The two-time defending champion Dodgers are gearing up for a threepeat and hope to have a fully functional Shohei Ohtani in time for the start of the postseason. Sure enough, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Tuesday that the expectation is Ohtani will be back in the lineup on Wednesday after a stint on the injured list.

“Unless I hear otherwise, he’ll be in the lineup tomorrow,” Roberts said (ESPN).

Ohtani has been on the injured list since Sept. 11 (backdated to Sept. 8) due to right biceps inflammation. Keep in mind that he was removed from the starting rotation two months prior due to a knee injury, so he’s been dealing with multiple injuries in the second half of the season. The Dodgers have shut Ohtani down from pitching for the remainder of 2026, but his bat in the designated hitter spot is a huge plus for them.

Of course, the effects of Ohtani’s injuries could be seen in the weeks leading up to his IL stint. In his last 13 games, the four-time MVP hit .122/.295/.184 with zero home runs and 21 strikeouts. 

On the season, Ohtani is hitting .277/.380/.522 (146 OPS+) with 25 doubles, four triples, 30 home runs, 80 RBI, 89 runs and 11 stolen bases. 

Threepeat? Not so fast: Why a third consecutive Dodgers World Series title isn’t as inevitable as it seems

Mike Axisa

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Roberts had noted earlier this month that Ohtani’s injury was minor enough that if this were the playoffs, he’d be playing through it. They shut him down in an attempt to get him as close to 100 percent as possible for the playoffs. 

“If he was a 5 before, he’s probably an 8 or 9 now,” Roberts said (via the California Post), while explaining that Ohtani is feeling “considerably better.”

Assuming the return on Wednesday comes to fruition, Ohtani will have five games to get himself back up to game speed, essentially serving as a rehab assignment. Even better, the Dodgers are very likely to have a bye after that, so Ohtani would then have a few days to recover. 

The Dodgers have gone 9-3 since Ohtani last played, though they haven’t faced a team with a winning record. They’ll do so Tuesday night against the Padres.

Will Jacks starred as England continued their white-ball stranglehold over Sri Lanka this year by battling to an 89-run win in the series-opening Metro Bank ODI at Chester-le-Street.

Last week’s 3-0 T20 series clean sweep placed low expectations on these three ODIs but Sri Lanka are one spot above England in the 50-over world rankings and restricted their opponents to 265.

Five of England’s top six got past 30 but only Harry Brook, with 67 off 69 balls, went to a half-century, one of the only batters to find fluency on a slow, low pitch at the Banks Homes Riverside.

A batting line-up famed for its powerhouse abilities was unable to hit a single six, albeit at one of the biggest grounds in the country, but Sri Lanka never came close to ending their barren run against their hosts as they were all out for 176.

Jacks followed up his 46 not out, which ensured England reached what seemed a competitive total at halfway, with an ODI-best five for 22 – outshining fellow spinner Rehan Ahmed, who took one for 46 after being drafted in for his injured mentor Adil Rashid.

England have now won their last 10 limited-overs meetings against Sri Lanka in 2026, while this was a fifth triumph in their last seven ODIs, an uptick after losing 11 of 15 50-over matches last year.

With next year’s World Cup in southern Africa just over a year away, Brook may be encouraged that his side showed they could grind their way to victory rather than simply outmuscling their rivals.

Brook’s day began by winning the toss but Tom Banton’s audition as the latest opening partner to Ben Duckett fell flat, the recalled right-hander making 10 before being beaten all ends up by Asitha Fernando’s wonderful bail-trimmer.

Duckett showed flashes of his industrious best in his 32 only to miss a sweep and get pinned in front by slow left-armer Dunith Wellalage, taking a review with him, before Joe Root and Brook got to work.

Root was typically unobtrusive as he passed 23,000 international runs but with a fifty in sight, he went back to Sri Lanka’s debutant leg-spinner Sachindu Colombage but saw his off-stump knocked back for 44, ending his union with Brook at 68 off 70 balls and Root’s own run of 404 runs between dismissals.

Brook defied the low bounce to unfurl some crisp drives and meaty pulls but with England sitting pretty on 182 for three after 31 overs, he charged Dushmantha Chameera and holed out to deep cover.

That was the beginning of England losing four for 29 in 46 deliveries, with Colombage continuing a fine debut by snaring Jos Buttler lbw for 31 and bowling Jamie Overton through the gate to finish with three for 44.

