Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 4 Reloaded is releasing on June 4, 2026, at 9 am Pacific Daylight Time. As usual, the Reloaded update will introduce a fresh batch of content across all the game modes. Players can expect new maps, weapons, events, and additional rewards as the season progresses. Some of the major additions include Fortune’s Keep Refresh, the Rogue Run Zombies mode, and Ranked Play updates, and several new weapons.
That said, here’s a live release countdown for Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 4 Reloaded.
Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 4 Reloaded live countdown
As mentioned before, the Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 4 Reloaded is releasing on June 4, 2026, at 9 am PT. Here’s a live countdown to make it easier for you:
Mike Leach, the larger-than-life coach credited with popularizing the Air Raid offense and transforming modern college football, has been nominated for the 2027 College Football Hall of Fame class just under four years after his death.
Leach’s final coaching stop was at Mississippi State before his death in December 2022.
The National Football Foundation has released the ballot for next year’s class, with the class set to be officially unveiled in January. The list features 80 players and nine coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 99 players and 39 coaches from lower levels.
Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach watches the game against the LSU Tigers during the first half at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Sept. 17, 2022.(Stephen Lew/USA TODAY Sports)
Under the previous rules, Leach fell short of the eligibility requirements. However, under the revised criteria, he now qualifies for consideration. The NFF announced last year that the minimum career winning percentage required for coaches would decrease from .600 to .595, beginning with the 2027 class.
Leach posted a .596 winning percentage during his head coaching tenures at Texas Tech, Washington State and Mississippi State. He finished his career with a 158-107 record.
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Leach coached his teams to wins in 18 games against Top 25 opponents when his team was unranked.
Head Coach Mike Leach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs arrives at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium before a game against the Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Nov. 6, 2021.(Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
A player is eligible 10 full seasons after his last year in college and must have received first-team All-America honors by a major selector. The nominee’s college football achievements are a prime consideration, but his post-football record as a citizen is also taken into account.
Among other FBS coaches on the ballot are Larry Coker, whose Miami team won the 2001 season’s national championship; Dennis Franchione, who made stops at TCU, Alabama and Texas A&M; Ralph Friedgen, who led Maryland to bowls in seven of his 10 seasons; Darryl Rogers, 1977 Big Ten coach of the year at Michigan State; Jackie Sherrill, all-time wins leader at Mississippi State; and Tommy Tuberville, who led powerful Auburn teams of the 2000s.
Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach talks about the quarterback position during the Big 12 media day in Irving, Texas, on July 29, 2009.(Kelley Chinn/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service)
Heisman Trophy winners Cam Newton of Auburn (2010) and Robert Griffin III of Baylor (2011) are on the ballot along with first-time nominees Tavon Austin of West Virginia, Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin, A.J. Hawk of Ohio State and Barrett Jones of Alabama.
IYO SKY was the first WWE star to advance in the 2026 Queen of the Ring Tournament. The former Money in the Bank winner toppled Giulia, Roxanne Perez, and Lash Legend in a first-round matchup on RAW.
She’ll face the winner of a group consisting of Bayley, Kiana James, Jacy Jayne, and Raquel Rodriguez in the next round. The other side of the bracket features two current women’s champions.
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Liv Morgan is in the tournament instead of defending her title. She faces Becky Lynch, Chelsea Green, and Alexa Bliss in a first-round matchup. The final bracket sees Sol Ruca, the current Women’s Intercontinental Champion, taking on Charlotte Flair, Jade Cargill, and Lyra Valkyria.
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Valkyria and Ruca will battle over the title next week, meaning Lyra is sure to lose. With some big names still alive, the following three options are the best choices to win, and four others are not the most ideal.
WWE’s Real Plan for Bloodline Leaked? – Click Here
#7. Jade Cargill shouldn’t be Queen of the Ring again
As mentioned above, Cargill faces Ruca, Flair, and Valkyria with a chance to advance on the line. The Storm is coming off two losses to Rhea Ripley with the WWE Women’s Title on the line.
