Max Verstappen took top spot in final practice for the Miami Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton finished only 13th.
Verstappen clocked the best time in Saturday’s running, and the world champion will head into qualifying at 4pm (9pm BST) as the favourite to secure pole position.
Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari – four tenths slower than Verstappen – with Sergio Perez, six points behind Red Bull team-mate Verstappen in the driver standings, third.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished fourth. Hamilton’s team-mate George Russell was 10th.
Hamilton has described Mercedes’ form at the first of three rounds to be staged in the United States as a “kick in the guts”.
He heads into Sunday’s race 45 points behind championship leader Verstappen after just four rounds of the season.
The British driver’s Mercedes team have endured a turbulent campaign. Hamilton finished second in Australia at the beginning of last month to raise hope of a Mercedes fightback.
But the 38-year-old, whose contract with the Brackley team expires in just over six months, was a distant sixth in Azerbaijan last weekend.
And, despite an encouraging opening practice session on Friday, with Russell leading his team-mate in a Mercedes one-two, the Silver Arrows look poised for another troubling weekend.
Hamilton ended the concluding running before qualifying 1.1 seconds slower than Verstappen. Russell outpaced his team-mate by 0.1 sec.
Mercedes are due to introduce an upgrade at the next round in Imola in a fortnight’s time, but team principal Toto Wolff has already warned Hamilton that he will not have the speed to fight with Red Bull.
“I am going to stay optimistic, but it feels like we are racing the same car as last year,” said Hamilton.
“We desperately need those upgrades, that is for sure. We have to keep our heads down for one more race and hopefully we will start a new path at the next race.”
Andy Murray guaranteed a return to the top 50 with victory over Harold Mayot to reach the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
The Scot, currently ranked 52, took a late wild card into the second-tier tournament after losing in the first round of the Madrid Open and has made the most of the opportunity with four victories in a row.
They have all come against French players, and Murray comfortably brushed aside 21-year-old Mayot, ranked 241, 7-5 6-1 to set up a finale against American Tommy Paul.
One consequence of the decision to extend the clay-court Masters events in Madrid and Rome to two weeks each has been the strong Challenger fields this week, with Paul a top-20 player and Australian Open semi-finalist in January.
Murray has certainly gained in confidence through the week and pulled well clear with a run of seven games in a row, Mayot bowing to the pressure being exerted on him by double-faulting to give away the opening set.
Finishing off matches has at times been a struggle for Murray in recent years and he wobbled slightly, missing two match points at 5-0 before finally taking his fifth opportunity to clinch it.
It is Murray’s second final of the season after the ATP Tour event in Doha in February, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.
The Scot is bidding for his first title since Antwerp in 2019, while, should he beat Paul, he would claim his first trophy at Challenger level for 18 years.
He would also climb to just outside the top 40, which would be a major boost to his hopes of being seeded for Wimbledon.
Andy Murray guaranteed a return to the top 50 with victory over Harold Mayot to reach the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
The Scot, currently ranked 52, took a late wild card into the second-tier tournament after losing in the first round of the Madrid Open and has made the most of the opportunity with four victories in a row.
They have all come against French players, and Murray comfortably brushed aside 21-year-old Mayot, ranked 241, 7-5 6-1 to set up a finale against American Tommy Paul.
One consequence of the decision to extend the clay-court Masters events in Madrid and Rome to two weeks each has been the strong Challenger fields this week, with Paul a top-20 player and Australian Open semi-finalist in January.
Murray has certainly gained in confidence through the week and pulled well clear with a run of seven games in a row, Mayot bowing to the pressure being exerted on him by double-faulting to give away the opening set.
Finishing off matches has at times been a struggle for Murray in recent years and he wobbled slightly, missing two match points at 5-0 before finally taking his fifth opportunity to clinch it.
It is Murray’s second final of the season after the ATP Tour event in Doha in February, where he lost to Daniil Medvedev.
The Scot is bidding for his first title since Antwerp in 2019, while, should he beat Paul, he would claim his first trophy at Challenger level for 18 years.
He would also climb to just outside the top 40, which would be a major boost to his hopes of being seeded for Wimbledon.
