Lauren James has withdrawn from the England squad for the October internationals with a calf injury.

The forward, 23, was named in Chelsea’s starting line-up for their Champions League win over Twente on Thursday, but was replaced by Johanna Rytting Kaneryd after the warm-up.

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor confirmed before their Women’s Super League (WSL) match with Tottenham that James is expected to miss the next five to six weeks.

The Lionesses face Germany at Wembley on Friday, 25 October, before taking on South Africa at Coventry City’s home on Tuesday, 29 October.

England manager Sarina Wiegman does not plan on calling up a replacement for James, with the squad meeting at St George’s Park on Monday.

Glasgow City go into the international break top of the SWPL after handing unlucky Dundee United the biggest defeat of the season so far.

Extreme weather conditions took their toll on the weekend’s fixtures, with Aberdeen v Motherwell called off and the remaining matches played in stormy conditions.

City moved a point clear of Hearts at the top of the table after racking up 13 without reply against United at Foundation Park, as the bottom side saw their chances of a result end with the dismissal of goalkeeper Beth Rennie inside just two minutes for handling outside the area.

Lisa Evans converted the resultant free kick, before an Emily Whelan hat-trick, braces from Nicole Koslova and Brenna Lovera, and strikes from Natalia Wrobe, Aleigh Gambobe, Sofia Maata, Lisa Forrest and a first goal for the club for Katie Lockwood wrapped up the win.

Hearts had to wait until the 75th minute to breach Montrose’s defences, with Emma Brownlie cross to the back post finding Bayley Hutchison to head home the opener

Within two minutes Hutchison had doubled Hearts’ lead, turning home Sade Adamolekun’s low cross. Adamolekun set up the third with two minutes remaining, putting substitute Monica Forsyth to slot past Montrose goalkeeper Kirsten Pratt.

Edinburgh rivals Hibernian came within seconds of a win over Rangers, before Jo Potter’s side snatched a last-gasp draw in farcical weather conditions at Meadowbank.

Eilidh Adams had put the hosts ahead with her third penalty of the season, but missed from the spot late on as the wind continued to move the ball.

The visitors found a renewed spirit from the save, and pressed Hibs back up the field, winning a free kick in stoppage time. Katie Wilkinson’s effort was saved by Erin Clachers, but Rio Hardy nipped in to blast home the rebound and grab the equaliser.

For each game he broadcasts during the 2024 NFL season all the way through Super Bowl LIX, FOX Sports lead NFL analyst Tom Brady is choosing one standout star as his LFG Player of the Game.

After another all-around team win from the now 6-0 Kansas City Chiefs, Brady chose one of the more overlooked members of the defending Super Bowl champions as his LFG Player of the Game: Chiefs offensive lineman — and Brady’s former New England Patriots teammate — Joe Thuney.

Tom Brady’s LFG Player of the Game: Chiefs OL Joe Thuney | Week 7 DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE

Thuney and his fellow linemen came up huge in Kansas City’s run game on a day when quarterback Patrick Mahomes had one of his worst statistical passing performances of his career. The Chiefs had 184 rushing yards, averaged 4.7 yards per carry and scored all four of their touchdowns on the ground in their 28-18 win over the San Francisco 49ers.

“As an offensive line, we always take pride in trying to run the ball, especially when the defense knows we’re going to run the ball,” Thuney told Brady. “In those situations, it takes all 11 guys — tight ends blocking, wide receivers blocking, running backs running hard, Pat making great calls — so it’s a total team effort. And [we] just couldn’t be happier.”

The Chiefs remain undefeated despite losing several key offensive weapons around Mahomes and Travis Kelce, including starting running back Isiah Pacheco, No. 1 wide receiver Rashee Rice and — early in Sunday’s game — veteran wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster. 

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“It’s really a next-man-up mentality,” Thuney said. “During the week, everyone’s practicing so hard [and] getting the playbook regardless [of whether] they’re starting or not. It’s football, it’s tough. Injuries happen. But it’s just a great team to be a part of. Everyone’s contributing to the win and really proud.”

