Florian Wirtz is set for a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a capsular injury to his right ankle while on international duty with Germany.

The midfielder suffered the injury during Germany's 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in the Nations League on Monday, being replaced at half-time by Bayer Leverkusen team-mate Robert Andrich.

Leverkusen confirmed the 21-year-old underwent an MRI scan on Tuesday and is receiving treatment. However, the club also confirmed it is unclear when Wirtz will return to training.

He is a doubt for their return to Bundesliga action against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, with a Champions League meeting with Brest following that next week.

Wirtz, who was named the Bundesliga Player of the Season last campaign, has been an influential figure once again for the champions this term. 

He is their joint-top scorer with four goals (along with Victor Boniface) in the Bundesliga and has created the joint-most chances (19, level with Alex Grimaldo). His 18 dribbles completed is also a team-high, boasting a 48.65% success rate (37 attempted).

Sadio Mane's last-gasp free-kick sent Senegal to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after edging out Malawi 1-0 on Tuesday. 

Despite dominating for large parts of the contest, Senegal were unable to break down Malawi's stern defence, with goalkeeper William Thole making a string of impressive saves. 

However, after Robert Saiz hauled Mane down just outside the area, the Al-Nassr forward stepped up and curled home the winner in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.

The 2021 winners of the competition joined Burkina Faso in qualifying for the tournament that takes place in Morocco next year, with both sides on 10 points in Group L. 

But in Group F, Ghana look set to miss the tournament for the first time since 2004 after slumping to a 2-0 defeat to Sudan at the Martyrs of February Stadium. 

Despite the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo and Inaki Williams in their ranks, two goals in three second-half minutes from Ahmed Al-Tash and Mohamed Abdel Rahman did the damage.

Ghana remain winless in their four qualifying games so far and sit five points adrift of the top two, knowing they must beat both group leaders Angola and then Niger next month to have any chance of reaching the finals.

Max Verstappen is confident that Red Bull's mid-season struggles are now firmly in their review mirror ahead of the United States Grand Prix this weekend. 

Verstappen started the season with seven wins from the opening 10 races, with the Dutchman on track to claim a fourth consecutive world championship at a canter. 

However, a combination of Red Bull taking a wrong turn with car development and McLaren's resurgence has seen the campaign take on a new complexion for the final six races. 

Verstappen has gone eight races without a victory, seeing his lead in the drivers' championship cut to 52 points by Lando Norris, with Red Bull also surrendering top spot in the constructors' standings to McLaren after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

For now, Verstappen is optimistic that Red Bull have turned a corner after they introduced an update to their floor in Baku. 

“Yes, it felt better,” Verstappen confirmed. “That was already a good step for us. I do think we are moving in the right direction now.

"It will take some time. You can’t turn something like this around in one or two weeks. But I do think the team was happy with what they saw in Baku as well.

“Yes, I do think so to be honest," Verstappen added about their season struggles being behind them. "Hopefully we can continue to make good steps from here.”

If either Verstappen or team-mate Sergio Perez scores points in the United States, Red Bull will have put at least one of its two drivers in the points for 62 consecutive races, equalling the third-best run in Formula One history. 

Red Bull are also 45 laps led away from reaching 7000, and would be the fifth team to reach this figure in the competition after Ferrari (15888), McLaren (11029), Williams (7584) and Mercedes (7255). 

But that particular milestone could have come much sooner, with Verstappen saying he was surprised by Red Bull's dramatic drop-off after a dominant period on the track.

“In the beginning, I was surprised as well, but if you look at what our problems were, then I fully understand it," Verstappen told Autosport.

“At some point, we have gone in the wrong direction. The other teams have either not faced that particular point yet or they developed the car in a slightly different way.

"That is always difficult to assess.”

Sarina Wiegman believes that Paris Saint-German's Mary Earps will face competition from Chelsea's Hannah Hampton for the England number one shirt.

Earps has endured a difficult start to life in France since her move from Manchester United ahead of the new season.

She conceded five goals across their Women's Champions League qualifying defeat to Juventus and was subsequently dropped for the Parisiens' next two league matches. 

Hampton, meanwhile, has been in fine form for Chelsea in the Women's Super League, keeping two clean sheets as the Blues remain perfect under Sonia Bompastor. 

Only Manchester United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce (100%) has a higher save percentage than Hampton (90%) in the league this season. 

Earps earned her 50th Lioness cap in a 2-1 European Championship qualifier defeat to France in June, though Hampton has seen her tipped for a starting spot at the tournament where England will look to defend their crown.

"You bring this message as if she's not a starting player for PSG and I think she is," Wiegman said.

"She's the number one goalkeeper. There's competition there, too. She started this weekend. I think moving to France, of course, she's adapting to a new situation.

"Unfortunately, they didn't qualify for the group stage in the Champions League which is a disappointment for them, for Mary and for us too, because we want to see her in the Champions League.

"So that's not the start I think she had hoped for but still, we know what she brings for us and we also know there's a huge competition going on between her and Hannah, and Anna also coming in."