Former world eventing champion Ros Canter is on course for a first Badminton Horse Trials title after the dressage phase.
Lincolnshire-based Canter, who won the world crown in North Carolina five years ago, leads on Lordships Graffalo.
A score of 22.1 penalties edged 2016 Rio Olympian Kitty King and Vendredi Biats into second place overnight, but just 1.5 penalties separate the top five combinations.
And the chasing pack includes two Olympic team gold medallists in Oliver Townend and Tom McEwen, who lie third and fifth respectively aboard Swallow Springs and Toledo De Kerser.
Canter and Lordships Graffalo finished second behind Laura Collett and London 52 at Badminton last year, but 37-year-old Canter now has an outstanding chance of claiming the £105,000 top prize.
Sunday’s demanding cross-country phase will be pivotal – steady rain and testing conditions saw organisers make late alterations to five of the fences – while it all concludes with the showjumping phase on Monday.
“I can’t ask for more than that,” Canter said, reflecting on her dressage test. “If the crowd had stamped their feet, he would have danced even more – that’s why he is so great.
“I have never ridden in these conditions (at five-star level). It will be a case of looking after the horse, riding what is under me and attacking.”
Townend, meanwhile, also has his 2017 Burghley winner Ballaghmor Class in the mix, keeping alive a possibility of finishing first and second, which was last achieved at Badminton 35 years ago by Scotsman Ian Stark.
Sport paid tribute to the King on the day of his coronation as Chelsea forward Sam Kerr led the Australian delegation in the formal procession in London.
Kerr was chosen to bear her country’s flag as part of the Commonwealth, fronting an Australian contingent which included Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as they made their way into Westminster Abbey for the service on Saturday morning.
After cricketers had stood to observe the national anthem ahead of day three of the current round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches, the afternoon’s football matches also paid tribute to the King.
Premier League leaders Manchester City hosted Leeds at the Etihad Stadium, where the national anthem was played before kick-off as the players stood around the centre circle while the big screen showed a symbol to mark the coronation.
Ahead of the games at Bournemouth and Tottenham, fans had been given the opportunity to watch the ceremony, as were spectators at the Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershire, where events had been paused during the ceremony.
Further afield, Formula One sent its congratulations to the King, with several teams displaying the coronation emblem at the Miami Grand Prix this weekend.
Sir Alastair Cook – who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019 – was among those cricketers who stood to observe the national anthem.
Cook joined his Essex team-mates and opponents from Surrey, including England players Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes and Will Jacks, as they lined the boundary edge at Chelmsford while God Save the King played out to those in attendance.
There were similar scenes at the likes of Headingley, Ageas Bowl and Trent Bridge, although some of the fixtures were unable to start on time due to rain.
England stars James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Jonny Bairstow were among the best known faces to take part in proceedings.
Charles, previously the Prince of Wales, has been a patron of Glamorgan since 1986 and they posted a picture of him holding a bat during a visit to Sophia Gardens.
Two matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, at Old Trafford and Chester-le-Street, were marked in similar fashion.
Events in London also had an impact at the Badminton Horse Trials.
Saturday’s dressage started at 8am and paused at 10.15am to allow spectators to watch the coronation on big screens.
The action resumed at 12.45pm, with some screen access still available for those wishing to take in the full ceremony.
Defending champions Nicholas Chen and Aliana McMaster are ready to defend their titles at the Rangers Gun Club and Family Fun Day which is set for Sunday, May 7 beginning at 10 am at the True Juice complex in Bog Walk, St. Catherine.
The Rangers Gun Club is expecting a field of approximately one hundred and fifty shooters along with family members to trek the lush walking course venue for a day of individual and team competition featuring the local gun clubs.
For the second year in a row four clubs will compete for the trophy; Driftwood Gun Club, Jamaica Gun Club, Rangers Gun Club and defending champions, the Trelawny Gun Club.