Still, few quarterbacks in the NFL (especially now that Brady is retired) are as consistently clutch as Mahomes. That confidence in Mahomes — even on a day when he has a 59.3% completion rate, 154 pass yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions — pays dividends. Such as when he has a career-best 33-yard scramble that sets up a crucial fourth-down touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

“He’s just making plays left and right,” Thuney said. “Everyone has so much trust and faith in him, and he’s always coming through. And we all just try and do our part to make this offense succeed, and you’re just gonna be more proud.”

Thuney said he considers himself lucky to have played with both Brady and Mahomes — even while sidestepping Brady’s question over which quarterback buys him better Christmas gifts.

“You guys are 10 out of 10,” Thuney said. “Both you guys are unbelievable.”

The inaugural honor went to Cowboys pass-rusher Micah Parsons in Week 1, followed by star New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara in Week 2, Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry in Week 3, Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield in Week 4, Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray in Week 5 and Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell in Week 6.

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LAS VEGAS – Cameron Smotherman was in Saudi Arabia to corner a teammate when he got a call that changed his life.

Just a few days ahead of UFC Fight Night 245, Smotherman (12-4 MMA, 1-0 UFC) received a call from his manager asking him about his weight because Jake Hadley’s original opponent, Brady Hiestand, could no longer compete.

Smotherman did everything he could to ensure the opportunity wouldn’t pass him.

“I run to another hotel to check my weight, and then I’m like, “Oh, this sh*ts a little heavy,’” Smotherman said with a laugh during a post-fight news conference. “I’m not about to let this chance go to waste, and so I take a picture, but I grabbed the wall, and I just gave myself a little DC boost and took the picture, sent it.”

Smotherman said he immediately went to start cutting weight. A few minutes later, Smotherman received word he was in to face Hadley (11-4 MMA, 3-4 UFC), and needed to get on a plane immediately. He didn’t know who he would be facing, but he packed his bags and let his teammate know he was leaving.

“They were like, ‘Well, you know you’re not going to get here until Wednesday night?’ Smotherman said. “So, I’m like, ‘I don’t give a f*ck when I get here. I could get here Friday morning, and I’m going to f*cking make the weight.’ I got here Wednesday night and had to cut 20 pounds or some sh*t in a day and a half.”

It was all worth it. Smotherman weighed in at 135.5 pounds for the bantamweight bout against Hadley and fought to an impressive unanimous decision win as a sizable short-notice underdog.

Everything moved so fast that things really didn’t start to hit Smotherman until he was in the middle of a post-fight interview in the octagon. It was then he could barely contain himself that he was now a winning UFC fighter, a dream that seemed bleak after being finished on Dana White’s Contender series last August.

That loss to Charalampos Grigoriou nearly sent Smotherman down a different path, but he stuck fighting, even though it was hard. He won his next three fights on the regional scene, stopping two of those opponents.

Despite winning three in a row, a path to the UFC didn’t seem realistic. So, how did he stay positive after the DWCS loss?

“Easy answer: You don’t stay positive,” Smotherman said. “I was negative as f*ck. I was about to quit every day. We were talking about this a few weeks ago. It was a running joke at the gym, ‘Oh, you know Cameron, he’s always about to quit.’ I’m like, because I am, motherf*cker! I’m not about to just – for me, I like fighting, but I don’t just love the sh*t to where I’m not about to just be fighting to fight.

“I’m fighting because I think I have a future in it, and I feel like I can do something with it. But yeah, it was hard as f*ck. I was depressed for a year and I didn’t even know it. … But I also realized in the back, that the reason I wanted to quit so much is because I was scared of failing.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 245.

Watch as former Liverpool and Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez analyses Curtis Jones’ match-winning performance during the Reds’ 2-1 victory against the Londoners which kept them top of the Premier League table.

READ MORE: ‘The performance we’ve been waiting for’ – how Jones capped his perfect week

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