India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has withdrawn from the third Test against England in Rajkot because of a family medical emergency.

Ashwin became just the ninth bowler in history and second Indian after Anil Kumble to reach 500 Test wickets on Friday when he dismissed Zak Crawley in the final session of the second day.

However, just a few hours after the close of play, the Board of Cricket for Control in India announced Ashwin had immediately pulled out of the squad and his availability for the last three days is unknown.

“In these challenging times, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the team fully supports Ashwin,” read a statement from the BCCI secretary Jay Shah.

“The BCCI extends its heartfelt support to the champion cricketer and his family. The health and well-being of the players and their loved ones are of utmost importance.

“The board requests respect for the privacy of Ashwin and his family as they navigate through this challenging time.”

A tweet from BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shukla added: “Wishing speedy recovery of mother of @ashwinravi99. He has to rush and leave Rajkot test to Chennai to be with his mother”

Roy Hodgson’s future as Crystal Palace manager remained unclear on Friday afternoon amid reports the 76-year-old was considering taking a break from the game after being in hospital for tests.

Hodgson fell ill during training on Thursday and was later described as “stable” by the Premier League club after undergoing further medical examinations.

As a consequence, Palace called off Hodgson’s scheduled pre-match press conference ahead of the upcoming match at Everton on Monday night.

The news of Hodgson’s latest health scare came alongside reports Palace were set to sack him, with former Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner a strong favourite to take over.

It had been suggested Hodgson was going to announce at Thursday’s press conference that he was stepping down, with further speculation emerging on Friday over the former England manager considering an indefinite break from the game.

When contacted by the PA news agency on Friday morning, Palace said there was no further update on the situation, with any news expected to come via the club’s own channels.

Friday was understood to be a scheduled rest day for the Palace squad ahead of the trip to Merseyside.

Veteran boss Hodgson received plenty of support from his Premier League colleagues, who wished him a speedy recovery.

West Ham boss David Moyes said at the club’s press conference on Friday afternoon: “I am hearing he is fine by what I have heard, so I am hoping that is the case.

“I have always said I don’t know if I want to be working at Roy’s age, that’s for sure, but he is someone who loves the game and his longevity has been incredible in football.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta – whose side are chasing the title and beat Palace 5-0 at the Emirates Stadium in January – understands what the pressures of the job can bring at both ends of the table.

“Hopefully he’s feeling much better and if that’s the case, knowing Roy, I think he will be in tomorrow because he loves it so much,” the Arsenal manager said.

“But yeah, we all got really worried with the situation and hopefully he is fine.”

On the stresses managers work under, Arteta added: “There is that part, but there is the part of joy and how beautiful our jobs are as well.

“A lot of times (pressure) is in relation to where you are (in the table), but it is part of the job.”

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou also hopes Hodgson will soon be on the mend, and feels whatever might be going on in the background would not diminish the 76-year-old’s standing in the game.

“It is a weird sort of occupation we have,” said the Australian, who took over at Spurs in the summer after a successful spell at Celtic.

“There are not many where people pretty much dictate or try to create a narrative where you are pretty much finished and also putting up your replacement.

“Roy is still in the position, but that is the way of the world nowadays. I guess we sign up for it, so everyone kind of expects it.

“But I don’t think it diminishes Roy’s standing in the game in any way and above all hopefully he bounces back quickly.”

Should Hodgson – in his second spell in charge of the south London club – need any extra time off following his spell in hospital, then Ray Lewington and fellow assistant Paddy McCarthy are expected to take charge for the Everton game.

Palace sit 15th in the table, five points above the relegation zone, heading into the weekend’s Premier League fixtures games.

Disgruntled Eagles fans have displayed banners in recent weeks calling for Hodgson to be sacked and venting frustration with how the club is being run.

Austrian Glasner guided Frankfurt to Europa League glory in 2022 following a penalty shoot-out victory over Rangers in Seville.

The 49-year-old, who has also managed Wolfsburg, has been out of work since leaving the Bundesliga side last summer.

Iga Swiatek will take on Elena Rybakina as she bids for a third consecutive title at the Qatar Open.

