and 25 stolen bases within the first 150 games of his career.
Tatis packs a punch with the bat – he led the majors in average exit velocity (95.9 mph), hard hit percentage (62.2), and balls hit 95-plus MPH (102).
He also enjoyed a remarkable rise defensively following an erratic rookie season at shortstop.
Tatis went from minus-13 outs above average (OAA) to plus-seven – his plus-20 improvement the largest of any player across that period.
When it comes to on-base plus slugging, Tatis stacks up well. Since 1920, Tatis (150.8) is only behind Juan Soto (153.9 – 2018-20), Albert Pujols (159.3 – 2001), Jimmie Foxx (160.0 – 1925-29), Ted Williams (161.5 – 1939-40) and Mike Trout (165.0 – 2011-13) for highest OPS-plus up until the age of 21.
Using the same timeframe, but for wins above replacement (WAR) among shortstops, Tatis (5.6) ranks ninth. Alex Rodriguez is top (13.6 – 1994-97).
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry will be sidelined for at least another week after an MRI showed inflammation in his tailbone.
Curry has not played since suffering a bruised tailbone in the Warriors' win over the Houston Rockets last week.
The former two-time MVP was already ruled out of his third consecutive game – Tuesday's NBA showdown with the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers.
But Curry will miss at least four more games, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr revealed prior to the 76ers clash.
"We're going to re-evaluate in a week," Kerr told reporters. "He got an MRI this morning and it showed inflammation in that tailbone.
"He had made some progress the first couple of days just resting and then he did a little bit more work [Monday] and was still pretty sore.
"So our training staff and Steph put their heads together and decided this is going to be a little bit longer than we thought and hoped. So we'll re-evaluate in a week."
Curry is averaging 29.0 points (fifth best in the NBA), 6.2 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Warriors this season.
The three-time NBA champion has made the most three-pointers in the league in 2020-21 (182), while his three-point average of 4.7 is the best in the NBA.
Brooklyn Nets star James Harden has been cleared to face the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA.
Harden was listed as questionable for Tuesday's matchup against the Trail Blazers in Portland due to neck soreness.
Former MVP Harden appeared to hurt his neck during a collision with Garrison Mathews in Sunday's 113-106 win over the Washington Wizards.
But Harden will take to the court away to the Trail Blazers, while fellow stars Kyrie Irving (personal matter) and Kevin Durant (hamstring) are sidelined.
Harden was on the court for 39 minutes against the Wizards, the most for any Nets player. Prior to Sunday's victory, the former Houston Rockets star had featured for 40-plus minutes in four of the franchise's previous eights outings either side of the All-Star break.
This season, Harden is averaging the most minutes in the NBA with 37.9, with Julius Randle of the New York Knicks next on 37.
Harden is averaging 25.3 points, a league-best 11.1 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game for the star-studded Nets this season.
He tops the list for most assists in the league in 2020-21 (410), while he ranks fifth for points/assists/rebounds averaged per game (44.4).
The Toronto Blue Jays' prized recruit George Springer is "extremely motivated" to be ready for Opening Day after being diagnosed with an oblique strain.
Toronto lured 2017 MLB World Series champion and MVP Springer to Canada on a six-year, $150million contract via free agency – the largest deal in franchise history.
But Springer's preparations for the April 1 MLB opener against American League (AL) East rivals the New York Yankees have been interrupted by a strained oblique muscle.
Former Houston Astros star Springer, though, is not expected to miss a lot of action for the entertaining Blue Jays.
"The MRI revealed an injury that he is able to play baseball with," Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said on Tuesday.
"He is extremely motivated and driven to be ready for Opening Day."
Springer leads MLB with 136 home runs from the lead-off spot since 2015. The Blue Jays as a team have 129 homers from the lead-off spot over that time, per Stats Perform.
A two-time Silver Slugger, Springer has 39 lead-off home runs in his career – fourth most all-time behind Rickey Henderson (73), Ian Kinsler (48) and Brady Anderson (44).
Springer has recorded seven career World Series home runs – most from the lead-off spot all-time – and he is 19-for-56 (.339) in the World Series in his career. No other current Blue Jays player has a World Series hit in their career.
The three-time All-Star's 174 home runs since debuting in MLB via Houston are third most by an Astro in a player's first seven career seasons, behind only Jeff Bagwell (187) and Lance Berkman (180).
Meanwhile, Atkins said reliever Kirby Yates is expected to have season-ending surgery on his right elbow.
An All-Star in 2019, Yates only joined the Blue Jays from the San Diego Padres this offseason.
Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball underwent surgery to address a fracture in his right wrist, the NBA franchise announced on Tuesday.
The Hornets said the surgery was successful for Rookie of the Year favourite Ball, who will have his wrist immobilised before being re-evaluated in four weeks.
Ball is reportedly set to miss the remainder of his first season in the league after hurting his wrist in Saturday's 125-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
The 19-year-old has taken the NBA by storm since being drafted by the Hornets with the third pick last year.