She’s had her chances to regain the title and shouldn’t get yet another via winning Queen of the Ring. Cargill will probably go after Mami again on SmackDown for yet another chance.
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Along with her quest to regain the title has been a growing angle with Charlotte Flair. Officials clearly want the two to square off, but a one-on-one match will have to wait. She had her time as champion and won last year. Cargill is a bad choice to win in 2026.
#6. Establishing Jacy Jayne and Fatal Influence as major players
Some may not consider Jacy Jayne as the future, but they’d be wrong. She’s among the most complete performers in all of WWE and is a great heel.
It took her a long time to make the main roster, but the last year was spent building her esteem as a top player. Joining SmackDown with Fatal Influence is a big deal, especially since they targeted Flair, Ripley, Bliss, and the Women’s Tag Team Champions, Paige and Brie Bella.
To establish the trio as threats, Jayne could win the Queen of the Ring. She’d oppose Ripley and give her a good challenge. It could also prolong the Bliss/Flair partnership since WWE wants Flair and Ripley together at the moment.
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It would also be a shocking choice, which is something WWE needs to do more of this year. Fans won’t take her seriously if she’s buried by other names in her first big chance for a title opportunity. That would be a mistake.
#5. Too much, too soon for Sol Ruca
The simple fact that Ruca has the Women’s Intercontinental Championship means she’d be a bad choice as the 2026 Queen of the Ring.
It’d be like the heavy, never-ending push Roman Reigns endured right away as a single star. She’s exciting to some, but already has a title in under two months on RAW.
Giving her another huge accolade so soon would reek of favoritism instead of spreading out opportunities to the deserving women on the roster. Several other women in the tournament need it more.
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#4. Lyra Valkyria breaks through
Speaking of other women on the roster, Lyra Valkyria has been embroiled in never-ending matches with members of the Judgment Day. She hasn’t been able to win tag team gold with Bayley, so some cracks could emerge to break them up.
Lyra has perhaps the tallest task in her first-round matchup. She has to face Flair, Cargill, and the current golden girl, Ruca. Even with Ruca being newer, Valkyria is the underdog among the four women.
Finally breaking through again to win the Queen of the Ring would set Lyra up as a top face. She did great work against Becky Lynch and made the finals in 2024. It could be her year in 2026.
#3. Charlotte Flair doesn’t need another title shot
WWE is already teasing another showdown between Flair and Ripley. They’ve battled over titles a few times already, but writers have put them together again since last year’s WarGames.
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If Flair didn’t win the 2025 Women’s Rumble and titles on 14 other occasions, it’d be fine for her to win this year’s tournament. Her nickname is The Queen, so it would make sense.
Another issue is that Flair can get a title shot whenever she wants due to her spot with bookers. She’s one of the top stars and is always a priority.
#2. IYO SKY wins the 2026 WWE Queen of the Ring
Having IYO SKY win the Queen of the Ring Tournament would be a smart move. She’s one of the most popular women in wrestling and is on her own again on RAW.
WWE used her more as a side player in the Ripley/Cargill feud for WrestleMania. It was so bad that SKY didn’t even get booked on the card. It’s a massive error since she walked into the show the year before as a champion.
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SKY winning and challenging Morgan would be a match worthy of SummerSlam. Winning and selecting Ripley could also reopen that angle if officials think it’s necessary.
#1. WWE makes a bad call with Liv Morgan
The fact that WWE put Liv Morgan in the Queen of the Ring Tournament is maddening. They should have made her defend the Women’s World Title instead, since she hasn’t put it up for grabs once since winning it.
She claims she’s in it to prove she’s the greatest women’s champion of all time. It’s a heel move, but having her win the tournament would be a terrible mistake. Morgan has feuded with Ripley numerous times.
Having her win also means she’s currently more important than the rest of the roster. That’s not true, making her one of the worst options to win.
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Toronto announced after Wednesday’s loss to the Atlanta Braves that Mason Fluharty will start Thursday’s series finale as it looks to avoid a series sweep (7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+).