Competition for top honors will be stiff as some of the Jamaica Skeet Club's best shooters will be vying for top honors. They include nine-time national shotgun champion Ian Banks, six-time national shotgun champion Shaun Barnes, current national shotgun champion Chad Ziadie, his father Geoffrey Ziadie, Ray McMaster, Andrew Hopwood, Ryan Chen and Bobby Chung as well as the high performance family team of female McMasters - Aliana, Wendy (five-time national shotgun champion) and Abigail along with other well known female shooters in Renee Rickhi, who is part of the Jamaica Rifle Association's Alpha Angels lady shooters, Marguerite Harris and Tara Brown.
Shooters in various classes from A- E, Hunters or Beginners, Juniors, Sub-Juniors, and Ladies will be competing in order to win their classes and, in some cases, move up to more challenging classes. The course features a seventeen-station walking course.
Part proceeds from the event will be donated to the Food for the Poor organization.
The lead sponsor for the Rangers Gun Club Sporting Clays and Family Day is Sterling Asset Management. Worthy Park Select is the gold sponsor and there are several 'station' sponsors.
The club has rich a history of young business men and some of their fathers who loved shooting getting together in the mid 1980s to start the Rangers Gun Club at their Salt Gully base in St. Catherine.
They initially focused on bird shooting then took on sporting clays which is currently the most popular form of the sport and is said to be the favorite of the younger shooters. The tournament is being brought back by on their request. The club's archives show that Michael Ammar, John Ammar, David Shoucair and Wayne Srour took the leap with Michael Ammar Sr., Sameer Younis and Dr. Badih Shoucair to start the club.
Lewis Hamilton has described Mercedes’ form as a “kick in the guts” – but team principal Toto Wolff insists his superstar driver will still sign a new contract.
Hamilton heads into Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix 45 points behind championship leader Max Verstappen after just four rounds of the season.
The British driver’s Mercedes team have endured a turbulent campaign.
Hamilton finished second in Australia at the beginning of last month to raise hope of a Mercedes’ fightback, but the 38-year-old, whose contract with the Brackley team expires in just over six months, was a distant sixth in Azerbaijan last weekend.
And, despite an encouraging opening practice session at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, with George Russell leading his team-mate in a Mercedes one-two, Hamilton ended the day’s concluding running in seventh, nine tenths back from Verstappen.
Asked for his assessment of Mercedes’ speed in the Sunshine State, Hamilton replied: “It is the same as every weekend.
“We are a second down. We are just not particularly quick. It is a struggle out there.
“We are trying different things. First practice looked good and then we got to second practice and the true pace came out. It is a kick in the guts. It is difficult to take sometimes.”
Mercedes are due to introduce an upgrade at the next round in Imola in a fortnight’s time, but Wolff has already warned Hamilton that he will not have the speed to fight with Red Bull.
Hamilton added: “I am going to stay optimistic, but it feels like we are racing the same car as last year. We desperately need those upgrades, that is for sure.
“We have to keep our heads down for one more race and hopefully we will start a new path at the next race.”
Hamilton’s future with Mercedes, and indeed in Formula One, continues to hang in the air.
But Wolff believes Mercedes’ failure to provide the Briton with a championship-winning machine will not prevent him from extending his stay with the team he joined in 2013.
Wolff said: “We have been together for 11 years, and every single time when we talk about Lewis’s contract, it’s six months of, ‘Where are we and what is happening?’ And we keep seeing the same thing, that we’re just rolling on.
“The contract negotiations are not difficult. It’s just putting a different timeline and a few different numbers in there. That is what we are doing and that is what we are working on.
“It’s a work in progress, bouncing emails back and forth, and eventually we’re going to sign it.”
County cricket paid tribute to the King on the morning of his coronation, while Chelsea’s forward Sam Kerr led the Australian delegation in the formal procession.
Kerr was chosen to bear her country’s flag as part of the Commonwealth, fronting an Australian contingent which included Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as they made their way into Westminster Abbey.
Meanwhile, Sir Alastair Cook – who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019 – was among those cricketers who stood to observe the national anthem ahead of day three of the current round of LV= County Championship.
Cook joined his Essex team-mates and opponents from Surrey, including England players Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes and Will Jacks, as they lined the boundary edge at Chelmsford as God Save the King played out to those in attendance.