Ball has been averaging 15.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.59 steals (seventh in the NBA) per game this season.
Among rookie leaders, Ball ranks first in assists and steals, second in scoring and is tied for second in rebounds.
Ball is the only player over the last 60 years to lead all rookies in total points, rebounds, assists and steals at the All-Star Break.
Last month, Ball joined Stephen Curry (2010) and Jason Kidd (1995) as the only rookies with seven-plus threes and 10-plus assists in a game and is the youngest to do so.
Ball also became the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double in January.
Three-time champion Venus Williams was dumped out of the Miami Open on Monday in straight sets by Kazakhstan's Zarina Diyas.
Diyas, ranked 89th in the world, had lost her only previous match against seven-time major winner Williams, but saw off the American 6-2 7-6 (12-10).
"I'm very happy with the win, it was very tough," Diyas said after her victory. "Venus, I looked up to her when I was little, she's such a legend. So for me, it's a really special win."
Elsewhere, Shelby Rogers overcame fellow American Madison Brengle 6-3 6-3 to set up a second-round clash with fifth seed Elina Svitolina.
"I'm really happy to get through that one, she's a really tricky player," Rogers said. "It's actually my first win at this site. The last time I was here, I was spectating, as an injured person! So I'm very happy to be here."
There were also wins for Magda Linette, Sorana Cirstea, Barbora Krejcikova and Kaia Kanepi, while Ajla Tomljanovic beat Anastasia Potapova to seal a clash against second seed Naomi Osaka in the next round.
Cristiano Ronaldo has not been affected by Juventus' recent struggles, insists Portugal head coach Fernando Santos.
The Bianconeri were eliminated from the Champions League in the last-16 stage by Porto a fortnight ago, going out on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate after extra time at the Allianz Stadium.
Former Juve boss Fabio Capello singled out Ronaldo for criticism, while ex-president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli suggested the club should never have spent €100million to sign the forward in 2018.
Andrea Pirlo's side bounced back from that defeat with a 3-1 win over Cagliari in Serie A, but their hopes of securing a 10th consecutive Scudetto were left in tatters at the weekend following a shock 1-0 home loss to Benevento.
Ronaldo, who has been linked with moves to former clubs Real Madrid and Manchester United, has since joined up with the Portugal squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan, Serbia and Luxembourg.
And Santos says has no concerns over the 36-year-old's morale.
"We've always been close to each other, very good friends, we don't really have a coach-player relationship," Santos told a media conference.
"Ronaldo certainly represents great quality; he always shows great happiness and joy when he's with the team.
"He's an important player, probably the best in the world. I don't think he has any problem in terms of mentality at the moment."
Portugal are red-hot favourites to progress from Group A, which also contains the Republic of Ireland, but Santos insists they will not be complacent as they bid to book their place in Qatar in search of a first-ever World Cup triumph.
“We mustn't underestimate anyone," he added. “We know Azerbaijan can be quite dangerous on the counter-attack.
"We know Ronaldo always wants to conquer new trophies, but all the players want to win the World Cup. We can fight to become world champions."
The understanding between Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud will be key to a successful World Cup qualifying campaign for France, according to boss Didier Deschamps.
Reigning world champions France start their Group D campaign against Ukraine on Thursday before taking on Kazakhstan and Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sunday and Wednesday respectively.
Les Bleus are expected to comfortably book their place in Qatar next year and Deschamps expects his forward trio to shine again after their heroics won the 2018 tournament.
"I'm not going to separate them from the rest of the team, but when you look at the number of goals and assists that the three provide, that's what allowed the France team to be world champions," he told a media conference.
"They know each other; it is automatic. The experience they have is something important. It is up to them to maintain this level of performance."
Mbappe has enjoyed another fine season for Paris Saint-Germain and is Ligue 1's top scorer with 20 goals in 21 starts.
He has also laid on six goals for his team-mates – second behind only Angel Di Maria (eight) for Mauricio Pochettino's side.
Mbappe largely plays on the left of a front three for his club and Deschamps revealed he has spoken to the 22-year-old to ensure his position for France brings out the best in him.
"Kylian has the ability to play in all offensive positions," Deschamps said. "In his club, he is mainly used in a position on the left, even if he has a lot of freedom.
"Sometimes he plays in the middle, where he is also efficient. On the right, he plays less. I discuss it with him to make sure he is happy [where he plays]."
Trying to force his way into Deschamps' forward line will be Ousmane Dembele, who has not featured for France since November 2018.
Deschamps handed the Barcelona man his full debut back in September 2016 and, after injuries wiped out the vast majority of the 2019-20 season, he has returned to form this term.
Captain Hugo Lloris is pleased to see the 23-year-old back on the international scene and is hopeful he is in the right condition to make a positive impact.
"He has a fairly strong history with the France team as he was part of the World Cup group in Russia," the Tottenham goalkeeper said.
"He was held back by injuries, but we know all his qualities. We hope that his injuries are behind him and that he can look ahead.