The world number one did not even have to take to the court on Friday, earning a semi-final walkover when opponent Karolina Pliskova withdrew because of a back problem.

The Czech dashed to Doha after winning the Transylvania Open title in Romania on Sunday but decided she could not push her body any further.

Rybakina is also attempting to win back-to-back titles after triumphing at the Abu Dhabi Open last week, and she ended the impressive run of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova with a 6-2 6-4 victory in the last four.

It was closer than the scoreline indicates, with Rybakina saving eight of the nine break points she faced. Pavlyuchenkova won three games in a row from 5-1 down in the second set but could not force a decider.

Rybakina has proved one of the most difficult opponents for Swiatek, with the Kazakh number one winning their last three meetings, all last season.

Rybakina prevailed in straight sets on hard courts at both the Australian Open and Indian Wells before Swiatek retired in the third set of their clash on clay in Rome.

Rybakina, who has now won eight straight matches, said: “First I will try to recover because I played so many matches. Iga’s a great champion so it’s going to be very difficult but I’ll try to enjoy it as much as I can.”

Latenightpass will chart an unconventional passage to the Randox Grand National when he makes a belated debut over timber in the Albert Bartlett Prestige Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock.

The 11-year-old has been a standing dish in the hunter chase sphere for the majority of his career, where point-to-point handler Tom Ellis stewarded the gelding with great success.

However, success over the Aintree fences sparked dreams of a National bid and having finished no worse than fourth in three goes over the famous spruce, connections switched their veteran to nearby Dan Skelton to race under rules and set up a National bid.

It is a move that looks like paying off and having found the scoresheet for Skelton in a cross-country event at Cheltenham in December, Latenightpass finds himself on an official rating of 149 and effectively assured of his place in the line-up for the world’s most famous steeplechase, for which he is as short as 20-1.

To preserve that figure, Skelton has elected to revert to the smaller obstacles for his Aintree tune-up, and with his charge in rude health, is prepared to pitch him into a valuable contest while the iron is hot.

“Not many will debut over hurdles at 11, but he’s a novice because he has gone down an unconventional route,” said Skelton.

“He has lots of experience and he knows how to handle soft ground so we will see how he gets on.

“He could go and run in a £10,000 novice hurdle anywhere, but we thought we would take aim at something a bit better because of his high mark and this will be his prep for the Grand National.”

Isaac Des Obeaux may not yet be in line for Grand Nationals but could signal his readiness to compete at the top table if he builds on some encouraging performances this season.

Paul Nicholls’ six-year-old has scored twice over an intermediate trip at Chepstow this term and following a respectable effort in a Cheltenham Grade Two last month, steps up in trip for a race the champion trainer won with Makin’yourmindup 12 months ago.

“He ran a super race at Cheltenham the last day which suggested he wants three miles which this trip is,” said Nicholls.

“He doesn’t mind heavy ground and has won twice at Chepstow this year. Hopefully he is progressive and he will have a chance in a competitive race.”

The Ditcheat handler also holds a strong hand in the Virgin Bet Rendlesham Hurdle where his Red Risk will recommence rivalry with Gary Moore’s Botox Has.

Both finished among the also-rans in Ascot’s Long Walk Hurdle, but before that were first and second in the West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby, with Red Risk gunning to reverse the placings this time.

“He will love the ground and he’s a Grade Two horse – we over faced him a little bit the last day,” continued Nicholls.

“He ran very well at Wetherby at the beginning of the season and if he repeats that I think he will be thereabouts.”

Six go to post for the Grade Two event which sees Ruth Jefferson’s high-class chaser Sounds Russian sighted for the first time since being brought down in last year’s Cheltenham Gold Cup and Nick Alexander’s 2023 winner Wakool defend his crown.

The Skelton team will be represented by Martha Brae, but the up and coming force could well be Olly Murphy’s Butch who is unbeaten in three starts this term and got the better of a strong cast of rivals when bringing up a hat-trick at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day.

“He’s in good form and although he looks slightly wrong at the weights with one or two, hopefully he can be the improver in the race,” said Murphy.

