James Harden will miss over a week due to a hamstring strain, but superstar Brooklyn Nets team-mate Kevin Durant is likely to make his long-awaited NBA return against the New Orleans Pelicans.

Harden was forced out of Monday's 114-112 win over the New York Knicks after just four minutes, with an MRI revealing a strained right hamstring, the Nets announced on Tuesday.

MVP hopeful Harden – who has been averaging 25.2 points, 10.9 assists and 8.0 rebounds per game this season – will be re-evaluated by the star-studded Nets in approximately 10 days.

While Harden is set for a stint on the sidelines, fellow former MVP Durant is poised to make a comeback.

Durant has not played since February 13 but is listed as probable for Wednesday's clash with the Pelicans.

A hamstring strain has plagued Durant, who was also forced to sit out last month's All-Star Game in Atlanta.

Durant is averaging 29.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game for the Nets in 2020-21.

Steve Nash's Nets (35-16) top the Eastern Conference, ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers (34-16).

Rory McIlroy said golf's biggest stars must rally around Tiger Woods by making regular trips to his Florida mansion and he would love to be part of the sport's Grand Slam club by his next visit.

After winning an Open Championship, a U.S. Open and two US PGA Championships early in his career, McIlroy returns to Augusta for another shot at Masters glory this week.

Woods, who suffered serious leg injuries in a February car crash, would love to be involved but is recovering at home after that brush with disaster and hopes to play competitive golf again.

The American superstar became the first player since the 1960s to win all four of the sport's majors in his career when he landed the Open title in 2000 at St Andrews.

With 15 career majors, Woods is unmistakably an all-time great, and McIlroy would become just the sixth player to achieve the modern Grand Slam should he land green jacket glory. Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Gary Player are the players who achieved the feat before Woods came on the scene.

Speaking about the absent Woods ahead of Thursday's opening round, former world number one McIlroy said: "Hopefully, if his recovery goes well, who knows, he could be back in 12 months' time.

"He's always missed when he doesn't play in these big events, and that doesn't change this week, whether it's to do with his back or his leg or whatever it is.

"I know he's at home and he's fully focused on the recovery process, and I feel like he's mentally strong enough to get through that. And once he does, broken bones heel, and he's just got to take it step by step.

"I'm sure he's going to put everything he has into trying to be ready to play here next year. I went over and saw him, spent a couple hours with him, which was nice. It was good to see him. It was good to see him in decent spirits.

"When you hear of these things and you look at the car and you see the crash, you think he's going to be in a hospital bed for six months. But he was actually doing better than that. A few of us that live down in South Florida went to see him. I'm sure he appreciates that.

"I think myself, JT [Justin Thomas], Rickie [Fowler], DJ [Dustin Johnson], Brooks [Koepka], all those guys down there, we all have a responsibility to try to keep his spirits up and keep him going and try to get him back out here."

Nothing would give McIlroy more pleasure than being able to visit Woods as a Masters champion, with that Grand Slam monkey off his back. He has six top-10 finishes at the event in the last seven years, which shows what he has to offer.

The Masters is the mountain he has been unable to quite climb, meaning the 'Rory Slam' has yet to be completed.

"If I were able to do it, I'd join a very small list of golfers in history that have been able to do it. So I know where it would put me in the game and how cool it would be, and I would love to do it one day," McIlroy said.

"But for me to do that, I just have to go out and try to play four good rounds of golf on this golf course. I've played a bunch of really good rounds on this golf course before, but just not four in a row."

McIlroy revealed his visit to Woods' home in late March was an eye-opener, in terms of learning how his friend and rival has approached competing over the years.

"In his family room he's got his trophy cabinet and it's his 15 major trophies. I said, 'That's really cool. Where are all the others?'," McIlroy said.

"He said, 'I don't know'. I go, 'What?'. He said, 'Yeah, my mom has some, and a few are in the office and a few are wherever'."

It struck McIlroy, as he was driving home from that visit, that the majors were the be-all and end-all for Woods.

"I'm just thinking to myself, how easy must that have felt for him if all he cared about were four weeks a year. The other stuff must have been like practice. So that's like a really cool perspective to have, right," McIlroy said.