Jacks then held the innings together, cutting loose with four successive fours off Chameera to drive England past 250, but Fernando yorked Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue to wrap up the innings.

Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis each stroked Archer to the boundary in the first over of the reply but Sri Lanka were subdued thereafter, only adding another 28 runs in the remaining nine overs of the powerplay.

Kamindu Mendis loosely swung Gus Atkinson to Duckett for 14 and while Ahmed spilled a low return chance to reprieve Nissanka on 25, the Sri Lanka opener added just another two runs before half-heartedly driving at Tongue and edging to Buttler.

Jacks, the sixth bowler used, then came to the fore again, removing experienced campaigners Charith Asalanka and Kusal Mendis as both were dismissed lbw after missing sweeps.

Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis had looked in good touch for his 42 after injury sidelined him for the T20 series but once he was dismissed, the sixth wicket to fall, the writing appeared to be on the wall for the tourists.

Ahmed got in the wickets column by snaring Colombage lbw before coming in for some punishment from Wellalage, who launched the leg-spinner and Archer for the only two sixes of the day in an entertaining cameo.

Wellalage went for one big swing too many and perished for 45 after skying a catch to Overton to give Jacks his third wicket.

He collected his fourth and fifth later in the over, with Fernando holing out and Dilshan Madushanka bowled first ball, to finish with the second-best figures by an England spinner in an ODI.

PA

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Day 4 of the Asian Games 2026 from Japan. The biggest encouraging news this morning comes from rowing where India have entered the fianl in men’s single sculls.

India’s Balraj Panwar, often called as MS Dhoni of India’s rowing, is in contention in men’s single sculls, having qualified for the final. Balraj Panwar finished third in his heat with a time of 6:52.84, trailing Chi Fung Chan by just 0.31 seconds. Sitting fourth overall across both heats, he has done enough to secure his spot in tomorrow’s final.

Bruno Fernandes is widely regarded as Manchester United’s best signing since Sir Alex Ferguson retired but there are concerns this season

Former Manchester United defender Phil Bardsley has shared his concern over Bruno Fernandes. The ex-Scotland international also offers his view on an “alarming” start to the campaign under Michael Carrick.

The Reds enjoyed a remarkable revival under then-interim boss Carrick last term. United went from a struggling team under Ruben Amorim to one that comfortably finished third and qualified for the Champions League.

Reds captain Fernandes was at the heart of United’s rise – recording a single-season Premier League record of 21 assists. However, the Portuguese has been less effective so far this term. Despite scoring a hat-trick against Ipswich, the midfielder has just one assist to his name.

And speaking on behalf of Lyllo Casino, via the Metro, Bardsley has delivered his verdict on the 32-year-old.

He said: “Bruno Fernandes looks a bit flat to me this year. Being brutally honest, and I’m his biggest advocate, I’m his biggest fan, I think he’s amazing in what he does for the team, you can never question the effort and the work he puts in that people probably don’t see beyond the goals.

“He just looks a little bit flat in himself this year, and that’s a bit of a concern, as well, because we know how important he’s been for the last four or five seasons, and without him we’d probably be in a completely different position.

“So, hopefully he can find that little bit of spark again, because if he can’t, or hopefully he can bring others along too, it’s going to be difficult if our best player is struggling.”

Bardsley feels the Reds’ frailties have been on show from the first game of the campaign against Hull City. Bardsley believes that the 2-0 defeat in Yorkshire to a newly-promoted side was a concerning way to begin 2026/27.

The 41-year-old said: “Defensively we’re at twos and threes, which is disappointing because after Michael Carrick came last year we looked quite strong, we looked solid. I know he had to make some changes against Brighton, but these are the players that are banging on his door wanting game time, and when the opportunity presents itself, you’ve got to be ready to perform and they didn’t do that.

“The whole game [against Hull] was a bit alarming for me, honestly. Hull were brilliant on the day, but body language, fitness, energy, there was just a lack of everything. They took that into the Everton game where they went ahead twice, thinking, “Come on then, put the game to bed,” in the 88th minute when we went 2-1 up, and we conceded again.

Newcastle United defender Lewis Hall has opened up on Man United’s interest in him in the summer transfer window

Manchester United summer transfer target Lewis Hall has opened up about the decision to extend his stay with Newcastle, insisting that the speculation surrounding his future did not affect him. The left-back was a key target for United in the transfer window, but a deal could not be reached.