“He will handle the ground fine and he’s a horse who is definitely not going to Cheltenham, so this will probably be his main target for the season in terms of it being a graded race before he goes chasing next season. We’re looking forward to him.”

Mauricio Pochettino promised his Chelsea side would attack Manchester City when the two clubs meet at the Etihad Stadium for Saturday’s Premier League clash.

The defending champions drew a memorable game 4-4 at Stamford Bridge in November with former City player Cole Palmer scoring a penalty in stoppage time for the hosts to snatch a point.

Chelsea have endured mixed fortunes since, losing half of their 12 league fixtures, though following Monday’s 3-1 win away at Crystal Palace, they could climb to a season-high seventh place with victory against Pep Guardiola’s side.

With 14 games to go, the team have already score three more league goals than they managed in the entirety of the last campaign, when only four sides netted fewer.

Pochettino said there was no chance they would sit and wait for City – who have lost just once at home in the English top flight in almost two years – to come on to them.

“The lesson (from the first game) is that we’re going to face one of the best teams in the world, but at the same time you need to be brave enough to try to force them to defend, to run back and to face their goal,” he said.

“If we go there and wait to see what’s going on, it’s a team that can dominate you and will make you suffer.

“The most important thing we realised is that we need to attack, be able to run and to make the effort all together.

“The most important thing is to go there and be brave, to challenge them.”

Saturday’s game will be the first time Palmer has returned to the Etihad since his £40million summer move to west London.

Before making the switch, the 21-year-old scored for City in this season’s Community Shield, which was lost on penalties to Arsenal and in the UEFA Super Cup win over Sevilla.

He is currently top scorer for his new club with 12 in all competitions and has been arguably the standout success of co-owner Todd Boehly’s mammoth £1billion transfer spend.

Palmer had previously hinted that he moved as he did not believe he would get sufficient game time at City.

“He’s not the type of player that needs to prove anything,” said Pochettino.

“I think he really is very grateful for his period at Manchester City, (but) he left the club because he wanted to find another challenge and to have the possibility to play more.

“Man City have an amazing squad. (Clubs) make decisions that we think are the best for the team. It doesn’t mean someone is not a good player.

“Sometimes the circumstance doesn’t match. Players want to leave and you can’t stop them because you can’t provide the game time.

“It’s unfair to say they’re going to regret it. Man City are one of the best teams in the world and it’s not easy to find the space to play for a young guy.

“Someone here on the staff said to me ‘he’s from Manchester, but he looks like a Brazilian or an Argentinian’.

“He has the capacity to adapt so quick, because our strengths as South Americans, its that we come to Europe and we adapt very quick.”

Pochettino confirmed defender Thiago Silva would miss the game with a minor injury, though Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto were available.

Goalkeeper Robert Sanchez was fit for contention – having not played since December – but the manager would not say whether he would be selected ahead of Djordje Petrovic.

“You will see,” he said. “You never know in football what can happen.”

The British Horseracing Authority has lifted its recently-imposed exclusion order imposed on suspended rider Dylan Kitts for failing to comply with an investigation.

The jockey finished third aboard Hillsin at Worcester in July last year and was referred by the raceday stewards for the ride, with the horse banned from running for 40 days and eventually moved to another stable at the request of Chris Honour, who trained him at the time.

The BHA subsequently suspended Kitts, preventing him from taking rides or attending racecourses, and earlier this week added a disciplinary officer exclusion order to his sanction for “failing to provide relevant information requested by the BHA’s integrity team as part of an ongoing investigation”.

The order would prevent Kitts from attending any racing premises, including yards, and from communicating with people involved in the sport.

However, on Friday the BHA announced the order had been lifted after the rider provided the information requested, although Kitts remains suspended.

A statement from the governing body said: “The BHA can today confirm that it is now in receipt of relevant information requested by the integrity team as part of an ongoing investigation involving Mr Dylan Kitts.

“As a result of this information being provided, the disciplinary officer exclusion order issued earlier this week, which was imposed after multiple previous deadlines had been missed, has been lifted.

“Mr Kitts remains suspended from race riding while the investigation continues.”