Similar scenes played out at Headingley, Derby and Trent Bridge, though a handful of other fixtures were unable to start on time due to rain. Two matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, at Old Trafford and Chester-le-Street were marked in similar fashion.
James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Jonny Bairstow were among the best known faces to take part in proceedings.
Charles, previously the Prince of Wales, has been a patron of Glamorgan since 1986 and they posted a picture of him holding a bat during a visit to Sophia Gardens.
Chief executive Hugh Morris said: “As our Patron, King Charles III has a long-standing association with Glamorgan County Cricket Club and we would like to wish His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort well as we celebrate the Coronation on Saturday, 6th May.”
Jayson Tatum bounced back with 27 points and the Boston Celtics received a balanced effort in a 114-102 road win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
The victory gave Boston a 2-1 lead in the second-round series with Game 4 set for Sunday.
Each Celtics starter reached double figures, with Jaylen Brown scoring 23, Al Horford adding 17 and Marcus Smart contributing 15.
Malcolm Brogdon had 15 points, including a 3-pointer with 5 1/2 minutes left to give Boston a 100-92 lead. Horford hit one of his five 3s to put Boston up seven with 3:25 remaining.
James Harden's 3-pointer with just over two minutes left drew the 76ers within 105-99 but Tatum, who was limited to seven points in Game 2, responded with a 3 of his own, then sank a pair of free throws to make it 110-100 with 1:18 to play.
Joel Embiid had 30 points and 13 rebounds for Philadelphia after he received his MVP trophy in a pregame ceremony. Harden struggled with 16 points on 3-of-14 shooting and is 5 for 28 from the field in the past two games – 2 of 13 from long range - following a 45-point performance in the series opener.
Boston's Grant Williams suffered a bloody mouth late in the game when he was hit in the head by a falling Embiid.
Suns take Game 3 from Nuggets behind Booker, Durant
The Phoenix Suns were in desperate need of a win and Devin Booker and Kevin Durant made sure they got it, combining for 86 points in a 121-114 victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets on Friday.
No other Suns player scored in double digits, but Booker and Durant’s heroics were enough as Phoenix trimmed the second-round series deficit to 2-1.
Booker tied his playoff career high with 47 points on 20-of-25 shooting, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Durant wasn’t as efficient with his shot, connecting on 12-of-31 but still finished with 39 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Jamal Murray led Denver with 32 points and Nikola Jokic tallied his ninth career postseason triple-double with 30 points, 17 rebounds and 17 assists, one off his personal best.
Cameron Payne started for Phoenix in place of 12-time All-Star Chris Paul and was limited to seven points but hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter and added six assists.
TJ Warren only made three baskets for the Suns but two came in the final 2 ½ minutes. His 3 with 2:23 left put Phoenix up eight and he sank a driving floater less than a minute later to make it 114-107.
The Suns will try to even the series on Sunday.
Alun Wyn Jones was named as British and Irish Lions captain for the summer tour of South Africa, on this day in 2021.
The Wales forward later suffered a shoulder injury which looked certain to rule him out of the trip, but he made a remarkable recovery to join up with the squad and play in all three Tests against the Springboks.
Wyn Jones had captained Wales to the 2021 Guinness Six Nations title and was set to embark on a fourth successive Lions tour, having stepped in to lead the squad in the series-clinching victory over Australia in Sydney when Sam Warburton was injured.
“Obviously very proud, very privileged (to be named captain),” said Wyn Jones, who at the time of the announcement had clocked up a world record 157 Tests for Wales and the Lions.
“To be selected in the squad is initially what you want to be hearing, and to have the armband as well is a privilege, with the names that have gone before and what those players have achieved.
“I’ve just got a huge amount of pride to add this to the CV, but obviously there’s a lot of work to do once we get out there and some huge games to face.”
It had, however, looked as if Wyn Jones’ hopes of leading Warren Gatland’s side into the Tests against the world champions were over after dislocating his left shoulder just seven minutes into the pre-tour curtain-raiser against Japan at Murrayfield on June 26.
Wyn Jones was initially ruled out of the tour, with Ireland’s Conor Murray named as replacement Lions captain.