Wiegman announced her 25-player squad for their upcoming friendlies against Germany and South Africa in preparation for Euro 2025, which takes place in Switzerland.

Aston Villa's uncapped defender Lucy Parker was introduced into the ranks, while Lotte Wubben-Moy and Lauren James return after missing July's qualifiers. 

Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse retains her place in the squad, and Aggie Beever-Jones and Jessica Naz also remain, having moved across from the Under-23 squad.

Manchester City's Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 final, was also included despite falling out of favour under Gareth Taylor.

Full squad

Mary Earps (Paris Saint-Germain), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride); Mille Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Jess Carter (Gotham), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Lucy Parker (Aston Villa), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal); Grace Clinton (Manchester United), Fran Kirby (Brighton), Jess Park (Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona); Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Jess Naz (Tottenham Hotspur), Alessia Russo (Arsenal).

Davante Adams will be reunited with Aaron Rodgers.

The Las Vegas Raiders traded Adams to the New York Jets on Tuesday for a conditional third-round draft pick that can become a second-rounder depending upon his production from the remainder of the 2024 NFL season.

The trade, which was being finalised less than 24 hours after the Jets suffered a tough 23-20 home loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, makes Adams and Rodgers team-mates again.

Adams and Rodgers played together for eight seasons with the Green Bay Packers from 2014-21, with Adams catching 615 passes from Rodgers for 7,529 yards and 68 touchdowns.

Among active players, no quarterback-receiver combo has more receptions or touchdowns.

A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Adams ranks second among all active players in touchdown catches (96), and fourth in both receptions (890) and yards (10,990).

The Raiders acquired Adams prior to the 2022 season for a first- and second-round draft pick, and then signed him to a five-year, $140million contract with $65.7million guaranteed.

In his first season in Las Vegas with his former college quarterback, Derek Carr, Adams had 100 catches for 1,516 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns to earn a third straight first-team All-Pro selection. The Raiders, however, finished 6-11 and Carr was benched late in the season.

Las Vegas went 8-9 in 2023, with Adams finishing with 103 receptions for 1,144 yards and eight TDs.

The Raiders are off to a sluggish start this season at 2-4 and Adams has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, while there had been speculation that the star receiver was seeking a trade.

He now joins a team that is also scuffling, as New York also dropped to 2-4 with its latest defeat with Rodgers throwing a costly interception in the final minutes.

If his hamstring is healthy enough, Adams could be on the field Sunday night, when the Jets visit the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers.

Matthew Potts thinks England's second Test against Pakistan is "in the balance" after day one saw the hosts reach stumps on 259-5.

Kamran Ghulam was the star for Pakistan on his debut, with his sublime knock of 118 pushing them to their tally.

Jack Leach had taken two early wickets, finishing the day on 2-92, while Potts and Brydon Carse also got in on the action before Shoaib Bashir removed Ghulam late on.

Playing on the same pitch as the first Test, England's spinners struggled to make an impact compared to the seamers.

But Potts, playing for the first time since the Sri Lanka series in August after replacing Gus Atkison, remained upbeat about England's performance.

"We created a lot of chances over the course of the day. The boys stuck at it, and we are pleased where we are with it now," Potts told BBC Test Match Special.

"You don't tell a score until both sides have batted on it. It appeared to be flatter than we expected. The game is in the balance, a couple of early ones in the morning, and we will see what it is.

"I think it did spin; slow spin kept a bit low. The lads stuck to the basics really well in some strong heat today. A couple of early wickets in the morning and hopefully we can run through them."

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty on all counts of their 115 charges, that it should be reflected in their punishment.

The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.

If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.

City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, which started in 2009 following the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover and went on until 2018.

The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 separate occasions.

City have been handed five charges related to their inability to comply with UEFA's rules, including FFP from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with another seven charges for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18.

The final 35 charges are for failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.

City did, however, win their recent legal challenge against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction rules, though that is totally separate to the 115 charges. 

Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points last season for breaches of the Premier League's financial rules. 

The Toffees were deducted 10 points, reduced to six for the three-year period from 2021-22 for losses of £19.5million over the £105m permitted threshold. 

Meanwhile, Forest, who were initially docked six points, saw theirs brought down to four after breaching the permitted £61m threshold by £34.5m for the three-year period from 2022-23. Both clubs retained Premier League status last term despite this.

However, Maguire believes that should City be found guilty on all 115 of their charges, then a possible points deduction should be reflected on what was handed to both Everton and Forest. 

"I think the reason why I say that, and again, I've got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction," Maguire told Stats Perform.

"As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they've been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.

"Well, that's far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it's a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that's a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction."

Since the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover in 2008, City have spent approximately €2,5987 billion (£2,1649bn), spending the most money in the 2017-18 season (£245.7m) with the most notable signings including Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, and Ederson.

City's most expensive player during that time was Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa in a £100m deal - which at the time constituted the most expensive transfer of an English player ever. 

Maguire went on to say that should City only be found guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League, then a financial sanction seems more likely, as opposed to a points deduction or relegation.

"My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they've not had a sporting advantage," Maguire concluded.

"You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they've been successful on the pitch.