"That's all I could think about on the way home. And I was glad he was OK, too."

McIlroy has been working with coach Pete Cowen on simplifying his technique, saying he is "just at the start of a journey here that I know will get me back to where I want to be".

Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson is also taking part this week, the 50-year-old being a U.S. Open short of a Grand Slam himself.

His prospects of completing the full set look to be slim given he is not the force he once was, but Mickelson has the capacity to surprise and would love another Augusta challenge.

Many consider McIlroy's game to be well suited to The Masters, and Mickelson always knew his own skillset was perfect for the course.

"I never really doubted that I would end up winning this tournament," Mickelson said on Tuesday. "This is a course that is very well suited for the way I grew up playing, but that joy of winning it for the first time, finally breaking through, it's beyond belief."

Tiger Woods is "bummed" to be missing The Masters after his car crash in February, friend and practice partner Justin Thomas has revealed.

Five-time Augusta champion Woods will be watching from home this week rather than taking to the course he knows so well.

The golf great was involved in a single-vehicle incident six weeks ago that saw his car roll "several hundred feet".

Woods required surgery on serious leg injuries, while an officer from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in the aftermath the 45-year-old was "very fortunate" to survive.

It was just the latest setback in a superstar career and means Woods is absent from The Masters for the fourth time in eight years, although he did win the tournament in 2019.

There had been appearances from Woods at each of the prior 19 editions of The Masters, while he was the last man to retain the green jacket with back-to-back triumphs in 2001 and 2002 and is one of only five to have celebrated a career Grand Slam, this week marking 20 years since his 'Tiger Slam'.

Woods posted on Twitter on Tuesday: "I'll miss running up @DJohnsonPGA's bill at the Champions Dinner tonight. It's still one of my favorite nights of the year."

Thomas, who regularly practises with Woods and Fred Couples ahead of the Augusta major, said at a news conference: "I went over and saw him a couple times last week and try to go over a couple times during the week whenever I'm home and see him.

"We texted Friday morning, and he said it's kind of starting to set in. He's bummed he's not here playing practice rounds with us, and we hate it, too.

"I'm very, very lucky that I somehow got thrown into that practice-round group with Tiger and Freddie the last four years or whatever it is, especially around this place.

"I just follow them around like puppy dogs. Wherever they go, that's where I go after it. If they hit chips from somewhere, I go hit chips from there.

"It's no coincidence they have been so successful here, but they are also just great guys to be around. I definitely miss that part."

Thomas added: "[Couples] didn't feel like getting up in the early cold weather this morning, so I made sure to give him some grief.

"I don't know if he would have bailed on me if Tiger was with me, but he did on me."

Couples posted on his own Twitter page: "Thinking of my guy @tigerwoods during this week @themasters. I'll miss you tonight at dinner. Not the same without you."

Thomas, who has improved his Masters finish every year since his 2016 debut and came fourth last year, has been grouped with Tony Finau and Louis Oosthuizen for a 13:48 EDT start on Thursday.

Couples will play with Francesco Molinari and amateur Charles Osborne, teeing off at 12:24 EDT.

Two teenagers lit up the ATP Tour on Tuesday as Lorenzo Musetti raced through at the Sardegna Open and Carlos Alcaraz advanced in Marbella.

Musetti, 19, produced arguably the standout result of the day as he dismantled Dennis Novak, wrapping up a 6-1 6-0 win in just 53 minutes.

"It was an incredible match," said Musetti, who has been in impressive form of late and moved to 6-2 for the year.

The Italian reached the last four in Acapulco, where ninth-ranked Diego Schwartzmann fell at his racket.

He added on Tuesday: "From the beginning, I felt so comfortable on the court and hitting the ball. I had really good feelings."

Musetti will face top seed Dan Evans next in Cagliari, where Jan-Lennard Struff had to save five match points before finally seeing off Joao Sousa.

None of the seeds followed Monday losers Guido Pella and Tommy Paul out of the tournament, as John Millman also triumphed. Gilles Simon shook off Stefano Travaglia.