However, after making a remarkable recovery – which saw him dubbed ‘Lazarus’ by team-mates – Wyn Jones returned to training with Wales before proving his fitness to join up with the rest of the Lions squad at their Cape Town base.
Jones helped guide the Lions to a 22-17 victory in the opening Test, the tourists mounting an impressive second-half comeback.
The Springboks, though, responded to dominate the second Test 27-9 and the Lions were then edged out 19-16 in the decider by Morne Steyn’s late penalty to slip to a series defeat.
Englishman Tyrrell Hatton has finished tied first after the second day at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte on Friday, with the 31-year-old having a day out with the putter.
Hatton finished the day with six-under 71 to move up and finish the day tied on eight-under with Americans Nate Lashley and Wyndham Clark after 36 holes at Quail Hollow.
He had a great closing stretch hitting a 26-foot eagle putt on the seventh hole and made three putts of 25 feet or more on the last four holes.
Speaking after the second round, Tyrrell Hatton said it was “nice” to see some of the more challenging putts go in.
“They’re not the type of putts that you hole consistently, so to finish the round that way, I’m obviously very pleased with that,” Hatton said.
“There was a lot of good par saves where short game helped me out and that kept me in it and I’m thankful to have a good finish… I hope that continues over the weekend.
“I always try my best and this week on tough golf courses is no difference.”
The one-time PGA Tour winner had one eagle, six birdies and two bogeys in a successful day on the tough course.
After a great start yesterday, Tommy Fleetwood dropped down to 10th with two birdies and two bogeys to finish the day six-under.
Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy didn’t have the same success, with just two birdies and four bogeys, finishing the day one-under par.
The three-time winner of this event just scraped through the make the cut to the third round.
Max Verstappen restored Formula One’s natural order by posting the fastest time in second practice for Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix as Charles Leclerc crashed out.
After George Russell finished ahead of Lewis Hamilton in a surprise one-two finish for Mercedes in the earlier sun-cooked running at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, Verstappen took the spoils in the day’s concluding running.
The double world champion finished 0.385 seconds clear of Carlos Sainz with Leclerc, whose day ended in the barriers at Turn 7 with 10 minutes remaining, third in the other Ferrari.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez claimed fourth spot with Hamilton only seventh, nine tenths back, and team-mate Russell down in 15th.
F1 is back in Miami for a second time at a 3.36-mile circuit constructed around the home of NFL side the Miami Dolphins – 15 miles north of the city.
The race marks the first of three rounds to be staged in the United States this year as F1’s American owners Liberty Media continue to build on the rise of the sport across the Atlantic.
A debut event on the Las Vegas strip will take place in November, while Austin’s grand prix at the Circuit of the Americas – a permanent fixture on the F1 schedule since 2012 – also features.
Despite the boom of the sport, the actual competition is facing accusations of being “predictable” and “boring” with Red Bull winning 14 of the last 15 races.
Verstappen leads Red Bull team-mate Perez in the standings by six points after the opening four rounds.
Mercedes’ encouraging start here provided hope that Red Bull might not have it all their own way in Florida.
But Verstappen’s pace later in the day indicates they will again be the team to beat heading into the remainder of the weekend.
The opening session was suspended for nine minutes when Nico Hulkenberg crashed into the wall after he lost control of his Haas coming through the third corner.
With Hulkenberg’s broken machine in a precarious position, the red flags were deployed. The second running almost saw another Haas in the barriers after Hulkenberg’s team-mate Kevin Magnussen span at Turn 14 and drifted backwards into the wall. The Dane thudded the armco but escaped without significant damage.
The same could not be said for Leclerc after he carried too much speed into Turn 7, and headed straight for the tyre wall.
Leclerc broke his front wing and suffered possible suspension damage in the accident before he headed back to the pits on the back of a moped.
The running was red-flagged for six minutes as Leclerc’s Ferrari was removed from danger. The cars returned to the track for a four-minute splurge but it was Verstappen who remained at the summit.
Pep Guardiola has said Kalvin Phillips’ Manchester City future is in his own hands.