"He is doing very good things with Barca. We know what he can bring and what he is capable of doing."
The British and Irish Lions' tour of South Africa is set to go ahead as planned later this year after proposals to stage matches elsewhere were rejected.
Due to continued complications surrounding the coronavirus crisis, questions were raised over whether the Lions would be able to travel to South Africa for the eight-match trip.
But rather than host matches in the UK and Ireland, or take up Australia's offer to play games Down Under, it has been decided to press ahead with the original itinerary
The Lions and SA Rugby released a joint statement on Tuesday to confirm an agreement is in place over the staging of the tour, which begins on July 3 and continues into early August.
"After reviewing information relating to the various contingency scenarios being considered, I can confirm that the board's intended position is for the Tour to go ahead as scheduled in South Africa in 2021," said Lions chairman Jason Leonard.
"We acknowledge that there is a significant amount of work still to be undertaken to deliver a robust Covid-19 countermeasure plan to ensure a successful, safe and uninterrupted Tour. SA Rugby will have our full support to help implement this plan."
However, the original plan for the Lions to play five warm-up matches against provincial teams, an invitational side and second-string South Africa A before the three-Test series with the Springboks could still change.
"We appreciate the Lions' faith and share their desire to see a safe and successful tour,” said SA Rugby president Mark Alexander in the same statement.
"We have been in regular contact with our government to make that a reality against the backdrop of the pandemic and its predicted progression over the coming months.
"There are serious financial implications for SA Rugby, should the event take place without any supporters in attendance, and we cannot ignore that in our considerations.
"But we are determined that the eventual outcome will deliver the best occasion and experience for players, supporters and our commercial partners."
Speaking earlier on Tuesday, RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney acknowledged the preferred contingency plan of staging the tour in the UK had become increasingly unviable.
"It was always the preferred option to go to South Africa," he said. "We had to develop a whole range of different scenarios given the potential outcomes and one of those was a UK series.
"It's quite controversial as it's not the spirit of the Lions, but as fall-back option, we thought it was a strong one. If they can't host it, the agreement's off and we've probably run out of time to host it in the UK, so you play in 2025."
Lions coach Warren Gatland is due to announce a squad for the tour at the start of May, with the first warm-up match to be played on home soil on Murrayfield against Japan on June 26.
Virat Kohli hailed "one of our sweetest victories" after India fought hard to overcome England by 66 runs in the opening ODI in Pune.
Man-of-the-match Shikhar Dhawan laid a solid foundation for India with an assured 98, missing out on three figures when he miscued a pull off Ben Stokes to Eoin Morgan at midwicket.
Kohli made a similarly fluent half-century but the hosts had stumbled to 202-5 when debutant Krunal Pandya joined KL Rahul in the 41st over.
Krunal (58 not out) laid waste to an otherwise impressive England bowling performance, his 26-ball fifty the fastest ever in a maiden ODI, while wicketkeeper Rahul similarly impressed with an unbeaten 62 as India posted 317-5.
England threatened to make short work of that total as Jonny Bairstow (94) and Jason Roy (46) motored to 135 without loss inside 15 overs, before India's seamers turned the contest on its head.
Prasidh Krishna, also on debut, was the pick with 4-54, while Shardul Thakur's 3-37 accounted for the dangerous trio of Bairstow, Morgan (22) and Jos Buttler (2), and the excellent Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 2-30.
"That's one of our sweetest victories in the recent past. We haven't won many good games in ODIs," India skipper Kohli said at the post-match presentation.
"It was a great comeback from all our bowlers after going for few runs early on. Prasidh was amazing, Krunal as well. Shardul, Bhuvi were amazing. I am a really proud man right now.
"The team showed great character and intensity. As I've mentioned in the past as well, we promote players who have intent and back their skills.
"A special mention to Shikhar's innings as well and KL was back among the runs. We want to back people who will do a selfless job.
"It's a healthy competition between everyone for every slot. We have two or three players available for every slot."
Perhaps not to quite the same extent, but world champions England have their own enviable depth of talent.
Nevertheless, the steadying hand of Joe Root at number three, where Stokes stepped up to be dismissed for one, and Jofra Archer's death bowling were certainly missed as both players undertake a period of rest.
As in the recent 3-2 reverse in the T20I series, captain Morgan was left to rue middle-order failings, with the plummet form 135-0 to 176-5 key in England's challenge fading to 251 all out with 47 deliveries unused.
Nevertheless, he stood by the aggressive approach that has brought his side so much recent success.
"I thought the bowlers were outstanding and there was a bit more on offer for their seamers," he said.
"The two openers were outstanding, but we failed to build on from that. We need to execute better than we did. India did really well and deserved to win.
"Being able to take the attack to the opposition is something that we pride ourselves on. We want to continue to push the envelope in that regard. It's better for us to lose like this than losing by 20 runs.
"The game is always moving forward, technology and fitness are moving forward, so we need to push hard as we can. It's important for us to dictate the way we play."
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