At the Andalucia Open, 17-year-old Alcaraz insisted he still saw room for improvement despite setting up an exciting meeting with veteran compatriot Feliciano Lopez.

Sixth seed Lopez, who turns 40 in September and made his professional bow six years before Alcaraz was born, will be wary of the threat of the self-critical prospect, a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 winner against Nikola Milojevic.

"I have played a great match and above all I have been with a very high intensity from the beginning to the end," wildcard Alcaraz said, quoted on the ATP website.

"If I had to give myself a grade, it would be a nine [out of 10], because you can always play better."

Lopez defeated Taro Daniel, while number five seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina came from behind to beat Damir Dzumhur 6-7 (1-7) 6-2 6-2.

Reigning Masters champion Dustin Johnson has been grouped with two-time runner-up Lee Westwood to begin his title defence on Thursday.

Johnson returns to Augusta just five months on from a dominant triumph, his second major triumph after the 2016 U.S. Open.

The world number one, who has finished in the top 10 in his past five Masters appearances, set a scoring record with his sensational 20-under 268 for the week back in November.

As Johnson aims to become the first man since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002 to win consecutive green jackets, he will start alongside Englishman Westwood and, as is tradition, U.S. Amateur Championship winner Tyler Strafaci.

The groupings and tee times were confirmed on Tuesday, with Johnson's trio going out at 10:30 EDT.

Jordan Spieth, who ended a 1,351-day wait for a PGA Tour victory at the Texas Open last week, will be in the final group to tee off at 14:00 EDT, along with US PGA Championship victor Collin Morikawa and Cameron Smith.

Rory McIlroy's latest bid to become the sixth golfer to claim a career Grand Slam sees him start straight after Johnson at 10:42 EDT.

McIlroy has finished in the top 10 at Augusta in six of his past seven appearances but is famously still waiting for a first victory, while his major drought stands at 22 events.

An intriguing group has the Northern Irishman playing alongside Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele.

Brooks Koepka will play with Bubba Watson and Viktor Hovland, while Bryson DeChambeau joins Adam Scott and Max Homa.

Justin Thomas has Tony Finau and Louis Oosthuizen for company, Sergio Garcia starts alongside Webb Simpson and Christiaan Bezuidenhout, and Patrick Reed will measure himself against Paul Casey and Daniel Berger.

Phil Mickelson, the man with the most major titles (five) in the field as Woods is absent, will appear alongside Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler.

Honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Lee Elder will get the tournament under way, with twosome Michael Thompson and Hudson Swafford the first competitors involved.

Rory McIlroy can snatch his next big chance to win The Masters and will "undoubtedly" one day triumph at Augusta, according to British golf great Laura Davies.

This week gives McIlroy another chance to land a first green jacket, and it marks 10 years since the Northern Irishman squandered a golden opportunity on the final day.

In the 2011 Masters, McIlroy led by four shots going into the closing 18 holes but then produced an 80 to slump into a tie for 15th place.

McIlroy has since won four majors, but his wait for a fifth has lasted since 2014, despite being a regular presence high up the leaderboard.

The Masters is the one major that McIlroy has yet to win, although six top-10 finishes in the past seven years points to his liking for the course.

"I always thought that Greg Norman would win The Masters and he never did. But I would say undoubtedly McIlroy will win The Masters," Davies, a four-time women's major champion, told Stats Perform News.

"His game's too good and he'll have a chance and maybe next time he'll take it for sure because you can't keep players like that down."

McIlroy has endured a rocky start to this year, however, missing the cut in two of his past four strokeplay events, including The Players Championship.

"Rory's game has gone downhill quite rapidly from the heights he had just more than a year ago, but he can turn it on a sixpence, he can turn it around," said Davies.

"I wouldn't have a bet on Rory McIlroy this week for The Masters, but you wouldn't want to bet against him. He can turn up and turn it on at any time. He loves Augusta, he's not won but it's a course that I think suits his game. I wouldn't fancy him this week, but he’s such an exceptional talent and something could click at any time."

If McIlroy does put himself into contention on the final day, Davies feels it would be a major test of character to ignore those memories of blowing up on the back nine 10 years ago.