The £42million summer signing has made only eight Premier League appearances for City, all as a substitute, and will be eager to make a ninth when his former club Leeds visit the Etihad on Saturday.
Phillips suffered an early setback in his City career with shoulder surgery in September, but since returning in November he has found it impossible to dislodge Rodri from the base of Guardiola’s midfield, with John Stones now also stepping out of defence into a more advanced position.
The England midfielder’s lack of playing time has prompted speculation that the player and club might part ways this summer, but Guardiola said no decisions would be taken now.
“It depends on the players,” Guardiola said. “At the end we’re here, I try to be honest with the questions and my feelings.
“My feelings sometimes change. But at the end it belongs to the players, they have to convince themselves and the team and not because I say something.
“They have to earn my confidence. All of them, not just Kalvin, all of them how they perform. Teams change a lot and players for previous seasons who were incredibly important but this season less important. It’s how they perform, many things can happen.”
City continue to compete on three fronts. They can move four points clear of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League if they beat Leeds, with the first leg of their Champions League semi-final away to Real Madrid on Tuesday immediately following, and an FA Cup final against Manchester United booked for June.
Guardiola said the tightness of the Premier League title race has worked against Phillips.
“I’m not complaining about Kalvin because when you don’t play much it’s difficult to take the rhythm,” Guardiola said.
“John we’re seven years together, Rodri is (four) years together. I don’t have to tell them anything. Just little details – a movement here or there.
“Kalvin if maybe in the past he’d played more minutes he will get that but Rodri was in exceptional form. That role is so, so important, that’s why the lack of minutes makes the circle more difficult. But he always pays attention, in the training sessions he is always open-minded to get it.
“But being behind Arsenal, we cannot drop points. We haven’t had that situation of being eight, 10 points in front – in the past it happened. He can do it, but in that moment I always had the feeling Rodri knows exactly what to do in the role.”
Guardiola also cited that relentless schedule when he said he had not given any thought as to whether Phillips has a long-term future at the club.
“What happens next season, I’m not concerned for one second now,” he said.
“We will see at the end of the season. We’ll sit with the players. Maybe they want more minutes or maybe they are not happy with the situation. But right now I’m not going to discuss anything.”
City have failed to win only twice at home all season, something Guardiola put down to the “vibe” they are enjoying in front of their fans.
As they play on the day of the King’s Coronation, the Catalan said he was eager to make sure that continued.
“There is no time to keep something in the fridge,” he said. “We have to give everything, it’s so close.
“We still have one game in hand, important tough games. We saw Brighton (beat Manchester United) and we still have to go there.
“We have just two games at home – Leeds and Chelsea – and we need our people. Please come at 3pm if you don’t have anything better to do. There are important things in this country but anyway, if you don’t have anything more then come and help us because we need it.”
Ryan Mason has aimed a thinly-veiled dig at Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp after his criticism of Tottenham’s style last weekend.
Klopp took umbrage with Mason’s post-match comments about Diogo Jota, who caught Oliver Skipp with a head-high tackle during the 4-3 clash but stayed on the pitch to score a stoppage-time winner in the Anfield fixture.
After Mason had made clear his exasperation at Jota being able to avoid a red card, Klopp hit back during an interview with the BBC by suggesting the 31-year-old should “worry about other stuff” before he told Spurs they “can’t just counter-attack” and urged them to “play better football.”
Tottenham’s acting head coach responded before the visit of Crystal Palace on Saturday, where only three points for the hosts will keep alive their top-six hopes.
“Yeah, I mean first of all I respect and admire Jurgen Klopp,” Mason said.
“I also respect Liverpool Football Club, but honestly in my current situation now and regardless of what happens in my coaching career, I don’t believe I will ever be in a position where I can sit here and criticise another football club in the way they are doing things.
“Look, I will not create a war of words. That is my opinion on it. I don’t think it will change in 20 years time.
“I don’t think I will ever be in that position or earn the right to criticise another football club for how they want to try and win the game and how they feel is the best chance for them to win the game in that moment in time.”
The image of Skipp being caught in the head and falling to the floor may have brought back bad memories for Mason, who retired at the age of 26 following a fracture of his skull after a clash of heads with Chelsea’s Gary Cahill during a match for Hull in 2017.
