There will be no Grand National bid for Famous Bridge in 2024, but the improving stayer will be set some stern tests as he attempts to continue his rise up the chasing ranks.
Trained by Nicky Richards, the eight-year-old is becoming a real force over staying trips and made it back-to-back Haydock victories when landing the Tommy Whittle Chase just before Christmas.
His thirst for a stamina test and sure-footed jumping makes him the ideal candidate for the Grand National and sporting the colours of the Hemmings Family, the Aintree showpiece will always be high up on the agenda.
However, Richards is keen to keep building Famous Bridge’s chasing experience in the second half of the current campaign where he will seek to add to his burgeoning CV.
“He’s going along grand and he looks like he stays well, he’s a good, tough lad,” said Richards.
“I think myself and Mick (Meagher, racing manager to Hemmings Racing) thought it was probably just a year too soon (for the National).
“It was just his seventh run over fences in the Tommy Whittle and he is a lovely horse going forward. If he gets another two or three nice runs this year, hopefully we will be able to work towards the National next year.”
Options for Famous Bridge’s next outing include a return to Merseyside in search of a Haydock hat-trick in the Sky Bet Peter Marsh Chase on January 20 or wait an extra week for Doncaster’s Great Yorkshire Handicap Chase.
“There’s the Peter Marsh back at Haydock but I don’t know if that might come a week too soon for him,” added Richards.
“I haven’t done a great deal with him yet but he’s had canters and everything and everything seems grand with him so we will see.
“Then there is the Great Yorkshire the week after and we probably need a bit of rain there.
“There are nice races about for him and he’s a grand horse going forward. We will be racing him and he will be running in good races.”
However, it is unlikely the Cheltenham Festival will enter the equation with a further Town Moor contest, as well as Aintree and Ayr taking precedence when the season enters spring.
“Mr Hemmings loved Aintree and he loved the Ayr festival as well, so that will all be discussed as we go along, one race at a time,” continued Richards.
“You also have the Grimthorpe (at Doncaster) as well which is quite a valuable race now, so there are plenty of different options.
“That one (Grimthorpe) is early March, so it would probably be too quick to then go to Cheltenham.
“But we will be keeping our options open and he’s in grand old fettle and we are very happy with the way he is going along.”
The Jukebox Man will not be seen again until the spring following his fine third in Newbury’s Challow Hurdle.
Owned by football great Harry Redknapp, he was bought for £70,000 after impressing in the pointing field and since being beaten by the well-regarded Gidleigh Park on his rules debut, he has barely put a foot wrong for trainer Ben Pauling.
Two novice hurdle victories saw him stepped up in class for the final Grade One of 2023 and although failing to come away with victory, the six-year-old was less than two lengths adrift of eventual winner Captain Teague after being involved in a prolonged battle with both the Paul Nicholls-trained scorer and runner-up Lookaway up the Newbury straight.
That gives Pauling confidence that he has a special performer under his care and after being given plenty of time to recover from his Challow exertions, The Jukebox Man will be prepared for big-race targets in the spring.
He said: “We are really lucky at the moment to have some smart young horses, but he is definitely up there with the best of them.
“He’s particularly suited by that sort of ground and I’m not saying he does not have the speed or class for better ground, but I think he handles the soft very well.
“I thought he ran a lovely race and jumped particularly well and travelled strongly. Although four of them finished within two lengths of each other, rather than say the race wasn’t that strong, I think you probably have four nice horses.
“Lookaway brought very strong handicap form to the race and the others are very unexposed horses who have done nothing wrong in their preparation and are hopefully going to be smart horses for years to come.”
Pauling continued: “He won’t run again now until the spring. I just feel the Challow is always a gruelling enough test and I don’t think we can say this year is any different.
“Amazingly, he has come out of it very well indeed and is as fresh as a daisy. However, I think we will be saving him for something in the spring, whether that is Cheltenham, Aintree or even Perth.
“We will look to run once or twice max before the end of the season and although I think he will stay three miles very well, ground will probably determine which route we went really.
“I think he will definitely stay three, but if it came up soft I wouldn’t be afraid to leave him at two and a half and I think he is an absolute belter. He has a brilliant attitude, loves his job and I think he is going to be a very smart horse for the future.”