It will mark the third time this season that Fluharty will open a game for the Blue Jays. He previously did so on April 4 against the Chicago White Sox and on May 16 against the Detroit Tigers.
Fluharty, 24, has a 3.97 ERA and 30 strikeouts over 22.2 innings of work in 2026.
A fifth-round pick of the Blue Jays in 2022, Fluharty has allowed just one run over his last 16 appearances.
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It is unclear how Toronto plans to handle the bulk duties beyond the six-foot-two southpaw, but Chad Dallas was with the team Wednesday in Atlanta on the taxi squad.
After being acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Twins earlier Wednesday, right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson isn’t expected to arrive in time to pitch on Thursday.
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Reagor celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium. During the second quarter on Oct. 9, 2022, Reagor found the end zone to help Minnesota build momentum in an NFC North matchup before the home crowd in Minneapolis. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings employed wide receiver Jalen Reagor in 2022, and four years later, he will try on the Miami Dolphins for size. The once-promising wideout hasn’t totally blossomed in his career, but he keeps getting jobs, and Jeff Hafley’s team awaits.
Reagor may not have too many NFL chances left, so he should probably make the most of this summer in Miami, especially as a special teamer.
Miami Gives Reagor Another Summer Shot
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Reagor (5) secures a reception while New York Jets safety Lamarcus Joyner (29) closes in defensively during second-quarter action at U.S. Bank Stadium. On Dec. 4, 2022, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Reagor contributed to the Vikings’ passing attack in a tightly contested matchup between AFC and NFC playoff hopefuls. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
Reagor to MIA
Reagor to Miami is official. Associated Presspublished Tuesday, “The Miami Dolphins signed Jalen Reagor on Tuesday to add another receiving option for new quarterback Malik Willis. Reagor, selected 21st overall by Philadelphia in 2020, should bolster Miami’s thin receiving room, which lost stars Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle amid a roster overhaul under new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan.”
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“Reagor caught 64 passes for 695 yards and three touchdowns in his first two pro seasons with the Eagles before being traded to the Vikings in 2022, where he carved more of a role as a punt returner with a loaded Minnesota receiving room that included star Justin Jefferson — who was selected one pick after Reagor in 2020 — Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn.”
It’s Reagor’s fifth team in seven seasons.
Career for Reagor So Far
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Reagor’s career has landed in a pretty common NFL spot: former 1st-Round pick, sweet athlete, not much of a game-changer on offense.
He hung out with the Chargers in 2024 after showing up in September, playing eight games and snagging seven passes for 100 yards. That pretty much sums up his whole career. Over five seasons, Reagor has 86 catches for 1,037 yards and 4 touchdowns, plus 97 rushing yards and 1,134 yards from scrimmage. His stats never quite lived up to where he was drafted, but he keeps getting jobs because that speed always turns heads.
Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jalen Reagor (18) is brought down by New Orleans Saints linebacker Kwon Alexander (5) after making a reception at Lincoln Financial Field. On Nov. 21, 2021, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Reagor worked underneath routes as the Eagles battled the Saints during a late-season NFC matchup. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
His best year was still his rookie season in Philly, when he caught 31 passes for 396 yards. Since then, his offensive role has gotten smaller. Minnesota barely used him in 2022. New England gave him a quick look in 2023, where he showed more promise as a returner than a receiver. Los Angeles just saw him as a backup.
And, yes, there’s always that shadow. Reagor will forever be linked to Philadelphia picking him one spot before Justin Jefferson. He’s not being judged like a hot prospect anymore. Now, he’s a role player trying to stick around.
The Dolphins’ [Bad] WR Corps
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The Dolphins will be begging for a wide receiver to emerge in 2026, freshly equipped with Willis at quarterback. Here’s the group in June:
Malik Washington
Tutu Atwell
Jalen Tolbert
Chris Bell
Jalen Reagor
Caleb Douglas
Kevin Coleman Jr.
Terrace Marshall Jr.
Theo Wease Jr.
Tahj Washington
Donaven McCulley
AJ Henning
Yes, that’s a real NFL wide receiving corps that Miami somehow thinks will work.