Mason admitted Skipp had been fortunate, adding: “He is a very, very lucky boy. He had a couple of gashes in his head, needed near to 10 stitches and we are talking about a couple of inches away from an eye problem.
“I think the overall feeling this week is we are quite grateful Skippy is okay and nothing too serious.
“Obviously a different situation (to me), different moment as well. One was with a head, one was with a boot so the dangers are different.
“At the same time the head is a vulnerable part of the body. We continue to see that. Thankfully Skippy is okay. He is in contention.”
Skipp is one of two Spurs academy graduates set to feature against Palace alongside vice-captain Harry Kane and the club’s Under-18s were able to secure a second trophy of the season on Thursday night at Villa Park.
A 3-1 win over Aston Villa clinched the Under-18 Premier League Cup to add to the Under-17 version won against Nottingham Forest last month.
Mason has seen plenty of the youth team this season and knows the path they will now attempt to take, but he insisted there can be no set timescale on how long it could take some of Stuart Lewis’ current crop to break into the first-team.
“Absolutely I have seen a lot of them. I work for this football club, I work in the first-team and it is part of my job to pay attention and understand where the academy are at and try bridge that gap,” he explained.
“Of course we have hope for many of them but at 16 and 17, it can be a long road and it can be difficult.
“Sometimes people develop earlier than others and sometimes players seize the moment. Hopefully some of them can make the step up in the coming years.
“From a timescale point of view, it is very difficult to put a time on it but historically this football club has always valued that and we continue to do that now.”
Chelsea’s new recruits have not been given the opportunity to find the connections necessary to build a winning team, according to Frank Lampard.
The Blues looked incoherent and without a plan in losing meekly 3-1 to Arsenal on Tuesday, a sixth straight loss on a run that has seen them sink to 12th in the Premier League table.
Several of the players who were signed in January have failed to make a significant impact, with Mykhailo Mudryk and Noni Madueke in particular big-money buys that have shown only flashes of their talent.
Madueke at least netted his first goal for the club in the loss at the Emirates, something Mudryk, who cost £88million despite only having made 44 first-team appearances for Shakhtar Donetsk, is yet to achieve.
There has been little consistency in the starting XI, something that was apparent under former boss Graham Potter and has continued into Lampard’s dire interim spell.
It has made an unbalanced squad, loaded up on creative talent but with no one to score goals, look even more disjointed on the pitch, with little apparent chemistry. They have scored only twice in their last eight games.
Chelsea will drop below Bournemouth should they lose to Gary O’Neil’s side at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday, despite the fact their opponents have spent most of the season battling relegation and were in the bottom three at the start of April.
“The numbers show you we’re the team that changes its XI the most,” said Lampard. “Coming in at this point for me, it’s trying to find the connections and partnerships in the team which are crucial as we all know.
“The great teams we’ve witnessed over the years, you can pretty much always name connections. Full-backs; Liverpool off the top of my head, the full-backs are absolutely central to what they do.
“When you’re trying to find that, it’s difficult, and I think it’s important to know that when we’re in a bad run and those things are not settled, it’s very hard to get consistency of what you want.
“You end up searching for it, and that’s probably why people call it a transition. That’s a challenge. In my position as much as we want results, because results will get thrown in your face, we also need to try and find those little connections within the team going forward.
“Some of the younger players that have come into the club have maybe not had the opportunity to settle, to feel comfortable within the team, to understand the full-backs are going to overlap them, or the midfield players are going to support them.
“That is a process, and that needs work. It’s probably work I haven’t been able to do in this role as interim. It feels less in practice about coaching to that degree.”
Lampard defended Raheem Sterling despite the England forward’s form having totally deserted him during Chelsea’s slide.
Sterling, who was the first signing of the club’s whirlwind recruitment drive this season, has not replicated the performances that saw him score 131 goals in seven seasons at Manchester City, en route to winning four Premier League titles and becoming a lynchpin of Gareth Southgate’s national team.
He has managed only four league goals since arriving at Stamford Bridge in July.