"He'd be very strong mentally if it didn't come into play. I can really only speak for myself and I would definitely have been thinking about it," Davies said. "But that's where the great ones come through and win because they can put that aside and still produce the goods."

Speaking on Tuesday, U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau said it felt "pretty cool" and also surprising that McIlroy had made a recent attempt to follow his long-hitting game.

McIlroy has said he perhaps needs to "rein it back" to regain a more comfortable swing, rather than looking to match DeChambeau's distance off the tee, but he sees the American's power as a major asset.

"I knew there was going to be people trying it. I didn't know who was going to try it. But it's not an easy task," DeChambeau said.

"You have to have four or five things go right in order for you to accomplish hitting it farther and hitting it straighter and implementing it on the golf course in a tournament round. And I appreciate Rory's words.

"From my perspective, I wasn't trying to change anybody else's game. I was just trying to play the best golf I could.

"I knew there would be people there to be influenced. I didn't think it would be Rory. I think he's a pretty smart, talented individual that knows how to play the game potentially better than me. It's honouring and humbling hearing him say it's a difficult task.

"Not everybody can do it all the time, and from my perspective, I don't know what else to say other than it's pretty cool."

Antonio Conte has seen evidence of "massive progress" in Lautaro Martinez's game both with and without the ball during his time as Inter coach.

Conte arrived at San Siro in 2019, a year after striker Martinez was signed from Racing Club.

The Argentina international's debut campaign had brought just nine goals and two assists in 35 games in all competitions, but those figures quickly improved under Conte.

Martinez tallied 21 goals and five assists in 49 outings last season and has scored 16 times and created six more for team-mates in 38 appearances in the 2020-21 campaign.

His minutes-per-goal rate has improved across his three seasons in Italy, this season finding the back of the net every 162.2 minutes.

Martinez is also creating more chances, 1.4 per 90 minutes, resulting in the increase in assists, but his work in defending from the front has been similarly impressive.

The 23-year-old has won possession in the final third 32 times this term (1.1 per 90) and posted 31 interceptions (also 1.1 per 90), comfortably more than in his previous two seasons combined.

Among Serie A forwards to score 15 or more goals in all competitions this season, Martinez leads the way in both categories as well as in recoveries per 90 (3.1).

Conte was asked about his number 10 ahead of Inter's game with Sassuolo on Wednesday, and said: "He has improved in all areas, on the ball and off the ball.

"He has improved when it comes to holding up possession and attacking the space.

"Like the other players, he has made massive progress. He needs to stay on this track. Taking his age into account, he has a very bright future ahead. It's in his hands."

Of those with 15 goals or more, Martinez's strike partner Romelu Lukaku ranked last for interceptions (0.1) and recoveries (1.6).

But Lukaku trails only Cristiano Ronaldo (31) in the scoring charts with 26 strikes in all competitions, and Conte is confident all of his players are contributing to the cause as Inter - eight points clear with Wednesday's game in hand - close on a first Scudetto since 2009-10.

"I think for every side putting the team first is the most important factor," the coach said. "Alone, you cannot win matches.

"It's the team that gets the best out of the individual. The players have understood the message. They are all pulling in the same direction."

Hertha Berlin sacked goalkeeping coach Zsolt Petry following comments he made in an interview regarding immigration and LGBTQ+ people.

Petry, who has spent six years with the Bundesliga club, was quoted as telling Magyar Nemzet that immigration in Europe was causing the "moral degradation" of a "Christian continent".

He also questioned why RB Leipzig and Hungary goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi had spoken publicly in support of LGBTQ+ rights, saying that, while entitled to express his views, "the majority of Hungarian society does not agree with Peter Gulacsi's liberal opinion on 'rainbow' families".

Hertha confirmed on Tuesday that Petry had been dismissed with immediate effect. Magyar Nemzet described it as "shocking" that the 54-year-old had been punished for a "political opinion".

"Hertha BSC signed the Diversity Charta for German companies and actively promote values such as diversity and tolerance, because these values are important to us. The remarks made by Zsolt Petry as a club employee in the public eye do not respect these values," the club said in a statement.