Lucinda Russell’s Apple Away looks to take the next step in her promising chasing career when she lines up in the Sodexo Live! Reynoldstown Novices’ Chase at Ascot on Saturday.

The Grade One-winning novice hurdler is in her first season over fences and has made a pleasing start so far, finishing third on debut in a competitive graduation chase and then winning by a huge margin next time out at Leicester.

She gained more experience in the Hampton Novices’ Chase at Warwick last month, finishing second to the highly-regarded Grey Dawning – the same horse that won her first race over fences and the highest-rated novice chaser in training in Britain.

“It’s a good opportunity for her and Grey Dawning looks a very good horse, but she is probably better than she showed at Warwick,” said Peter Scudamore, partner and assistant to Russell.

“I don’t know if I had her quite right at Warwick but I’m hoping for a big run this time.

“It’s a competitive race and we don’t underestimate the opposition, but God willing, she is jumping OK and she’s running to the same standard as she did over hurdles.

“We realise we’re in at the deep end with her, but we know we’re fortunate to have a mare as good as her, so we’re hoping for a big run.”

Apple Away is ultimately Cheltenham-bound, with connections likely to come away from this weekend with more of an idea of which direction to go in at the meeting.

Scudamore added: “We have Giovinco as well, who won on Thursday, and Apple Away and one will probably go to the Ultima.

“Apple will probably have more options and could go for the amateur race (National Hunt Challenge Cup), but I would like to keep Derek (Fox) on her if possible. You have the Ultima and the Brown Advisory, so we will see.”

Also running is Paul Nicholls’ Brave Kingdom, who has returned from a significant break this season to win both starts in novice handicap chases.

He steps up a level and Nicholls hopes he is open to improvement and may think bigger still if he impresses at Ascot.

“He’s come good, he had problems and missed a lot of time and then he won at Plumpton well and then again at Newbury,” he said.

“He has to progress again, but we’re very happy with him. Newbury was obviously a novice handicap and this is a different race again, but we’re happy with him and he’s had a nice bit of time since Newbury, so hopefully he will run well again.

“Because he has had problems, you only take things race-by-race with him but I suspect if he won or did very well in this then we might look at a better race down the line at Aintree or somewhere like that. I’m not convinced Cheltenham is his track at the moment, but we will see.”

Anthony Honeyball’s Kilbeg King is another interesting contender having finished third in the Grade One Kauto Star at Kempton when last seen, with the Ben Pauling-trained Henry’s Friend and Dan Skelton’s The King Of Ryhope completing the field.

Connections of L’Homme Presse are putting thoughts of the Cheltenham Gold Cup to one side as he heads to the Betfair Ascot Chase for a race that has been likened to the FA Cup Final.

Venetia Williams’ nine-year-old has already tasted success at the Cheltenham Festival as a novice, but he missed out on a shot at the blue riband in 2023 as an injury following his run in the King George VI Chase curtailed his season.

After a long and arduous 391-day absence L’Homme Presse returned in style to claim the Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield last month and having suffered the heartbreak of missing out on Grade One opportunities during his time on the sidelines, connections are excited to head to Ascot on Saturday for a race won by some of the sport’s greats over the years.

“We’re very calm and relaxed and looking forward to it,” said Andy Edwards, who co-owns L’Homme Presse with Peter and Patricia Pink.

“The horse is well and it’s exciting to be in a Grade One chase at Ascot.”

He went on: “When I was young and thought about owning a racehorse, days like Saturday are what dreams are made of. Footballers want to play in the FA Cup Final at Wembley and for me to be in a Grade One chase at Ascot is a privilege. Although everyone wants to talk about the Gold Cup, this is its own race in its own right and deserves proper merit.

“Cheltenham is obviously his end goal, but it is not the be all and end all. It may be the Olympics of our sport and where we want to get to, but there are lots of fantastic opportunities on the way and as we found out last year, you have to take your opportunities, because your dreams could be cut short very quickly – you can’t put your eggs in one basket.”

A select field of four will head to post, and Edwards has enormous respect for both Pic D’Orhy and Ahoy Senor, believing spectators at the Berkshire track could be in for a thrilling contest – similar to when L’Homme Presse went toe-to-toe with Protektorat in his Lingfield comeback.

