A man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the death of ice hockey player Adam Johnson, South Yorkshire Police said.

Johnson, 29, was seriously injured during a Challenge Cup game between Nottingham Panthers and Sheffield Steelers on October 28 and died later in hospital, with a post-mortem confirming his cause of death was a neck injury.

Detective Chief Superintendent Becs Horsfall said: “Our investigation launched immediately following this tragedy and we have been carrying out extensive inquiries ever since to piece together the events which led to the loss of Adam in these unprecedented circumstances.

“We have been speaking to highly specialised experts in their field to assist in our inquiries and continue to work closely with the health and safety department at Sheffield City Council, which is supporting our ongoing investigation.

“Adam’s death has sent shockwaves through many communities, from our local residents here in Sheffield to ice hockey fans across the world.

“We know these communities will expect us to handle this investigation with the same professionalism, fairness and sensitivity as any other and request that members of the public refrain from comment and speculation which could hinder this process.

“Our thoughts remain with all affected by this devastating incident as inquiries continue.”

The force said Johnson’s family has asked for privacy.

Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes could be facing months on the sidelines as he awaits a specialist’s verdict on the foot injury he suffered at Sheffield United.

The 25-year-old limped out of Sunday’s 8-0 Premier League demolition job at Bramall Lane after just 12 minutes, and head coach Eddie Howe fears he could miss a significant proportion of the campaign with surgery a possibility.

Asked if Barnes could be out for some time, Howe said: “Yes, we’re fearing it’s going to be. It’s difficult. I don’t want to put a time on it until we get confirmation from the specialist, but I think it will be months rather than weeks.”

The England international, who joined the Magpies in a £38million summer switch from Leicester, suffered his injury as he pushed off to run in South Yorkshire and has since undergone a scan.

Howe said: “It’s an injury to a part of the foot just below the toe. I think it’s quite a substantial injury. We’ve had it scanned, we’re waiting now for a specialist’s opinion on what to do next, whether there’s surgery involved or not.

“I don’t think it was a tackle, I think it was just pushing off to run, a very unusual injury. I won’t go too technical because I’m not medically qualified to do so, but yes, very unusual.”

Any extended absence would come as a blow to both a player who is desperate to establish himself on Tyneside – Sunday’s game was just his second start for his new club – and his employers, who invested heavily in his services during their latest spending spree as they prepared for a season which includes Champions League football for the first time in two decades.

Howe said: “He was down after the game because he knew it wasn’t a normal injury where you feel a muscle and think that might be one or two weeks.

“This was a slightly more complex issue, and I think he probably feared the worst because there was no one around him and it was one of those mechanisms where he knew it wasn’t quite right.

“There’s no doubt he’ll be disappointed because he was very keen to show his value and worth and Sunday was an opportunity to do that. But whatever the injury is, we’ll support him and we know he’s a top quality player and he still has a massive part to play.”

Sheffield Wednesday manager Xisco Munoz said his focus is on the future despite his side remaining without a victory this campaign following a 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough.

Darragh Lenihan’s second-half goal for Boro cancelled out Anthony Musaba’s opener.

It was 23rd against 24th in South Yorkshire and that is where the draw sees the sides remain; both are now without a win in their first seven matches in the Sky Bet Championship this season.

Munoz said: “One of the problems we had in the last game was not finding solutions, but we did that today. We gave a good performance in the first half.

“We tried to change things in the second half and build on the positives. We can’t change everything in only a few days. For me, it’s important to try and give better things like in the first half.

“We’re trying to find the balance. The first half was at a good level but in the Championship you can’t have control for 90 minutes. It became a totally different game in the second half.

“I think the fans enjoyed the first half. You could hear it and this is what I want. We need to enjoy when we play at home. I understand if some people don’t like my style.

“My focus is on the future. I know what I can improve in this team and most importantly I believe in these guys.”

Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick said he was proud of the way his players got back into the game after half-time.

Carrick said: “It was a game of two halves. I think in the first half we were second guessing things and we lacked that belief and confidence.

“We wanted three points but sometimes that can turn to desperation and that can be dangerous. It can make things tense and I think we tensed up a bit in the first half, we were almost over trying.

“We showed what we were capable of in the second half and it was really encouraging for the players, I’m proud of them. Being behind at half-time is a difficult place to be.

“Going behind kick-started us; it gave us the freedom of expression to chase the game down. In terms of reaction, character and personality I never doubted them.

“We had some good spells of play in the second half. We were doing lots of good things, especially down the sides, we just didn’t quite get the end part right.

“Of course, we expected to pick up more points than we have but I really enjoy working with this group of players. The boys are frustrated, we wanted to come here and win but it wasn’t to be.”

Sean Dyche praised debutant Beto after he came off the bench to inspire an Everton turnaround and prevent an embarrassing Carabao Cup exit to League Two’s bottom side Doncaster.

After losing their first three Premier League matches without scoring, the Toffees were staring down the barrel of a humiliating defeat in South Yorkshire.

Doncaster dominated the first half and took a deserved lead through a flicked header by Joe Ironside, who avoided an offside call and sparked wild scenes at the Eco-Power Stadium.

Everton held on and belatedly showed their quality, with half-time substitute Beto levelling intelligently a day after signing, before Arnaut Danjuma wrapped up a 2-1 second-round win.

“Fair play to Doncaster, they took it on in the right way,” boss Dyche said after the Toffees earned a third-round trip to Aston Villa.

“They know that there’s no pressure on them – a free hit at us and all the noise and all the rest of it and they used it wisely.

“We weren’t at the races first half but I must say the goal is three yards offside. I would expect that to be given (offside) but it didn’t.