It was an exciting few days for both Pauling and Redknapp and although they fell short in the Challow, they received the perfect compensation package at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day when Shakem Up’Arry landed the valuable Paddy Power New Year’s Day Handicap Chase by an emphatic seven and a half lengths.
It was a long-awaited victory for the 10-year-old, who had been sent off favourite for the corresponding race in 2023 and had also placed over the course and distance at the Cheltenham Festival.
“He has always been knocking on the door of a big one without quite finding what is needed to get his head in front,” continued Pauling.
“Whether that be at the Festival or whenever he ran, he always seems to turn up, but has just fallen slightly short.
“We just gave him a tinker with his wind in the summer and whether it is that or not, I’m not sure, but it looks to be paying dividends and it is great for both Harry and the horse to get on the board in a big one and reap the rewards for almost Harry’s patience really.
“Harry couldn’t have been much happier, he was gutted not to be there, but he has always adored this horse – I think because he is named after him. He has owned him with me since he was a three-year-old and amazingly he turned 10 the other day which is frightening.
“He has always been fond of this horse and it was lovely to see him go and do it.”
A remarkable 23 wickets fell on the first day of the second Test in Cape Town, with South Africa bowled out for just 55 and India succumbing to a shocking collapse of their own.
More wickets have fallen in a single day just four times in the history of Test cricket, with ball dominating bat throughout three breathless sessions that ushered the game towards a rapid conclusion at Newlands.
At stumps South Africa were 62 for three in the second innings, only 36 behind after India had lost their last six wickets for no runs in the space of 11 deliveries. From 153 for four they were rounded up in successive overs by the inspired pairing of Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada without adding to their total.
Dean Elgar, South Africa’s retiring stand-in captain, suffered the ignominy of ending his international batting career with two dismissals on the same day but at least shared that pain with team-mates Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs.
Elgar had won the toss and opted to bat in the morning but saw his decision blow up spectacularly as India skittled the hosts for their lowest Test score in 92 years.
Mohammed Siraj did most of the damage with figures of six for 15, with two apiece for Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar, the latter without conceding a run, as the innings subsided in less than 24 overs.
India took the lead in just 10 overs after lunch, Rohit Sharma taking the attack to the home seamers with a rapid 39. The tourists were primed to hammer home a big advantage at 105 for two with Shubman Gill (36) and Virat Kohli (46) at the crease, but there was another twist in the tale.
Things took a huge handbrake turn in the 33rd over when Ngidi dismissed KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Bumrah in a triple-wicket maiden.
Unbelievably, three more fell in the next five deliveries at the other end, Rabada taking care of Kohli and Prasidh Krishna either side of Siraj’s run out.
The third innings of the day got under way in the evening session, Kumar picking up two more and Bumrah adding a third as Aiden Markram’s 36 not out offered some belated resistance from the Proteas.
Harlequins prop Joe Marler’s arm injury is being assessed by specialists amid front-row concerns for England ahead of the Guinness Six Nations.
Marler’s fellow loosehead props Ellis Genge, Bevan Rodd, Mako Vunipola and Val Rapava-Ruskin are all currently on the sidelines.
And Quins are awaiting a full medical verdict on Marler, who went off during the Gallagher Premiership victory over Gloucester at Twickenham on Saturday.
England head coach Steve Borthwick has potentially been presented with a major headache just a month before England’s Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome.
His problems include a four-match ban being imposed on Saracens’ Vunipola, who was sent off for a dangerous tackle against Premiership opponents Newcastle.
Although he will be available if required for the Six Nations, experienced campaigner Vunipola cannot play again until after Saracens’ Premiership appointment with Exeter, which is only a week before the Italy clash.
Vunipola missed out on the Rugby World Cup in France, with Borthwick choosing Genge, Marler and Rodd to fill three loosehead slots.
Genge, an England captaincy contender following Owen Farrell’s decision to miss the Six Nations, last featured for his club Bristol on December 2. He has been sidelined due to a hamstring injury.
Sale forward Rodd is out for the rest of this season after undergoing toe surgery and Gloucester’s Rapava-Ruskin, who was part of England’s World Cup training squad last year, is another long-term absentee following a knee operation.
Borthwick will announce his Six Nations squad in the near future, with prop resources seemingly being stretched.
On 88 times-capped Marler, Quins rugby director Billy Millard said: “We had three big injuries in the first-half to three very influential and key decision-makers on the pitch (Marler, Dino Lamb and Stephan Lewies).
“To be totally honest, they are still seeing specialists. I think some of them have turned out alright, but I am still not 100 per cent clear on the three. We are still waiting for total clarity.
“It’s his (Marler’s) arm, but again, they are getting MRIs and there are specialists looking at it and until I am 100 per cent clear I wouldn’t want to speculate.
“God love him, he battled on for a long time, but we have got specialists looking at him as we speak. I doubt very much he will be available for selection (against Newcastle on Friday).
“Fingers crossed, it is only a short-term one. Joe is Joe. He is big for us in so many ways. Hopefully, it is not a long one for him.”
On a positive note, Genge’s situation appears to be improving, with Bristol rugby director Pat Lam stating: “He is back running now, so he is on track.
“He is certainly going to make the Six Nations, whether he makes the start… the most important thing is that he gets back to playing.”
Buddy One is set to take a direct route to the Stayers’ Hurdle after he was found to be suffering from a back problem following his disappointing run at Leopardstown last week.
The seven-year-old provided trainer Paul Gilligan with a memorable Cheltenham victory in November, but has since come up short in two starts at Grade One level – finishing last of five in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse before being pulled up in the Jack de Bromhead Christmas Hurdle.
However, Gilligan has not lost any faith in his stable star and will now look to get him back to his best for the Cheltenham Festival in March.
He said: “He didn’t scope clear after the race the other day, but I think the main thing was he had a very sore back afterwards.
“I don’t know if he took a false step or what happened, but we had him away yesterday and all will be good, so we’ll look forward to March.
“He won’t run before then and I would imagine it will be the Stayers’ Hurdle – I don’t think there’s anything else for him really. We haven’t entered him for the Dublin Racing Festival because there is no race for these three-mile horses and I’m not going to rush him back.”
Buddy One is likely to be a big price for the Stayers’ Hurdle, with Hatton’s Grace hero Teahupoo and his Christmas Hurdle-winning stablemate Irish Point disputing favouritism with some bookmakers.
Gilligan added: “I thought he ran a nice race to a point the other day, but he just didn’t gallop through the line the way he can.
“It’s horses for courses, he seems to like Cheltenham and we’ll look forward to taking him back there before going over fences next season.
“Teahupoo is a good horse and Irish Point is a good horse, but we have form around that course, which is a big plus, and there’s a reason for his run in Leopardstown.”
Novak Djokovic is confident he can recover from a wrist injury in time for his Australian Open title defence.
The world number one struggled with a problem with his right wrist and was not at his best in a straight-sets defeat to Alex de Minuar in the United Cup in Perth.
Djokovic, bidding for a record-extending 11th men’s Australian Open singles title, lost 6-4 6-4 to world number 12 De Minaur as Australia beat Serbia 2-0 in their quarter-final in the mixed team event.
“Congrats to De Minaur, he was very solid from the beginning, just played a great match and deserved to win,” Djokovic said in a post-match interview.
“I was not at my level, but it was just one of these days where you didn’t feel your best on the court and your opponent played very well, that’s all I can say.
“I have enough time to get myself in the right shape for the Australian Open and that’s what matters the most at this point.
“I think I’ll be OK, to be honest, but it did have quite an impact, particularly on the forehand and serve.
“But, again, I don’t want to be too much time talking about it and taking away credit for the victory from De Minaur, he was just very solid as he always is.
“Congrats to him and to the Australian team. It is what it is for us I guess and I move on with my thoughts in Melbourne.”
Djokovic will find out his first-round opponent at Melbourne Park when the singles draw for the first grand slam of the year takes place on Sunday.
The 36-year-old needed a medical time-out for his wrist problem in his previous United Cup match against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka, which he won in three sets on Tuesday.
Against De Minaur he twice needed treatment, first after holding serve to lead 4-3 in the opening set and again after he had been broken to trail 5-4.
“I knew I was probably not going to be at 100 per cent physically, emotionally, mentally game-wise in the opening week of the season,” Djokovic added.
“Neither did I expect that or want that to be honest. It’s all a part of the build-up for the Australian Open.”
Despite Djokovic’s fitness concerns, De Minaur produced an impressive performance to seal one of the biggest wins of his career in just over an hour-and-a-half.
Ajla Tomljanovic followed De Minaur’s win by beating Serbia’s Natalija Stevanovic 6-1 6-1 to clinch Australia’s semi-final place.
Cannock Park has been handed a big local target by Borders handler Paul Robson after his pleasing third in Aintree’s Formby Novices’ Hurdle on Boxing Day.
Although a winner at Cheltenham on his hurdling bow, it was a bold move by Robson – who combines training his small string with running a funeral directors business – to run the six-year-old in the Christmas Grade One on just his second start over timber.
Cannock Park gave a fine account when attempting to make all in the hands of Craig Nichol and although well held by the front two, he plugged on gamely to make the podium at odds of 40-1.
Despite being pleased with the performance, Robson believes the gap to the front two is too much to bridge at present, with ambitions of running in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle switched for a crack at Kelso’s bet365 Morebattle Hurdle on March 2, where he will seek a famous local victory.
“He’s a lovely horse and he deserved his place in the race at Aintree,” said Robson.
“He was probably a lucky third given the horse that fell, but at the same time, I would say all roads don’t lead to the Supreme. I feel he is not quite that level.
“He’s going to be a lovely, lovely horse and we might look at the Morebattle at Kelso in early March, but we won’t be going to Cheltenham.
“The Morebattle is worth a lot of money and he needs two more runs to qualify, so he is going to have to be busy between now and then.
“He will probably go to Kelso on the 14th, there is just a normal class four novice and he will obviously have a penalty. If he runs there, then we will probably run him in a handicap three or four weeks after that in preparation for the Morebattle.”
A return to Aintree for further Grade One action in the spring is a possibility granted a decent performance in his Kelso target, but Robson is already looking forward to next season where he envisages Cannock Park making his mark over the larger obstacles.
“I imagine that is what he will do and if he runs a blinder in the Morebattle, we can go back to Aintree and if he doesn’t, he can have a break and come back as a novice chaser,” said Robson.
“I’ve never been too fussed about him being too quick over his hurdles as I’ve been trying to teach him to jump correctly. We’ve always wanted him to be a chaser, we know he is going to be a chaser and we hope he is going to be a high-class two-miler. That’s what I think his forte will be.”
Cannock Park is by far the best horse to pass through Robson’s hands and although initially disappointed his first foray into Grade One company ended in defeat, the handler is now delighted to be flying the flag for the Scottish Borders with his promising inmate.
Robson added: “We were utterly thrilled and I think the fact we have never been in races like that before, I was kind of gutted finishing third, but when you come away and start looking at it, you get an understanding of what we have just achieved, which is massive.
“We’re delighted and proud of the horse and just very excited. Every trainer I have bumped into when racing since has been chuffed for the horse and for me which is lovely, and they obviously have a lot more experience than me and are delighted there is a nice horse in the north which is super.”
West Indies captain Hayley Matthews has been shortlisted for the Women’s Twenty20 International Player-of-the-Year honours in the International Cricket Council's 2023 awards.
Matthews, the number one-ranked ICC Women's T20I all-rounder put together a remarkable series of performances last year, as she racked up 700 runs in the year, the most by any player in a year in Women's T20Is. She also picked up 19 wickets at an average of 16.21 in a mere 14 matches for the year.
The 25-year-old Barbadian is up against three high-class players, with, England’s Sophie Ecclestone, the top ranked T20 international bowler, Australia’s Ellyse Perry, and Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu also nominated.
Matthews’ stellar display against Australia in a bilateral T20I series in the second half of the year, was one for the ages. During that series, she posted scores of an unbeaten 99, 132 and 79, as she proved to be a thorn to the Australian side.
Matthews’ extraordinary unbeaten 99 in the first game of the series was overshadowed by her mind-blowing 132 in a run-chase of 213 in Sydney. The world-record run-chase in women's T20Is saw Matthews break several records, including that of the highest individual score in a women’s T20I run-chase.
Her overall tally of 310 runs in the series is the most by any player in a women's T20I bilateral series. Matthews also enjoyed good form in the ICC Women's T20 World Cup, where she tallied 130 runs and took four wickets and four catches.