DolphinsWire‘s Mike Masala wrote last month about Douglas in particular, “The Miami Dolphins added four rookie wide receivers this offseason, three in the 2026 NFL draft and one as an undrafted free agent, who they hope will not only make the team out of camp but make an impact in their first season. Caleb Douglas was the first of these rookies to join the roster when Miami used a third-round pick on the Texas Tech wideout, and while there’s plenty of reason to be excited about his prospects, he had one big issue in college — drops.”
“In two years with the Red Raiders, Douglas caught 114 passes for 1,723 yards and 13 touchdowns while earning All-Big 12 honors once. Now, in Miami, he has a chance to be the team’s top wide receiver in Week 1. He just needs to limit those drops and show what he’s capable of.”
If Reagor Can Make a WR Roster, It’s Probably MIA
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This is the best possible situation for Reagor because a) There is no clear-cut WR1 and perhaps not even a WR2 b) It’s a test for Reagor; if he can’t cut it on this WR roster, his days in the NFL are numbered.
Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Jalen Reagor (89) celebrates during fourth-quarter action against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. On Nov. 3, 2024, in Cleveland, Ohio, Reagor enjoyed a key moment for the Chargers as the team pushed through a competitive road contest late in the regular season. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images
Because of his special teams versatility, Reagor actually has a reasonable shot of making the Dolphins’ final roster in late August. He’s unlikely to break out and finally fulfill his 1st-Round draft stock from 2020, but he should be able to carve out a small role in Miami.
If the Dolphins waive him in three months, this might be the end of the road — unless Reagor wants to try the UFL or CFL.
Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker
Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock quarterfinal exit at the French Open after losing to 25th seed Diana Shnaider in a dramatic three-set battle at Roland-Garros.
The Belarusian star, who entered the tournament among the favourites for the title, was beaten 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 by the Russian youngster after a complete collapse in the deciding set.
Sabalenka’s frustrations boiled over during the match as cameras captured emotional exchanges between the player and her coaching box.
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According to reports from Tribuna.com, Sabalenka repeatedly vented her anger during the contest, smashing her racket on the clay and shouting at herself during the difficult moments of the match.
At one point, her coach Anton Dubov reportedly yelled:
“Alright, screw it already. Let it go, f***, let it go.”
Sabalenka herself was also heard shouting:
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“How are you so annoying, Aryna!”
Following the defeat, the world No. 1 admitted she was struggling mentally after the painful loss.
“I’m in a deep hole mentally right now,” Sabalenka reportedly said during her post-match press conference.
“Right now I just want to quit tennis. But maybe in a few days I’ll feel differently.”
The defeat marks one of the biggest upsets of the women’s tournament so far and ends Sabalenka’s hopes of winning her maiden French Open title this season.
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Russian players dominate women’s semifinals
Shnaider’s victory means two Russian players have now reached the Roland-Garros semifinals.
Teen sensation Mirra Andreeva also booked her place in the last four after defeating Sorana Cirstea in straight sets.
The semifinal lineup is now confirmed:
French Open Women’s Semifinals
Diana Shnaider vs Maja Chwalińska
Mirra Andreeva vs Marta Kostyuk
Shnaider advanced after defeating Sabalenka 3-6, 7-5, 6-0, while Poland’s Maja Chwalińska defeated Anna Kalinskaya in another upset.
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk also progressed after overcoming Elina Svitolina in three sets.
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Sabalenka’s emotional struggles continue
Despite remaining one of the most dominant players on tour over the past two seasons, Sabalenka has occasionally spoken openly about the mental pressure that comes with competing at the top level.
Her latest comments will likely spark concern among fans ahead of the remainder of the tennis season, especially with Wimbledon only weeks away.
For now, however, Roland-Garros belongs to a new generation of challengers — and one of the tournament favourites is heading home earlier than expected.