“It’s a big learning curve for some of the younger players because that’s what it’s like to play for Everton Football Club.

“A lot of expectation regardless, no-one cares about injuries and stretched squads. I say it because I mean it and it’s true, but no one really cares, so that’s a big part of their development.

“It can’t always be rosy, it’s tough and they’re young and they’re learning.

“Second half we put more experienced players on who played very well, I thought, and made a big difference to the performance.

“I don’t think it was as good a performance as the weekend (in the loss to Wolves) but you win a game and that was important.”

Everton return to South Yorkshire on Saturday lunchtime to face Sheffield United, where towering striker Beto will surely lead the line after his man-of-the-match display.

“He’s only got here yesterday, so it’s a lot to ask, really,” Dyche said of the big-money signing from Udinese.

“We only got his clearance this morning, so we’d already set the team up. I had it in my mind to put him on at half-time regardless.

“He’s adapted very quickly, done very well tonight. With all due respect, the Premier League is different, but he’s shown the rawness, the pace and the effect that he can have on a team.

“It gives us something different, which is what we brought him here for.”

Doncaster boss Grant McCann was aggrieved his side did not get a penalty for a Vitaliy Mykolenko handball but his overriding emotion was pride after Rovers pushed Everton close.

“I’m pleased, proud of the boys’ performance,” the League Two strugglers’ manager said. “The levels were good against a top-class team.

“I thought particularly first half we were excellent in terms of what we did.

“The second half was difficult with the changes they made, they seemed to get a lot, lot stronger.

“I think we can see over the last couple of games that we’re definitely improving and we’re only going to get stronger.”

Beto and Arnaut Danjuma saved Everton from an embarrassing Carabao Cup exit to the Football League’s bottom side as Sean Dyche’s men came from behind to edge past dogged Doncaster.

Having lost their opening three Premier League games without so much as scoring, a tie against the side 92nd in the standings looked just what the doctor ordered for Sean Dyche’s men.

But Everton’s start to the season threatened to go from bad to worse as League Two’s bottom side took a deserved lead through Joe Ironside’s header.

Doncaster were dreaming of a famous win, but the Premier League visitors belatedly showed signs of life as striker Beto – on as a substitute early in the second half – scored a day after signing from Udinese, before Danjuma secured a late 2-1 victory.

It was a gut punch for Grant McCann’s side but a morale-boosting win for the Toffees, although Dyche will be alarmed by much of his side’s display in South Yorkshire, where they return to take on Sheffield United on Saturday lunchtime.

They looked jittery from the outset and Joseph Olowu wasted a great chance from a corner that followed panicked play at the back.

Doncaster continued to unsettle careless Everton, with Tommy Rowe lashing over from a corner before Zain Westbrooke thrashed a 25-yard drive just wide.

“Premier League, you’re having a laugh” rang around the ground as Everton toiled, taking 41 minutes to manage a shot of any kind at the Eco-Power Stadium.

Danjuma slammed that effort across the face of goal and three minutes later the visitors fell behind.

A short corner routine ended with the ball being played to the edge of the box, where Rowe swung over a cross for Ironside to flick a header past Jordan Pickford from six yards.

Offside appeals were legitimate but there is no VAR at this point of the Carabao Cup.

There would have been an immediate Everton response had goalkeeper Ian Lawlor not smartly stopped Amadou Onana, before Pickford prevented Rowe scoring a second in stoppage time.

But Doncaster remained a threat after the break, with George Broadbent seeing a shot saved before Vitaliy Mykolenko blocked a Mo Faal effort with his hand from a Rowe cutback.

Olowu nearly turned a Mykolenko cross past his own goalkeeper and off balance Beto’s left-footed shot off target summed up their night.

But that chance also lit a fire under the new boy and moments later he had his first goal in blue.

Abdoulaye Doucoure played a hopeful ball down the left channel and Beto beat Olowu to smartly direct it home in the 73rd minute.

“We scored a goal” sung the dancing Everton fans, whose team were now in the ascendancy as Beto saw a header hit a post before Danjuma’s curling effort kissed the crossbar.

Play was scrappy as Doncaster attempted to hold on, with James Garner seeing a close-range attempt blocked before Danjuma broke Doncaster hearts.

Cutting in from the left and collecting a return pass, he made just enough space to get away a right-footed snapshot from just inside the box and beat Lawlor.

Doncaster pushed for a leveller but they had run out of gas, while the offside flag denied Beto his second in stoppage time.

Rotherham finally beat Morecambe in the Carabao Cup after seeing off the League Two outfit 4-2 on penalties.

The Shrimps won in South Yorkshire in 2016 and then again 12 months ago and another upset was in the offing when Michael Mellon put them in front.

Josh Kayode’s first home goal for the club levelled before the break, meaning the game had to be decided by penalties and Dillon Phillips saved two on his debut to earn a place in the second round.

Morecambe enjoy coming to Rotherham in the League Cup so it was no surprise to see them start well.

JJ McKiernan should have put them ahead inside the first five minutes when he was teed up by Mellon, but he shot straight at goalkeeper Phillips’ legs.

Mellon did open the scoring midway through the first half when he raced on to a through ball from Yann Songo’o and converted in style, with a low shot across goal.

The Millers, thrashed on the opening day at Stoke, were not looking much better as they struggled for any fluency against their fourth-tier opponents.

But they found themselves level eight minutes before the break when Kayode poked home a loose ball after Farrend Rawson had failed to clear Cohen Bramall’s cross.

Rotherham were the better team in the second half and came close to going in front as Georgie Kelly had a header well saved by Simon Moore.

But it had to be decided by penalties and Phillips kept out efforts from Charlie Brown and Jake Taylor as the Millers progressed.