“It might be a small field, but there are some very good horses in there – they have speed and like to run from the front” he continued.

“When we beat Pic D’Orhy in the Scilly Isles, that horse wasn’t himself and didn’t suit the heavy ground and track maybe. Ascot will suit him much better and he’s already won there earlier on this season.

“Ahoy Senor is a Grade One winner who beat us at Aintree and he came second to us in the Brown Advisory. He clearly goes better after Christmas and it is his time of year to start coming to himself.

“I think it will end up a proper race, just like Lingfield. There might only have been two horses in contention from eight fences out, but the race between L’Homme Presse and Protektorat was full on – it wasn’t an easy sprint finish like Galopin Des Champs had at Leopardstown recently. I’m sure Saturday will be the same.”

One who knows his way round every inch of Ascot is Pic D’Orhy, who had the misfortune of bumping into an on-song Shishkin in this race 12 months ago, but took advantage of that rival’s refusal to start when picking up Grade Two honours at the track in the autumn.

A top-table winner at Aintree last spring, a return to Merseyside is on the cards after this assignment, with champion trainer Paul Nicholls confident his consistent nine-year-old can take a hand in the finish here.

He said: “Consistency is his big thing and he runs in some good races, he won his Grade One at Aintree last year, and I’m sure he will run another solid race again on Saturday. He’s just a high-class horse who always runs to a high level.

“He’s not slow and he’s never been further than two and a half or two-mile-five – it suits him very well.

“Ultimately L’Homme Presse is en route to the Gold Cup and stays very nicely and Ascot is a stiff two-mile-five and the ground is not going to be quick at the moment, so I imagine stamina will come into it a little bit. But this is the ideal trip for us.

“Shishkin beat him in the race last year and funnily, even though he has won at Ascot a few times, he seems happier on a flatter track – he seems to keep his best form for a flatter track. But he’s good at Ascot and touch wood he jumps nicely and hopefully he has a nice chance.

“He will probably go to Aintree after this. I wouldn’t have thought he would go to Cheltenham and we’re quite keen to do what we did last year. If he has a hard race, which undoubtedly it will be a tough race, then it’s soon enough to Cheltenham and he will better off going to Aintree.”

Lucinda Russell drops Ahoy Senor back in distance as connections contemplate a tilt at the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

Little has gone right for the dual Grade One winner this term, but Peter Scudamore, Russell’s partner and assistant, feels he is beginning to show his best at home on the gallops.

He said: “We feel we have probably got it wrong and things haven’t come quite right this season, his form figures will tell you that.

“I thought he ran well last time at Cheltenham and feels right now. It’s obviously a very competitive race and if he can run a big race we can see where we go at Cheltenham with him.

“I’m very happy with him like I was last time when he went to Cheltenham and hopefully this will just put him spot on for Cheltenham this time.”

Dan Skelton’s Sail Away completes the line-up.

Philippe Clement wants regular meetings with referees to foster a better understanding between officials and managers.

The Rangers boss was speaking the day after 13 decisions were deemed wrong by the Scottish Football Association’s VAR independent review panel during the second round of cinch Premiership fixtures – a steep rise from the three errors reported from the opening round of games.

The Belgian was not too concerned about the apparent mistakes made by officials so far this season ahead of the trip to St Johnstone on Sunday but outlined his hopes for the future.

Clement, who has picked up three yellow cards since taking over the Ibrox hot seat in October, the most recent in the 3-1 win over Ross County at Ibrox on Wednesday night which took his side level on points with leaders Celtic, believes that more dialogue away from the “tension” of matches would help the game in general.

“Transparency is good and if faults are made there is communication and we can learn lessons from that,” said the former Genk, Club Brugge and Monaco boss, who revealed Rabbi Matondo will miss this weekend’s game with a small muscle injury. “It is the same for me if I make mistakes.

“I think it very important for the game of football that there is transparency and communication and I think it is important that there can be more communication between referees and managers a few times a season, say two or three times a season, outside of the games.

“We did it in Belgium once or twice and it was really interesting because it is a different relationship within the games. There is always a lot of tension and everybody is really focused on their job.