CEO Carsten Schmidt said: "Zsolt Petry's work over the years at Hertha BSC has always been greatly appreciated. He was always open, tolerant and prepared to help. He never acted in a homophobic or xenophobic way.

"Even taking into account the finer details regarding the translation of his remarks, and the fact that several of Zsolt's remarks from the interview were left out of the publication without consultation, we ultimately concluded that the remarks on the whole do not comply with Hertha BSC's values. We thank Zsolt Petry for his work with the club and wish him all the best for the future."

Petry stated: "I would like to stress that I am not homophobic or xenophobic. I deeply regret my comments about immigration politics and would like to apologise to all those seeking refuge here who I have insulted. I enjoyed working for Hertha BSC and respect their decision. I wish everyone at the club all the best for the future."

Following the interview, Magyar Nemzet published a brief notice saying Petry had asked them to "express his position in a more nuanced way on certain issues", stressing that he "respects the opinion of Peter Gulacsi to the maximum" and "did not discriminate" against LGBTQ+ families.

Central Coast Mariners avoided suffering a second successive away defeat as the A-League leaders rallied to grab a 2-2 draw against Western Sydney Wanderers.

Bruce Kamau scored twice in the space of four minutes as Western Sydney turned the game around in a hurry, putting them on course for a win that would have lifted them up to third in the table.

However, the Mariners – who had taken the lead midway through the first half when Matt Simon converted a one-on-one opportunity with a chipped finish – levelled from the penalty spot.

Alou Kuol was caught by Keanu Baccus as they both went for a loose ball and, following a VAR check, captain Oliver Bozanic converted from 12 yards out in the 83rd minute.

Western Sydney have now only lost once in the past 11 meetings between the teams. They looked on course for all three points on Tuesday thanks to Kamau, who scored multiple goals in an A-League game for the second time in his career.

The substitute made it 1-1 when turning in Thomas Aquilina's low cross, then quickly had the hosts ahead when he ended a driving run with a shot that took a deflection to sneak past Mark Birighitti in the visiting goal.

Juventus knew exactly what they were getting when hiring Andrea Pirlo and would be wrong twice if they decided to make a change now, according to Fabio Cannavaro.

Despite winning Serie A for a ninth successive season, Juve reacted to the team's shock Champions League exit to Lyon last year by sacking head coach Maurizio Sarri.

Pirlo was promoted from within to the top job, the former Italy international - who had only just been appointed as the club's new under-23 boss - signing a two-year deal to take charge of the first team.

His debut campaign has been tough, both at home and abroad. Juve's dominance in the league looks set to come to an end, while their hopes of European glory were dashed again at the last-16 stage, this time unexpectedly losing over two legs to Porto.

Pirlo's position has come into question as a consequence, yet former team-mate Cannavaro insists the club must show faith in the decision they made to appoint him in the first place.

"When Juve chose Andrea they knew very well that he had no experience," Cannavaro said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport

"It is logical that he should have his time to mature, even in the relationship with the team. There are still 30 points at stake, so it is right to leave it.

"And he did good things, throwing young people and managing a complicated dressing room, one full of people who have won a lot. Of course, some things don't work, he was wrong: he is a human.

"It's a heritage that must be protected. After all, if Juve don't confirm his position, what did they choose him to do last summer?

"They would be wrong twice if they take that decision now. And the blame can't only be his if the players make mistakes on and off the pitch."

Pirlo's Juve have a 57.14 per cent win percentage in Serie A, having scored 56 goals and conceded 25. The team averages exactly two points a game, considerably lower than the 2019-20 season.

They face a fight just to qualify for the Champions League again: Saturday's 2-2 draw against Torino saw them slip to fourth in the table, with a crucial home game against Napoli - who sit fifth, albeit level with Juventus on 56 points – to come on Wednesday.

As for Sarri, his solitary campaign in charge averaged out at 2.18 points per game, the former Napoli and Chelsea boss winning 68.42 per cent of his league fixtures as he secured the title again.

However, both slip below the lofty standards set by Massimiliano Allegri in his final year in the job. In 2018-19, his squad won 73.68 per cent of their Serie A outings, conceding just 30 goals as they picked up points at a rate of 2.37 per game.