“I’ve spent the last three years talking to all my younger wingers that I work with, showing them videos of Raheem Sterling arriving at the back post, doing defensively the work he does,” said Lampard.
“You absolutely cannot take that away from him, what he’s done, for Manchester City and England.
“When you move club, even though everyone on the outside goes ‘oh what hard work that is, moving from Man City to Chelsea, what a terrible situation’, it does bring around changes in your life.
“Of course maybe the form of the team this season has not been great, so there can always be a lot of contributing factors to individual form.
“He’s got credit in the bank. Keep working, things around him falling more into place, I think with Raheem he’ll show what he’s shown in his career.
“We have a lot of understandable reasons and stories within the squad, the newer younger players, some players who will be moving on. There are a lot of those reasons.”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists the club will not be held to ransom over transfer targets and are not prepared to pay over-inflated prices.
The club have already pulled out of the running for their primary option Jude Bellingham with Borussia Dortmund likely to ask for a fee around £130million.
With a midfield rebuild required it was decided to spread their limited resources wider rather than going for a megabucks marquee signing, with Brighton’s Alexis Mac Allister near the top of their alternatives.
Liverpool’s issues in midfield could lead to selling clubs upping the price knowing the rival’s need to sign players and, more specifically, secure them early in the summer.
But Klopp said they were not prepared to pay over the odds and have a list of targets which he feels provides the club with options if they should encounter a stumbling block in negotiations.
“We cannot buy the player then. If they are overpriced we cannot do it,” he said.
“I am pretty sure we will bring in the players we want and those who will help us. I am pretty confident of that.
“You never know 100 per cent until they are signed but that (bumping up prices) is not new that some clubs might try that.
“Let me say it like this: you identify a position and you have not only one option on the position. That means they should all be good.
“You might have a favourite but if the other club doesn’t want to sell or someone else will pay the price then we cannot go with it.
“But usually we got the players we wanted. The one thing is can we afford them and then they are here.”
Liverpool’s five-match winning run, lifting them to within four points of fourth-placed Manchester United but with only an outside chance of making the top four because their rivals have played two matches fewer, has put a better spin on a season which had the club lingering between eighth and 10th for long periods.
Klopp knows he cannot “replace the whole team” with his summer transfers but does not believe their final league position will have much effect on the success of the business he does, although he thinks it may be of assistance to the players he currently has.
“Each performance we have now helps us and helps the players,” he added.
“We cannot replace the whole team. How I understand life is if you have a problem you sort it better now because if you just move on you have the same problem.
“We have to give the boys a frame where they can perform because I see them every day, I know they want to perform.
“It is not that they say ‘I cannot do that anymore’. We were not able to do it that is true for a long period, but we will find a frame where the boys can shine again.
“Everything we do well now will help us for next season. These five games I liked the reaction in moments, it is not full games, but the signs I saw are really promising and I am happy with that.
“Another four games, a break, then a proper pre-season and we will be strong.”
A goalless draw ensured Arbroath will play Scottish Championship football next season while Hamilton must try to do the same via the play-offs.
Accies began the day bottom of the table and staring at automatic relegation but a point lifted them above Cove Rangers on goal difference.
Instead, they will take on either Alloa or Airdrie in the League One play-offs as they attempt to secure second tier football again.
Chances were at a premium – Hamilton’s Daniel O’Reilly had a shot saved by Derek Gaston in the first half while in the second David Gold came close twice in quick succession for Arbroath, hitting the bar on the second occasion.
Scott Tiffoney struck a 68th-minute equaliser as Partick Thistle snatched a place in the Premiership play-offs with a 2-2 draw in their final cinch Championship match of the season at Raith.
Thistle took a 21st-minute lead through Darren Brownlie at Stark’s Park but Rovers pulled level before the break with a Lewis Vaughan penalty after handball by Ross Docherty.
The hosts went ahead through Scott McGill after good work by Kieran Ngwenya just before the hour but Partick quickly hit back.
Tiffoney claimed the crucial goal and ensured his side finished fourth in the table when he tucked home at the far post after Raith, who end the campaign in seventh, failed to clear.
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