The hard-hitting Matthews produced a match-winning performance in a tight encounter against Ireland at the T20 World Cup. In that contest, she picked up four wickets and made a 34-ball 48, but her remarkable 132 against Australia overshadowed it all.
Having taken three wickets for 36 runs with the ball as Australia made a whopping 212, West Indies were faced with a daunting task in the run-chase, but nothing could have prepared anyone for Matthews’ innings.
She hit two fours and a six in the 17th over of the run-chase to raise her century off just 53 balls, and then clubbed Jess Jonassen for four fours in a row in the 19th over to bring the equation down to eight runs needed off six balls.
While Matthews was dismissed in the over, she had set the stage for one of the most outrageous women's T20I wins of all-time with her blistering 132 off just 64 balls. The innings was studded with 20 fours and five sixes, as 110 of her 132 runs came in boundaries.
Meanwhile, the men’s T20 shortlist includes 2022 winner Suryakumar Yadav of India, New Zealand’s Mark Chapman, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and Uganda’s Alpesh Ramjani – who helped his side qualify for their first ever World Cup.
Gerald Coetzee (South Africa), Yashasvi Jaiswal (India), Dilshan Madushanka (Sri Lanka) and Rachin Ravindra (New Zealand), compete for the men’s emerging player.
Nominees for Test and ODI awards will be released later this week.
Barcelona boss Xavi maintains the club will not expect too much too soon from teenager Vitor Roque.
The 18-year-old Brazil forward has been training with his new team-mates after arriving in Catalonia to complete a 40million euro (£35m) move from Athletico Paranaense but has yet to be officially registered with LaLiga.
Xavi, though, played down suggestions of any complications over Barcelona’s financial fair play restrictions and suggested Roque could be involved for Thursday’s match at Las Palmas.
Barcelona put a buy-out clause of 500million euros (£432m) in his long-term contract, which runs until June 2031.
Xavi, though, insists Roque will be given the time needed to establish himself in the side.
“The registration process is the only thing missing. He will be in the squad list. We hope to have him available (for Thursday). I imagine it’s a question of hours,” Xavi said.
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“We will take things slowly with him – he is only 18 years old and we can’t shoulder too much responsibility on him.
“He is doing well, is eager and has adapted very quickly to the group and to training, but we will be cautious.”
Barcelona resume LaLiga action away in the Canary Islands following the international break sitting fourth, some seven points off leaders Real Madrid and Girona.
Defender Inigo Martinez is closing in on a return from a thigh problem, so could feature in the the Copa del Rey tie at Barbastro on Sunday.
Marcos Alonso, though, is set for a spell out following surgery to help resolve an on-going back problem.
Xavi feels his players can return refreshed for the challenges ahead in 2024.
“The team has come back very well,” Xavi told a press conference. “There’s no need for words, now it’s time to show it on the pitch. We want to find continuity in our play and results.
“I see how they train, what they are capable of, we have done it with most of them. I am convinced (we can win trophies) and I am very excited to start this year.”
Las Palmas manager Garcia Pimient admits it will be somewhat strange to come up against his boyhood club, having been sacked from his role in charge of Barcelona B in June 2021 – but will have the team fully focused for the challenge.
“It is a special match because I was there for many years. I don’t know how I will feel,” Pimient told a press conference.
“A lot of time has passed since that moment. I have not contacted (Barcelona president) (Joan) Laporta again because I want to thank him because thanks to his decision I am here.”
Pimient added: “We prepared for the match knowing that we would be without the ball for a longer period.
“It will be difficult for us, but we have to be brave and be champions – if we retreat, we will not achieve anything.”
Rory McIlroy has conceded he was “too judgmental” in his criticisms of those who joined the breakaway LIV Golf Tour.
McIlroy took a strident position against the big-money venture, which tempted a host of top names with lavish paydays and disrupted the established order of the PGA and European Tours.
The Northern Irishman became the de facto voice of opposition to the project, which has continued to divide the sport, and said during last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome that the likes of Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter would miss being part of the European team more than they would be missed.
Now, with talks ongoing to agree a merger between the rival parties, McIlroy has taken a tentative step towards rapprochement.
Speaking to Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast, he said: “I think at this point, I was maybe a little judgmental of the guys who went to LIV Golf at the start.