"So, we need an on-field punishment if it's just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn't cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don't think that a points deduction is appropriate."

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules, that it should be reflected in their punishment.

The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.

If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.

City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, with the breaches allegedly going back over a decade.

The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 separate occasions.

City have been handed five charges related to their inability to comply with UEFA's rules, including FFP from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with another seven charges for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18.

The final 35 charges are for failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.

City did, however, claim a victory in their recent legal challenge against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction rules, though that is totally separate to the 115 charges. 

Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points last season for breaches of the Premier League's financial rules. 

However, Maguire believes that should City be found guilty on all 115 of their charges, then a possible points deduction should be fair in comparison to what was handed to both Everton and Forest. 

"I think the reason why I say that, and again, I've got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction," Maguire told Stats Perform.

"As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they've been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.

"Well, that's far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it's a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that's a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction."

Since the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover in 2008, City have spent approximately €2,5987 billion (£2,1649bn), spending the most money in the 2017-18 season (£245.7m) with the most notable signings including Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, and Ederson.

City's most expensive player during that time was Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa in a £100m deal - which at the time constituted the most expensive transfer of an English player ever. 

Maguire went on to say that should City only be found guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League, then a financial sanction seems more likely, as opposed to a points deduction or relegation.

"My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they've not had a sporting advantage," Maguire concluded.

"You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they've been successful on the pitch.

"So, we need an on-field punishment if it's just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn't cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don't think that a points deduction is appropriate."

Lionel Scaloni believes Lautaro Martinez deserved the Ballon d'Or "more than anyone" after his stellar 2024.

The forward excelled for club and country this year, earning his place on the 30-man shortlist for this year's prize.

Martinez topped Serie A's goalscoring charts as Inter won their 20th Scudetto last season, netting 24 goals in 33 matches, eight more than his closest rival, Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic.

His 0.81 goals per 90 minutes was the best of any player in the division, while he outperformed his expected goals (xG) of 17.64.

He carried that form into the Copa America, scoring five goals to win the Golden Boot despite playing just 221 minutes as Argentina won the competition for the second consecutive edition.

Martinez's tally was the joint-best by an Argentine in the Copa America since the turn of the century, equalling Lionel Messi in 2016 and Juan Roman Riquelme in 2007.

And Scaloni believes those feats should put the 27-year-old among the favourites.

"Lautaro deserves the Ballon d'Or more than anyone," Scaloni said at a press conference.

"He has had a spectacular year. [At the Copa America] he scored in the final, and he was top scorer. I hope it can be given to him."

Pakistan's Kamran Ghulam was in a defiant mood on debut as he frustrated England on day one of the second Test.

After their collapse in the second innings following England's show of force with the bat in Multan last week, Pakistan were looking for a response on Tuesday.

And on the same pitch as the first Test, which offered even less for the seamers but some joy for the spinners, Ghulam starred with a sublime knock of 118 as Pakistan reached stumps on 259-5.

Abdullah Shafique went for seven in the eighth over before Ghulam put on a third-wicket partnership of 149 with Saim Ayub, who made 77 before he was sent packing by Matthew Potts.

Shan Masood fell to Jack Leach (2-92), while Brydon Carse (1-14) picked up the wicket of Saud Shakeel before Ghulam was eventually bowled by Shoaib Bashir (1-66).

England captain Ben Stokes bowled five overs on his return but will be hoping for more luck on day two, with Mohammad Rizwan (37 not out) and Salman Agha (five not out) at the crease.

Data Debrief: Pakistan bounce back

England are undefeated in eight Tests against Pakistan (W6 D2), while the hosts have lost their last six matches in the longest format.

Another loss would be their longest losing run in Tests, but with Ghulam leading the way, they have made a great start in avoiding that fate.

There is plenty of time to go for England, who are hunting their first back-to-back victories in away Test matches since February 2023.

An own goal at either end saw Japan and Australia draw 1-1 in the third round of World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

Australia's stuttering start to qualifying continued, as Cameron Burgess bundled into his own net as the visitors failed to hold onto their lead.

It was all Japan in the opening stages, but despite their first-half dominance, they struggled to create an opening, with only Ritsu Doan testing Joe Gauci.

Australia, whose only shot came in the seventh minute, took the lead against the run of play – Lewis Miller's low cross was turned into the back of the net by Shogo Taniguchi, who should have done better with the clearance.

Japan got their own slice of luck in the 76th minute though, as Keito Nakamura weaved his way down the left to the byline before pulling it back into the middle, and Gauci could not keep out Burgess' attempted block.

The hosts attempted to push for a late winner, but Australia sat deep to protect what could prove a crucial point against another of Asia's best teams.

Data Debrief: Firing blanks

It was far from a classic, with both teams offering little in terms of attacking threat. In fact, Australia did not manage a single shot on target, only logging one overall. 

Indeed, their expected goals (xG) tells the story, with Australia mustering just 0.01, in contrast to Japan's 0.76, which came from 12 shots, and only three of those were on target.

Taniguchi's own goal is the fourth that Australia have benefitted from in 2024, while only in 2018 have they ever recorded more such goals (five).