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — There’s a statue at Riviera Country Club that seems to lord over the entire place. From high on its perch, just outside the clubhouse on a hill, a dark brown bust of Ben Hogan overlooks the 18th green. The course is nicknamed Hogan’s Alley, for his three different wins here in the 1940s, and at the base of that statue are the names of other winners at Riv. In a few months, here in the club’s centennial year, that statue will finally add a woman’s name to the plaque. This is the first women’s tournament played at Riviera Country Club.
“I say it all the time,” Morgan Pressel said Wednesday morning, along the 1st fairway. “I say it literally every chance I get. I believe very strongly about how important venues are.”
It has been a bit of a crusade for Pressel, the idea that some of the biggest events in women’s golf have long struggled to access the courses where men have made golf history. It’s why Pressel signed off from her week of analysis on the 2021 USWO broadcast on NBC in such a giddy mood. She had just watched Yuka Saso chase down Lexi Thompson at Olympic Club, which had hosted five U.S. Opens, but never the women’s.
“To add our own history to the already storied history at Olympic Club — it was a really special week … I remember when Pebble Beach was announced [as 2023 host]. I was like ‘Ohmygoodness. We get to play Pebble Beach.’”
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Pressel would have loved to compete at Riv during her days atop the pro game. But she played during an era where the biggest event in women’s golf was played at less-heralded courses. The reason why would never be clear, but instead of playing Pebble Beach, in Northern California, the USWO went to nearby Cordevalle in . Instead of the game’s best taking on Merion, where the most famous photo of competitive golf was snapped — yes, more Hogan — the ladies played 70 miles west in Lancaster. Instead of taking on big and burly Shinnecock in 2013, they were further out on Long Island at Sebonack. And instead of making that weird distinction forever and ever, the USGA made a pivot.
“Eight or nine years ago, our strategies changed,” John Bodenhamer, USGA chief championship officer, said Wednesday. “We put at the top of our pyramid going to America’s greatest venues. When we say that, we mean it, and we start with the golf course, and [Riviera] is one of America’s greatest venues.”
The implementation has been somewhat sporadic, as Lancaster hosted again in 2024 and Erin Hills last summer, but the USGA’s run of bringing the women to the game’s most iconic haunts starts in earnest this week.
From Riviera, the ladies will head to Inverness Club, a Donald Ross classic in Toledo that has hosted six men’s majors, zero women’s. Then it’s off to Oakmont, where last summer J.J. Spaun made one of the most memorable putts in USGA history. Then it’s Pinehurst in 2029, the week directly following the men’s U.S. Open — an extremely purposeful efford to elevate the women’s game. Oh, you tuned in to watch Rory and the boys rip around the waste areas? Nelly and the girls will do the same in just a couple days.
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The USGA has announced 17 of the next 22 USWO sites, a number of which will host the women for the first timeafter decades of hosting the men. We’re talking Oakland Hills, Merion, Shinnecock.
“If we’re going to talk about equality and equity, we have to talk about the playing fields,” Pressel continued. “When you talk about golf specifically, there are historic venues that withstand the test of time. They’re far more famous than any single player and any era. Every era they have their moments and their history and their fame.”
At Riv, it goes back to that statue on the hill. Hogan’s 18-month run through the 1947 LA Open, the 1948 LA Open and then the 1948 U.S. Open. But in modern years it’s much more than Hogan or majors — it’s been the Genesis Invitational, annually one of the top events on the PGA Tour, where Dustin Johnson seemed to perfect the sport in 2017, and where Hideki Matsuyama shot a winning 63 in 2024, and where Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm all won as well.
The ladies are experiencing all their peers have been able to throughout the decades — using the same locker room, the same workout facility, scheming their way around the devilish 10th in similar and different ways than the men ever would. Some of them have been quizzing their PGA Tour friends about how to work their way around the course. They’ll get photos from Riviera’s epic 1st tee, where a 16-year-old Tiger Woods hit his first shot in a professional event. And at the end of their week they’ll summit that mountain of stairs behind the 18th hole, where each of those winners were heralded in the seconds before they signed their scorecards. Yuka Saso carried her clubs up that hill Monday afternoon, almost out of breath, but still having enough to shout, “I just climbed Mount Everest!”