“I think it was a bit of a mistake on my part because I now realise that not everyone is in my position or in Tiger Woods’ position. I can’t judge people for making that decision, so if I regret anything, it was probably being too judgmental at the start.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve lost the fight against LIV, but I’ve just accepted the fact that this is part of our sport now.
“At the end of the day, we’re professional golfers and we play to make a living and make money, so I understand it.”
McIlroy remains unhappy at those who criticised the established tours after leaving, but did accept that the Saudi intervention did shine a light on problems that had gone overlooked for too long.
“I don’t begrudge anyone for going and taking the money and doing something different, but don’t try to burn the place down on your way out,” he added.
“When people have played that for 15 or 20 years, and then they jump to LIV and start talking crap about where they’ve come from, that is what bothers me, because they wouldn’t be in this position if they didn’t have the career they’ve had so far.
“I think what LIV has done… it’s exposed some of the flaws in the system and hopefully golf will have a look at more.
“If we’re going to ask these people (sponsors) for so much money, we need to be able to guarantee them what they’re getting.
“Part of the stuff that we’ve been trying to do for the last two years is figure out how we can try and bring golf back together again and learn from some of the things that have happened.”
Jon Rahm became the latest high-profile LIV acquisition within weeks of helping Europe to victory in a Ryder Cup triumph in Rome, a move McIlroy chalked up as calculated move against the backdrop of negotiations between the rival tours.
“I thought it was a smart business move from Jon – it’s opportunistic,” he said.
“(He) hasn’t got any of the heat for going like the first guys got for going.
“Jon is a smart guy and I think he sees things coming together at some point so he’s thinking that he’ll take the up-front money, which is his prerogative, and if things come together he’ll play LIV for a year then come back to play on the tour.”
Flooring Porter could head straight to the Cheltenham Festival after coming up short in Grade One company over the Christmas period – but whether he will stick to fences or bid to secure a third Stayers’ Hurdle title remains uncertain.
The nine-year-old dominated from the front when claiming the Stayers’ Hurdle crown in both 2021 and 2022 and finished an honourable fourth when looking to make it a hat-trick last season.
This season Gavin Cromwell’s stable star has had his attentions switched to the larger obstacles and made an impressive start to his new career at Cheltenham in October.
However, he was well held in third in the Grade Two Florida Pearl Novice Chase at Punchestown on his next start, and while connections were hopeful a return to a left-handed track would see him in a better light in last week’s Neville Hotels Novice Chase at Leopardstown, he again had to make do with minor honours behind the impressive Grangeclare West.
Cromwell said: “He jumped really well, no excuses. The winner was very good on the day and we were beaten fair and square.
“He jumped well and he’s probably going to struggle at that level over fences.”
The County Meath handler is not ruling out the possibility of Flooring Porter contesting one of the novice chases at the Festival, but confirmed a return to the smaller obstacles is under consideration.
“It’s hard to know where we go. I will put him in the Stayers’ Hurdle,” he added.
“We could potentially go straight to Cheltenham with him, as we did when he won the two Stayers’ Hurdles after Christmas.
“I’m not saying he will go for the Stayers’ Hurdle. We could go straight to Cheltenham, but what race we go for is very much up in the air.”
Another Cromwell inmate who was placed at Grade One level at Leopardstown over the festive period was My Mate Mozzie, who filled the runner-up spot behind Found A Fifty in the Racing Post Novice Chase.
The trainer was delighted with his eight-year-old’s performance, but with hot favourite Facile Vega a huge disappointment, he does question the strength of the form.
Cromwell said: “He finished off really well, but I suppose he was ridden to do that and he may have been a bit flattered by the fact the favourite had cried enough and Sharjah hasn’t just been in form of late either, but it was nice to be second in a Grade One.
“I’m not sure where we’ll go now, I suppose the Grand Annual is a possibility at the Festival.”
Saracens and England prop Mako Vunipola has received a four-match ban after being sent off against Gallagher Premiership opponents Newcastle.
Vunipola was dismissed during the closing stages of Saturday’s encounter following a dangerous tackle on Newcastle hooker Bryan Byrne.
He will miss Saracens’ Premiership appointments with Leicester and Exeter, plus Investec Champions Cup games against Bordeaux-Begles and Lyon.