“But I think it is important to have good communications and see each other in a different way sometimes and I think it can be interesting for Scottish football.

“It can be interesting to have good discussions about the game of football, the rules and the things that happen in the months before, discussions in a good way, that there is no misunderstanding or less misunderstanding and that everybody can have their view on things and with this we can have a better product.

“And I mean both sides; managers can talk about things that happened in games that we didn’t understand because we need to explain to our players why decisions are made and also the referees can talk about the actions in the games and also maybe about the behaviour of managers.

“I was also a bit too temperamental in the last game and I kicked away a bottle of water and I got a yellow card which I understood afterwards.

“If we can have open discussions, we as managers can learn, me in the first instance.”

Bayern Munich full-back Sacha Boey is facing several weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Tests have revealed the 23-year-old Frenchman, who joined the club from Galatasaray last month, suffered “a large tear” in his left hamstring during training.

A statement on the club’s official website read: “FC Bayern will be without Sacha Boey for the coming weeks after the 23-year-old January arrival suffered a large tear in his left hamstring in training.

“This is the result of examination by the FC Bayern medical department.”

Boey started last Saturday’s 3-0 Bundesliga defeat at Bayer Leverkusen – his second appearance for the club – but was an unused substitute as the German champions went down 1-0 at Lazio in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

The news represents a fresh blow for Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel, who headed for Rome under intense pressure after the defeat by Leverkusen left his side five points adrift of the leaders.

Tuchel’s men head for Bochum on Sunday, host fifth-placed RB Leipzig and travel to Freiburg in the league before the second leg of their last 16 clash with Lazio on March 5.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admits Israel international Liel Abada may leave on loan if he cannot get his mind refocused on playing for the club.

Abada will again sit out Celtic’s cinch Premiership encounter with Kilmarnock on Saturday after not being in the right frame of mind to face St Mirren last weekend.

The 22-year-old has faced pressure in his home country because of support for Palestine among Celtic fans.

The situation flared up the day after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, which led to more than 1,100 deaths plus the taking of hostages, when two banners among Celtic fans at Parkhead read: “Free Palestine” and “Victory to the Resistance”.

Palestine flags have continued to be flown among Celtic supporters amid Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza. More than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 68,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The Green Brigade ultras group have asked their fellow fans to join them in song ahead of the Kilmarnock match to pay tribute to the people of Palestine and Abada will not be present.

“It’s still the same situation,” Rodgers said. “I have had lots of conversations with Liel and I am really empathetic towards the issue he has. It’s more than football. It’s at a human level, so I have to respect that.

“He is training, he is working away, but this period is all about the mind and if you’re not quite right or ready, firstly I can’t take any risk with him, because we will always support the player, and obviously I also have to protect the squad as well.”

Rodgers took the then injured Abada out for dinner to discuss his situation in the wake of the October 7 attacks, and he is continuing to offer his support to the player, who did not rediscover his previous form after returning in December.

“I take a great responsibility, that’s why we are here,” the former Liverpool manager said. “My job isn’t just a football manager.

“This is a young guy, 22 years of age, far, far away from home. People can talk about what’s going on there and then they can forget about it. This is the reality for him, this is his life. Every single day, every night, families in a war.

“So it’s a really, really tough situation for him. On a human level, I have real, real empathy for him.

“There’s many situations I have had to deal with as a manager over time, and lots of them you don’t get on the coaching courses. You have to understand and sit in his shoes.

“It’s the sadness of it where he re-signed for us because he had great belief he could go on and develop, then he had a period out with injury and now coming back he has found it a real, real challenge. But I am here for him, to support him, and everything else is secondary to that.

“It’s my job and I will take the human aspect, like I have done with numbers of players before, and look after him.

“And when he’s ready, if he ever is ready, then he will be able to give us everything.”

That caveat opened up the prospect of Abada potentially negotiating a swift exit from Glasgow, perhaps on loan to a league with its transfer window open, before a more permanent parting of the ways in the summer.

When asked if a loan was now an option, Rodgers said: “It’s a possibility. But we’ll see. We will work together on it.”