Hall has since ended speculation about his future by signing a contract extension at St James’ Park. He put pen-to-paper earlier this month on a deal which runs until 2031, and has credited new manager Matthias Jaissle as a big factor over the decision.

United were keen to add to their left-back options in the summer, but having already sold Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle were determined not to sell another key player. Hall has impressed with his performances so far this season, scoring in last weekend’s 2-1 win over Hull City.

When asked whether the transfer speculation had affected him, the full-back said: “No, honestly, it didn’t. I guess whenever you’re linked to another team, you know that you’re doing something right. I guess it’s just a credit to your own performances and how you are as a player, how you are as a person.

“I took that as a positive, but at the same time, I knew how much I love playing here and I knew that since the manager came in, I knew the ambitions and what we wanted to achieve.

“After not many conversations, not many training sessions, I knew that the manager was going to be really good for this club and I knew that as a team, bringing in new players and improving the squad was really important and as soon as we did that, it was a no-brainer really to sign.”

Newcastle have claimed victory in two of their five matches, suffering only a single defeat, with Jaissle making a positive impression as he integrates a number of new summer recruits, many of whom were largely untested at this level.

Hall, despite enduring some testing moments – including conceding a stoppage-time penalty against Liverpool – has largely been a standout performer, earning himself a recall to the England squad.

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He missed out on the World Cup in the summer, largely due to a dip in form during the closing weeks of the season. Hall was reportedly frustrated that Howe deployed him on the right rather than in his natural position, a factor he is said to have linked to his declining performances.

United, meanwhile have had problems in the left-back position. Luke Shaw is the only natural senior option in the position, but has been struggling with injury the last couple of weeks.

Patrick Dorgu, more naturally a winger, has deputised. Shaw returned to the starting line-up for the weekend’s draw against Fulham but was replaced by Dorgu in the second half as he steps up his comeback.

Erik Morales is heralded as one of the greatest Mexican boxers of all time after becoming the first man from his country to be a four-weight world champion, and he has now named the fighter whom he believes to be the current pound-for-pound king.

Morales won his first 41 professional contests and captured the WBC and WBO super-bantamweight titles, as well as the WBC featherweight crown along the way, before suffering a defeat in a rematch with fierce rival Marco Antonio Barrera in 2002.

The Tijuana-born legend bounced back to reclaim the then-vacant WBC super-featherweight strap in the fight that followed and made two defences before moving up and capturing the WBC super-featherweight title and then the IBF belt, before losing to Barrera once again in their trilogy bout.

After overcoming Manny Pacquiao, Morales then went on to lose four straight contests – including two defeats to ‘Pac Man’ – with Morales then making the decision to retire.

After three years away, Morales made his comeback and knocked out Pablo César Cano to get his hands on the WBC super-lightweight world title in 2011 to make Mexican history – before retiring for good after two losses to Danny Garcia.

Morales has now been speaking about the current generation and in an interview with ES News he named fellow four-division conqueror and reigning undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue as the best fighter on the planet.

Inoue has held world honours at light flyweight, super flyweight, bantamweight and super bantamweight, with the latter two divisions seeing him also earn undisputed status.

The Japanese superstar is expected to remain on the sidelines until spring 2027, when he could collide with fellow pound-for-pound star Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez in one of boxing’s most in-demand match-ups.

Brazilian tennis star João Fonseca will miss the entire Asian swing after deciding to take more time away from competition as he continues to recover from a series of injuries.

Fonseca, who has struggled with injuries throughout 2026, said his body is still not ready for the demands of competing at the highest level.

The 19-year-old explained that he made a major effort to return in time to represent Brazil in the Davis Cup, but after discussions with his team, they decided that taking a break was the best option.

“2026 has been a very challenging year for me,” Fonseca said in a message shared on Instagram.

“On top of everything the profession demands, a series of injuries ended up taking me out of important tournaments and keeping me from playing the way I would like to.”

Fonseca admitted that the situation has been frustrating, but said he needs to listen to his body and give himself time to recover properly.

“I made a huge effort to return and represent Brazil in the Davis Cup, but I still need more time,” he said.

“I talked a lot with my team, and we came to the conclusion that the best decision right now is to listen to my body, give my mind and body a break, and skip the Asian swing.”

Fonseca ended his message by thanking fans for their continued support and promising to return when he is ready.

This decision means he will miss the tournaments that make up the Asian swing as he focuses on getting his body back to full fitness.