Vunipola, though, will be available for England’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Italy in Rome on February 3 if head coach Steve Borthwick decides to recall him.
And that could prove timely, given current injuries to England’s three World Cup squad loosehead props Ellis Genge, Joe Marler and Bevan Rodd.
Vunipola’s case was heard by an independent disciplinary panel.
“The player admitted that foul play took place, but not that it met the red card threshold,” the Rugby Football Union said.
“The panel upheld the charge and Vunipola received a four-match ban.
“He is ineligible to take part in World Rugby’s coaching intervention programme, having completed it in 2022.”
Had Vunipola not already done that programme, he could have applied on this occasion and then expected to have had one game subtracted from the suspension.
Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso has had surgery to help resolve an on-going back problem, the club have announced.
The 33-year-old Spain left-back has been restricted to just seven appearances for Barca this season, making four starts.
A brief statement on the club’s official website said: “First-team player Marcos Alonso has successfully undergone a procedure to treat his lower back issues.
“The procedure was performed by Dr Amelie Leglise, under the supervision of the club’s medical services, at the Sports Clinic Bordeaux Merignac. The player is out and his recovery will determine his availability.”
Alonso is in his second season with Barca after joining in September 2022 on a free transfer from Chelsea, whom he left by mutual consent with a year left to run on his contract.
His current deal at the Nou Camp expires in June this year, while he is the second Barca player to have back surgery this season following goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s operation last month.
Premier League clubs will lose key players to international duty over the next few weeks.
The Asia Cup in Qatar runs from January 12 to February 10, while the Africa Cup of Nations will be held in Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11.
Here the PA news agency looks at how those tournaments could impact domestic football during a busy time of Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup action, and discover who are the big winners and losers.
Oh Mo, Salah’s away
Study the stats and it is easy to see why Liverpool fans have every right to be concerned. Mohamed Salah tops the list for Premier League goal involvements with 22 – 14 goals and eight assists. Salah registered a 150th Premier League goal for Liverpool with a brace in the New Year’s Day win over Newcastle, and his absence comes with the Reds top of the pile, in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup and ready to get their FA Cup campaign underway. Just for good measure, Liverpool will be without Japan midfielder Wataru Endo over the next few weeks.
Spurs without Son
Tottenham have maintained their unexpected title bid despite a lengthy injury list, but can they cope without talismanic skipper Son Heung-min? The South Korea captain heads to the Asia Cup with Spurs fifth in the Premier League, a point behind neighbours Arsenal and Manchester City and six adrift of Liverpool. Son’s importance is underlined by his 12 league goals – only Salah and Erling Haaland have scored more – while Spurs will also be weakened by AFCON-bound midfielders Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma.
Premier League losers
If Liverpool and Tottenham are missing headline acts, there are plenty of other losers. Manchester United will be without their first-choice goalkeeper, Cameroon’s Andre Onana, and Turkey international Altay Bayindir is set to make his debut in his absence. Wolves will also feel the loss of South Korea’s Hwang Hee-chan, their 10-goal top scorer, while Antoine Semenyo (Bournemouth), Yoane Wissa (Brentford), Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), Jordan Ayew (Crystal Palace), Alex Iwobi (Fulham) and Mohammed Kudus (West Ham) are among high-profile AFCON players, while Nottingham Forest have no less than six players at the tournament.
Burnley boost
South Africa striker Lyle Foster will miss AFCON as he focuses on his well being. Foster has received specialist care for his mental health this season and did not play for eight weeks before returning last month. Burnley boss Vincent Kompany said Foster was not ready to travel to represent his country. But he will be available for the Clarets, and that spells good news as the 23-year-old scored his first goal since his return to action at Aston Villa on Saturday.
Champions City and Newcastle unaffected
As well as Burnley in their battle against relegation, champions Manchester City and Newcastle do not have any players away on international duty. Pep Guardiola’s City will hope to take advantage of a Salah-less Liverpool, as Arsenal cope without Egypt midfielder Mohamed Elneny and Japan defender Takehiro Tomiyasu. Aston Villa have only lost Burkina Faso’s Bertrand Traore. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe will be relieved his squad has not been weakened further as he seeks to engineer a New Year revival on Tyneside amid worrying injury issues.
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