Ilkay Gundogan is concerned Bayern Munich's continued dominance of the Bundesliga will make German football less appealing to an international audience.

Manchester City midfielder Gundogan won the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund in 2012.

But Dortmund – who face City in a Champions League quarter-final first-leg on Tuesday – have not won the title since.

Bayern are closing in on a ninth consecutive domestic crown after beating closest challengers RB Leipzig 1-0 on Saturday, a result that came even as star striker Robert Lewandowski was injured.

Dortmund are usually among Bayern's closest challengers but this season they sit seven points outside the top four despite having prolific striker Erling Haaland in their ranks.

"In the Bundesliga I wish that Dortmund or RB Leipzig could at least compete with FC Bayern in the medium term," City star Gundogan said to Funke Media Group.

"Should Bayern continue to set themselves apart from the competition even further in the next few years, then we can assume that the league will unfortunately become less appealing and interesting to the international audience."

Gundogan and City are cruising to the Premier League title in England, but he feels the competition has a clear advantage on Germany.

He added: "I think that here in England we have more quality in the league.

"Not only at the top, but above all in the middle of the table for teams that don't play in Europe.

"The top teams have also been playing with the best coaches in the world for a long time."

City go into the last-eight tie as favourites, having won 10 of their last 11 Champions League matches against German opposition (D1).

But City have lost four of their five matches at the quarter-final stage of the Champions League under Pep Guardiola, going out at this stage in each of the previous three seasons.

And despite their domestic struggles, Dortmund have gone unbeaten in their past seven Champions League games (W5 D2).

It is their longest streak without defeat in the competition since a run between 2012 and 2013, when they went 11 games without defeat under Jurgen Klopp.

Haaland has 21 Bundesliga goals this season and has also netted in each of his last six Champions League appearances.

Should he find the net in this game, he will become just the fifth player in the competition's history to score in seven straight matches.

Juventus have announced Federico Bernardeschi has tested positive for COVID-19, ruling him out of Wednesday's crucial game against Napoli.

Bernardeschi is isolating away from the rest of the first-team squad following the test result, though Juve revealed on Tuesday that the Italy international is asymptomatic.

The 27-year-old came on as a second-half substitute as the reigning champions drew 2-2 with Torino on Saturday, a result that further damaged their bid to win the league for a 10th straight season.

Juve boss Andrea Pirlo was without both Leonardo Bonucci and Merih Demiral for the Turin derby after the defenders tested positive for coronavirus during the international break.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck a late equaliser but the Bianconeri still dropped down to fourth in the table, 12 points behind leaders Inter with just 10 matches remaining.

Juve host fifth-placed Napoli in midweek too, a key fixture for both clubs in the battle to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Like compatriot Bonucci, Bernardeschi was involved for the Azzurri as they started their World Cup qualifying campaign last month – he made appearances in all three Group C fixtures in March, against Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Lithuania.

The Italian Football Federation announced four members of their staff had returned positive tests prior to the game in Lithuania, which resulted in a 2-0 win for Roberto Mancini's side.

DeMarcus Cousins wasted little time in getting to work with the Los Angeles Clippers after signing a 10-day contract with the team.

Cousins was a free agent after being waived by the Houston Rockets in February, the center having averaged 9.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists this season.

Now the 30-year-old has the chance to impress the Clippers, who sit third in the Western Conference with a 33-18 record and may want to add depth to their roster ahead of the postseason.

The franchise released pictures on social media of their latest acquisition already hard at work in the gym, potentially ahead of a debut against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday.

The four-time NBA All-Star is back in Los Angeles, having signed for the Lakers prior to the start of the 2019-20 season. However, he missed the entirety of their title-winning campaign due to a serious knee injury.

Selected by the Sacramento Kings with the fifth overall pick in the 2010 draft, Cousins has played in 590 games in his NBA career.

Twice selected on the All-NBA Second Team during his time with the Kings, he was eventually traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in February 2017.

There has also been a stint with the Golden State Warriors that was hampered by a torn quadriceps muscle. He had signed a one-year deal with the Rockets in 2020, yet played just 25 games for them.

For his career, Cousins averages 20.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists.