Andy Murray has withdrawn from his match with Italy’s Jannik Sinner in Toronto due to an abdominal strain.

The pair were set to play in the round of 16 at the National Bank Open on Thursday but Murray decided not to risk any further injury.

In a statement, Murray said: “I had a very similar issue last year in the tournament in Stuttgart before Wimbledon which forced me to miss the Queen’s Club tournament and I was able to play Wimbledon.

“It took me about 10 to 12 days before I was feeling good again.

“This is not as bad as that but obviously the danger if you compete and play on it is you make it worse.

“So, I’ll need to see how it develops over the coming days and hopefully feel better in a few days. I’m really sorry. Thank you.”

Jannik Sinner will now play France’s Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals after he overcame Australian Aleksander Vukic.

Jordan Spieth topped the leaderboard after round one of the FedEx St Jude Championship, where he scored seven under par with a score of 63.

He goes into round two in Memphis leading Tom Kim by one shot and admitted he has been working on his putting.

“Quite a bit of putting. I played really well at the British. Tee to green, I played well enough to win,” he said afterwards.

“I didn’t feel like I missed many of my lines. I just couldn’t quite get the matching of the line and speed on the greens.

“Now we come to slopey Bermuda and very fast slopey Bermuda where I feel a little more comfortable picking lines and kind of feeding the ball in using gravity.

“I think that helped, along with quite a bit of work as best I could in Texas right now, which is really from the hours of 7:00 a.m to noon before it’s almost unbearable.

“Just tightened some things up. I tried to play a lot just to shoot scores. I had kind of taken off playing a bunch, and I think that that helped a bit in the last couple weeks.”

England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai are the best of the British contingent, closing out Thursday on four under par.

Rory McIlroy sits a shot back on three under, after the Northern Irishman split three bogeys with four birdies and an eagle.

Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will make his first start since June 27 on Thursday after the team activated the veteran pitcher from the injured list prior to their game against the Colorado Rockies.

Kershaw missed the past six weeks with a sore left shoulder that prevented the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner from appearing in last month's MLB All-Star Game.

The 35-year-old prepared for Thursday's assignment by throwing a pair of simulated games, including a four-inning outing last week.

Kershaw was in the midst of another excellent season prior to being sidelined. In 16 starts in 2023, the left-hander has compiled a 10-4 record and a 2.55 earned run average that would lead the majors if he had enough innings to qualify.

The 10-time All-Star is 4-0 with a sensational 1.09 ERA over his past five starts and did not allow a run in three of those appearances. In his most recent start on June 27, Kershaw held the Rockies to one hit over six scoreless frames in a 5-0 Dodgers' victory at Coors Field.

Kershaw's return should help stabilise a Los Angeles rotation that has largely struggled in his absence. Dodgers starters recorded a combined 6.18 ERA in July, the second highest in the majors for the month.

“For the team, I know that we all get excited when he takes the baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday. “You just feel more comfortable and confident when Kersh is active.

Despite their starting pitching issues, the Dodgers have opened up a six-game lead on the second-place San Francisco Giants in the NL West and have won eight of nine games to begin August. 

Harry Kane has been given permission to travel to Germany to complete a medical with Bayern Munich, according to reports.

It comes following the news earlier on Thursday that Bayern had reportedly reached an agreement with Tottenham over a £95million deal to sign the England striker.

The clubs are reported to have settled in principle on terms for the England captain to move to Bayern after a series of bids earlier in the summer were rejected, according to reports citing sources in Germany.

Tottenham are not commenting on the latest reports emerging from Germany.

Kane is about to enter the final year of his Tottenham contract, meaning he would be free to leave for nothing in 12 months’ time.

Chairman Daniel Levy is believed to value the striker closer to £120m, but the risk of the club’s star asset departing for free in under a year has underscored negotiations with Bayern.

Kane had reportedly been keen to stay in England in order to pursue Alan Shearer’s all-time Premier League scoring record of 260.

He has netted 213 times in the top flight since making his Spurs debut in 2012.

He was the subject of interest from Manchester United earlier in the summer, but the club opted instead to target less costly alternatives in a bid to stay within their transfer budget.

Spurs supporters sang “we want you to stay” during Sunday’s 5-1 friendly victory over Shakhtar Donetsk, new manager Ange Postecoglou’s first home game in charge.

The team begin their Premier League campaign away to Brentford on Sunday, with Kane reportedly keen for his future to have been decided by then.

Cyriel Dessers believes Rangers’ early performance in the 2-1 Champions League qualifying win over Servette is “only the beginning” for Michael Beale’s new-look side.

The Light Blues boss and his team were widely criticised following the 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock in the cinch Premiership opener at Rugby Park on Saturday.

There was a marked improvement in the first half of the third qualifying round first leg against the Swiss side at Ibrox on Wednesday night, with skipper James Tavernier scoring a penalty in the sixth minute.

Dessers tapped in a second eight minutes later for his first Gers goal since signing from Cremonese to experience an “amazing feeling”, although a handball by the Rangers new boy just before the break allowed Servette attacker Chris Bedia to pull a goal back from the spot.

The Light Blues were less effective after the break despite the visitors being reduced to 10 men in the 59th minute after David Douline picked up a second yellow card.

Speaking about the importance of the quick start and the demands of the Gers supporters, Dessers, 28, said: “That’s what we wanted. Of course after the loss on Saturday we were not a s*** team or anything like that.

“We knew we had to come out strong and show the fans what we can give them and what we can do as a team and especially the first half hour I think we showed that.

“That’s only the beginning. We are going to grow in fitness and relationships and as a team and it looks very promising.

“At Feyenoord, a similar club, the fans can react very emotional. But that’s what you want, you don’t want to be at a club where everybody just shrugs it off after a loss.

“You want an intense club and you get it in a positive way like Wednesday when you play good. That’s what you need after a tough loss and you get a reaction and at a big club like Rangers, that is normal.”

On his own performance, the Nigeria international said: “Of course I came to Rangers later so I still need some time.

“This was the first time I played more than 60 minutes. Overall, I had some really good moments, sometimes sloppy but that is all part of it.

“I am happy with this performance.”

Dessers acknowledged how difficult the return game in Switzerland next Tuesday night will be against a side who knocked Genk out in the previous round but remains confident of progressing through to the play-off where Rangers would face either PSV Eindhoven or Sturm Graz.

He said: “Overall it was a good night for us. Servette is a good team, a tricky team. I saw them over two nights against Genk and Genk are a really good team and they knocked them out.

“We dominated, we could have scored more maybe but this will keep us on your toes for next week.

“Of course if you can choose you want to go with a bigger lead but like I said, this will keep us on our toes.

“You cannot take anything for granted in Europe and we will need to go there strong and need a good performance to hopefully knock out Servette.”

Pep Guardiola claims it is inevitable standards will drop at Manchester City following last season’s treble success.

The City boss accepts it is unlikely his team will be able to match the intensity that saw them pick up the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies last term as a new campaign begins.

The Spaniard wants to make sure City pace their challenge for further silverware and is not even thinking about an end goal yet.

“We are going to drop that’s for sure,” said Guardiola, whose side begin their quest for a sixth domestic title in seven years at Burnley on Friday.

“It’s inevitable a little bit. We’ll try to avoid it as much as possible. Now it’s (about) not dropping too much – staying there, staying there, (being) close to our rivals.

“Then try to, in the last four, five, or six months, try to do what we have done every season. I don’t want to do it now. That is my feeling.

“Now, (it would be a) big mistake thinking about trophies and titles – big mistake.”

Guardiola also does not want to set any targets for Erling Haaland in his second season at the club.

The prolific Norwegian enjoyed an outstanding first year, firing 52 goals in just 53 appearances.

Guardiola said: “I will advise him, don’t put much pressure on the goals. I said to Erling, come back at your best, physically and mentally. If you score, fine. If you don’t score, fine.

“Try to improve in your details, in your quality and skills, and the team will help you as much as possible to score goals. I don’t want (to ask of) Erling to score 50 or 60.

“Try to be happy like he was last season and relax. Afterwards, the goals will come naturally, don’t force it.”

Concerns have been expressed this week about the potential impact on players of the edict for referees to be stricter when adding on added time.

Guardiola himself felt the amount added in the Community Shield against Arsenal last weekend was excessive.

He said: “Why eight minutes, not 12 or four? I don’t know exactly what happened. There was one goal and four or five substitutions but no injuries.

“If you want to control it, do it like basketball – stop the clock.

“If they are going to play the 10 minutes (extra) we are going to do it but, at the end we are going to play 41 games not 38 this season.”

The continuing expansion of the football calendar, along with pre-season tours, is also further limiting players’ breaks.

Guardiola said: “Many players asked me, ‘Give me more days off Pep’. I said I can’t.

“It’s a problem. It’s getting worse – more games, more games and more than that. Players need to go to the theatre, cinema, park, the gardens, to do other things that aren’t to do with football.”

Guardiola insists, however, that when it comes to his side’s additional showpiece fixtures this season – next week’s European Super Cup and the Club World Cup in December – he is honoured to be involved.

“I love it,” he said. “I love to play the Super Cup. This club never won the Super Cup and of course to play the Club World Cup you have to win the Champions League. This opportunity is a pleasure.”

Wales & The West and Saffie Osborne lead the way in the William Hill Racing League, after a dramatic evening that saw fire engines called to Chepstow on night two of the competition.

London & The South took maximum points in the first race as Eve Johnson Houghton’s Cabinet Of Clowns (15-2) was steered by Charlie Bishop to a half-length success.

But the action then came to an abrupt halt when an electrical fault caused a fire in a kitchen at the track, with some water also coming through the ceiling in the weighing-room area resulting in the complex having to be evacuated.

A number of fire engines arrived at the scene and the track was eventually deemed safe, creating a near 40-minute delay to the contest scheduled for 6.00pm.

“There’s been an electrical fault upstairs in the weighing-room complex and it’s turned off all the power in the weighing room,” clerk of the course Libby O’Flaherty told Sky Sports Racing during the delay.

“We’re waiting for the fire engine to get here so we can deem it safe to carry on.

“It’s (the water) just by the door when you go in (to the weighing room), the water came through and that’s all been cleaned up.

“We’re just waiting for the fire brigade to tell us everything is fine.”

The delayed race was won by Rod Millman’s Chinese Knot, the 7-4 favourite being steered to victory by last year’s leading rider as Osborne bagged the first leg of a double.

The same jockey then crossed line first in the next, with Executive Decision (5-2 favourite) prevailing after a photo finish to get even more points on the board for the Wales & The West outfit.

Scotland were triumphant in the fourth contest on the card when Totnes (4-1) struck for Paul Mulrennan and Andrew Balding, with Ireland enjoying their first success of the series when Star Harbour (12-1) was a winner for Adrian McGuinness and Dylan Browne McMonagle.

In both of those races Wales & The West had placed runners and when Tim Easterby’s Manila Scouse took the penultimate race as the 8-11 favourite for David Allan and Yorkshire, the third- and fourth-placed horses gained even more points for the leaders.

The final event went the way of the North, with the 9-2 favourite Ramazan winning for Richard Fahey and Oisin Orr in a race worth £100,000.

The evening left Wales & The West with a significant advantage in front on 319 points, whereas Ireland sit in second with 242 and London & The South third on 231.

Osborne is the leading riding so far as she sits at the top of the jockey leader board on 161 points.

Jamie Osborne, trainer of Executive Decision and father of Saffie, said: “We’ve got a good spread of horses, we don’t have the biggest trainers in the world but I think in a way that’s a help.

“Some of the bigger trainers have other fish to fry, this kind of prize-money is very important to our owners.

“We’re well positioned, but we’re not yet a third of the way through the competition so we’re not home and hosed yet. But I’d say it will take a good one to beat Saff!”

Tom Pidcock took cross-country short track bronze on his mountain bike at the UCI Cycling World Championships but then had to defend himself against accusations of bad sportsmanship from German rival Luca Schwarzbauer after a final corner collision.

The reigning Olympic mountain bike champion made a late lunge for the inside line on the sharp final bend of the Glentress Forest course and surprised Schwarzbauer as the pair touched, sending the German to the ground and putting him out of the medals as New Zealand’s Sam Gaze beat Victor Koretzky to gold.

Schwarzbauer then made his feelings clear, claiming the move was deliberate on Pidcock’s part.

“Tom crashed me out, he completely rode into me in that corner,” he said. “I’m super disappointed for sure because a bronze medal would have been pretty safe. He’s Tom Pidcock, but that doesn’t give him the right to do something like that.

“I said a few words to him and said it was a very bad move in my eyes. At first he said, ‘It’s part of the racing,’ but then he realised I had crashed.

“But I think he knew already. When he rides like this I’m going to crash because he was straight into me and he used me as a barrier. Already before the corner actually – he ran full gas into it and I think no mountain biker would do this at all, like a pure mountain biker, the community of us.

“I know he’s Tom Pidcock and he’s a superstar, but this doesn’t give him the right to do that…He’s so aggressive, you can really see he’s the most aggressive rider, no one else rides like this. You can do this but in my eyes it’s not really sportsman (like).”

Pidcock played down the incident immediately after the race but, told of Schwarzbauer’s comments, he told the PA news agency: “What’s that famous saying? If you no longer go for a gap then you’re no longer a racing driver. Of course I did not mean to cause him to crash and I’m sorry for that.”

That incident aside, Pidcock was happy with his performance in a race where he came from well down the pack to put himself in contention, at one point making up nine places in a single lap as he rose from 18th to third.

Although he could not respond when Gaze made a big move on the final lap, Pidcock will take confidence going into Saturday’s cross-country Olympic race, his big target at these worlds.

“I’m pretty happy,” he said. “I only did this to prepare for Saturday but this morning I was pretty up for it and it’s nice to have a medal.

“This is not really my sort of race so it’s good for Saturday I think. My legs were not super but come the weekend I think it will be OK.”

Evie Richards then delivered a second bronze for Great Britain in the women’s race as France’s Pauline Ferrand-Prevot – Pidcock’s Ineos Grenadiers team-mate – successfully defended her title ahead of Puck Pieterse.

Richards, the 2021 cross-country Olympic world champion, admitted the excitement of racing at home played a part as she put herself on the front in the early laps before dropping back, and she was then unable to respond to Ferrand-Prevot’s winning attack on the final lap.

“I think it’s always a bit stupid when you go off the front but I always do it, don’t I?” she said. “I tried to calm down, it’s very easy to get carried away when everyone is cheering your name…

“It’s been a real hard few years since winning the world championships so to be back here is really amazing, and to win a medal is even better.”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from August 10.

Manchester City launched their away kit…

…while Roy Keane modelled United’s at the perfect time.

City have certainly come a long way since this moment!

Harry Kane’s potential move had both fans and Fantasy Premier League managers on tenterhooks.

…with differing opinions from former England star.

Southampton paid tribute.

Chasing the World Cup Golden Boot and pulling out a nutmeg – just a reminder that Amanda Ilestedt is a defender.

The quarter-finalists were ready.

Happy birthdays.

Spencer Johnson had quite the debut for Oval Invincibles.

Shabnim Ismail’s hat-trick secured victory for Welsh Fire.

Henry Arundell has been urged to “trust his instincts” against Wales as Steve Borthwick backs England’s rising star to become a gamebreaker at the World Cup.

Arundell makes only his second start in eight Tests when Warren Gatland’s men visit Twickenham on Saturday, lining up on the right wing of a team that is close to Borthwick’s strongest.

Owen Farrell is present as captain and is joined by fellow big guns Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola and Jamie George, while Saracens openside Ben Earl makes his long-awaited full debut and Elliot Daly returns after 18 months in international exile.

A tame defeat 20-9 by Wales launched the World Cup warm-up schedule in disheartening fashion and it is hoped the inclusion of try-scoring Racing 92 sensation Arundell will address some of the finishing deficiencies evident in Cardiff.

The 20-year-old is the most exciting talent in English rugby and has electric running skills, but Borthwick insists he must not overthink his game.

“Henry is in great physical shape and he’s got such incredible natural talents that you want to ensure are always going to be there. We want him to trust his instincts,” Borthwick said.

“We want to give him the ball and I’m sure the opposition will know that and try to shut down the space, which may open up opportunities elsewhere.

“We’re aware of that but everyone is looking forward to seeing him. He’s a young man with a big future in front of him.

“When you look around world rugby right now you see teams who have players that can break the game up in different ways.

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“One of those ways is pace and Henry has pace. If we can get him the ball in space, and he in particular doesn’t need a huge amount of space, then he can make things happen.

“We’ve already seen him do that in an England shirt and we’re looking forward to seeing him do it more.”

Providing firepower on the opposite wing is Daly, the 30-year Saracen whose last England outing came in the 2022 Six Nations, after he which he was frozen out by Eddie Jones.

One of Borthwick’s priorities upon replacing Jones as head coach in December was to re-establish the versatile back with a booming left boot, only for a hamstring injury to rule him out of the entire Six Nations.

“Elliot was one of the first players I rang when I was appointed. He hadn’t been in the environment, hadn’t played an awful lot in recent times,” Borthwick said.

“He has been looking really good in training, he has multiple dimensions to his game and I’m looking forward to seeing that on Saturday.”

A starting XV populated with six Saracens produces a special moment for 2022 Premiership player of the season Earl, who after 15 caps as a replacement is finally thrust on to the main stage.

Earl was unable to convince Jones, despite his dynamic club form, and was even sent back to his club by Borthwick after two appearances off the bench in the most recent Six Nations but he has impressed during the World Cup training camp.

“What Ben Earl has, which I don’t see too many opensides possess, is the ability to link with the backs in attacking play and to keep the ball moving. That’s a rare talent,” Borthwick said.

“He has the pace to operate with the quickest guys. He is up there with the quickest guys in our squad. He is not quite Henry Arundell but not too many people are.”

Midfielder Alex Scott has completed his move to Bournemouth from Bristol City but a knee injury will delay his Premier League debut.

Robins boss Nigel Pearson confirmed on Wednesday evening that Scott had been given permission to talk to the Premier League side and both clubs announced on Thursday that the transfer was complete.

The 19-year-old, who was named the Sky Bet Championship’s young player of the season for 2022-23, had attracted plenty of attention from Premier League clubs for his standout performances.

Scott, whose move to the Cherries is believed to be worth in excess of £20million, missed Bristol City’s opening two matches of the new season because of a swollen knee.

In announcing the move, Bournemouth confirmed scans on Scott’s knee problem revealed the injury to be “more significant than was initially reported” and the midfielder was now set for a “period of rehabilitation” before he will join up with his new team-mates.

Bournemouth chief executive Neill Blake feels the club have landed “one of the most exciting young players in Europe”.

Blake said on the Bournemouth club website: “He’s a player that has vast experience at such a young age with strong technical ability and a really good footballing brain.

“Alex will be an excellent fit in our system, and we’re excited to see him continue to develop under Andoni’s (Iraola) management.”

Guernsey-born Scott made his senior debut in April 2021 and scored five Championship goals in 83 appearances during his time at Ashton Gate.

Scott has also represented England at youth level, including making three appearances at this year’s Under-20 World Cup.

Bournemouth – who appointed Spaniard Iraola as manager in June after sacking Gary O’Neil – will start the new Premier League season at home against West Ham on Saturday.

The Cherries are also understood to be closing in on a £7million deal for Norwich right-back Max Aarons.

The World Cup quarter-finals get under way in the early hours of Friday morning, with Spain and the Netherlands looking to lead the way to the last four.

England have an extra day to prepare for their Saturday clash against Colombia, while Japan take on Sweden and co-hosts Australia tackle France.

The pressure is mounting as the tournament builds towards its crescendo and here the PA news agency looks at all the latest news from the rival camps.

England in a jam over James

Lauren James’ stamp on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie in the previous round continues to cause headaches for England, with confirmation that FIFA’s disciplinary committee had issued a two-game ban. That means the Chelsea forward will also be absent if Sarina Wiegman’s side reach the semi-finals. More immediately there is a decision to make over James’ replacement. Ella Toone stands by as a like-for-like deputy, but Wiegman may also consider a formation change to four at the back.

Post of the day

Sour send off for USA

Netherlands forward Lineth Beerensteyn had some strong words for the departed United States side, whose hopes of a third straight title disappeared in a penalty shoot-out defeat by Sweden. Asked for her reaction to the exit of the favourites, Beerensteyn admitted she was happy to see them on their way.

“The first moment when I heard that they were out, I was just thinking: ‘Yes! Bye!’” she said.

“From the start of this tournament, they had a really big mouth – they were talking already about the final and stuff. I was just thinking: ‘You first have to show it on the pitch before you are talking.’”

Race for the Golden Boot

Kerr ready to return?

Matildas captain Sam Kerr has been struggling with a calf injury but returned from the bench in the victory over Norway and could now make her comeback in the starting XI. That could nudge Emily van Egmond out of the side after she stood in up front but she is happy to do whatever is best for the team.

“Sam’s the best striker in the world,” Van Egmond said. “For us, it’s a huge boost. There’s no other way to look at it other than it’s a massive positive going into this big game. For any player in any situation, whenever called upon or whatever role they have to play, everyone’s ready.”

Quote of the day

What’s next

Quarter-final: Spain v Netherlands, Wellington, Friday 2am.

Quarter-final: Japan v Sweden, Auckland, Friday 8.30am.

All times BST

Veteran prop Cian Healy revealed Ireland’s players were not treated to a motivational speech from former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane during his visit to their training base in Portugal.

Ex-Ireland captain Keane was one of three high-profile visitors to watch Andy Farrell’s men train on Wednesday, alongside One Direction singer Niall Horan and major golf champion Padraig Harrington.

The 52-year-old pundit, who has previously been a guest speaker for his country’s rugby stars, was pictured chatting with Ireland skipper Johnny Sexton in the Algarve.

However, on this occasion, he did not address the full squad.

“I have no idea what he was doing there, to be honest,” said Healy.

“He wasn’t in camp, he was at the side of the pitch watching training. I didn’t get to chat to him, I was training.

“Some of the lads that already had done their part of the session would have said hello or whatever.

“But I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a scheduled thing and he was just on holiday here or whatever and showed up for a look.”

Head coach Farrell is putting his preliminary 42-man World Cup squad, which is missing only the injured Jack Conan, through their paces ahead of cutting it down to a final 33 following warm-up clashes with England and Samoa.

Healy warned peripheral players they will not secure a seat on the plane to France by trying to be “the hero”.

“There’s going to be a lot of players looking to put their hand up,” he said.

“How to do that is to play our game and play how we play to the best of your ability.

“You don’t get picked by being the hero and going out and trying to do something fantastic because the percentage of that coming off is pretty low.

“I’m just looking forward to seeing everyone getting their chance and I suppose how they buy into what we’re doing and what stamp they can put on it themselves.”

Healy moved level with Rory Best as Ireland’s third most capped player during a try-scoring cameo in Saturday’s 33-17 win over Italy in Dublin.

The 35-year-old, who has played 124 Test matches, is preparing for his fourth and potentially final World Cup.

He is almost certain to be in Farrell’s final selection as loosehead back-up to Leinster team-mate Andrew Porter and is enjoying the build up to this year’s tournament, with players not “dying” to escape camp.

“It’s a great buzz, a really good camp to be in,” he said. “A lot of fun, a lot of time together on and off the pitch, especially over here (in Portugal).

“We’ve got nice time in the afternoon to spend a bit of time with the group and break off to spend a bit of time with families as well.

“We have had it before where you do the six-week block and people are dying to get out of camp for a couple of days or dying to go for a pint or something. You’re living in a hotel and that’s how life is.

“This has been managed really well in the sense that no one feels overloaded by time away.”