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That’s what the women’s game has finally been allowed to do, slowly but surely change its elevation. Royal Troon, in Scotland, hosted their first Women’s Open in 2020. Muirfield, on the other side of the old country, made their debut in 2022. Both clubs existed for more than a century without female members, let alone host women’s majors. It still took the Old Course in St. Andrews until 2007, during Pressel’s second year as a pro, host the Women’s Open. It’s done so three times now, and has delivered three legendary winners: Lorena Ochoa, Stacy Lewis and Lydia Ko.
Pressel calls it all an “arms race” between golf’s governing bodies — both the recent history and future lineup. The PGA of America has Congressional, Hazeltine and Bethpage Black on tap. In 2027, the R&A will bring the women to Royal St. George’s for the first time … after already hosting 15 men’s Opens — with victories from Vardon to Hagen to Norman.
Pressel believes in the connection between winner and venue. She thinks about the feeling NBA players get winning at Madison Square Garden. She thinks about that time she flew to see Taylor Swift play at Wembley Stadium. She thinks about her friend, Paula Creamer, not just winning a U.S. Open, but winning an Open at Oakmont.
“Everybody wants to either be the competitor there, or be the person there watching it,” she said. “It all just elevates women’s golf the more they can be on that playing field.”
Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies in action with Paris St Germain’s Ousmane Dembele on April 28, 2026. Credit: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Canada star Alphonso Davies said he is still hopeful of being fit in time to play in the team’s World Cup opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12.
The 25-year-old Bayern Munich left-back has been sidelined since suffering a left hamstring injury in the Champions League semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain on May 6.
Canada and Bayern worked together on a recovery plan for Davies, who reported late to the team on Sunday.
“The first game is coming up pretty quickly,” Davies told reporters during an unplanned media session in Wednesday. “The thing we talked about, me and the coach and the people that were in (a meeting regarding his fitness), I think we understand how important the first game is. But we understand recovery is always an important thing. If I’m recovering as good as possible, let’s see. If not, then there’s no need to rush, just keep continuing the recovery.”
Pressed on whether he believes he can be fit in time to play June 12, Davies said, “Anything is possible in life. For me, it’s (all) depending on how the recovery is going, how these next few days or this week leading up to the game goes.”
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Davies has scored 15 goals in 58 career caps with Canada, including the country’s first-ever goal at a World Cup at the 2022 tournament in Qatar. He is a two-time Concacaf Player of the Year (2021, 2022).
However, he has not played for Canada since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during the Nations League Finals in March 2025. Davies’ agent and Bayern Munich would later question how Canada Soccer handled his post-surgery recovery.
The hamstring issues is the most recent of multiple injuries since the ACL, but coach Jesse Marsch included the star on his 26-man World Cup roster announced last week.
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This time around, the sides worked together to devise a recovery plan, and Davies trained on his own during Wednesday’s session in Montreal.
“Mentally, it was very draining, suffering these injuries,” Davies said, adding that he has doubted at times whether he’d be available to play in the World Cup. “I was going into a hole where I was doubting myself, but I had that time off and I thought about why I’m doing this and how important this is to me.”
Co-host Canada is in Group B, and will also play Qatar on June 18 and Switzerland on June 24, with both matches in Vancouver. LAFC midfielder Stephen Eustaquio will step in to captain the side while Davies focuses on his fitness.
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus walks off the court after the quarterfinal tennis match against Russia’s Diana Shnaider at the French Open in Paris, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Aryna Sabalenka’s bid for a first French Open title was left in tatters as she fell apart in a bizarre defeat by Russian 25th seed Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The world number one led by a set and a double-break before exiting the tournament in a blaze of unforced errors, collapsing to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-0 loss in blustery conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Shnaider will face Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska in the semi-finals on Thursday, with Marta Kostyuk or Mirra Andreeva awaiting the winner in Sunday’s final.
“Well honestly I’m speechless, I’m super happy. Obviously tough conditions with the wind,” said the 22-year-old Shnaider after beating a top-10 player for only the second time in her career.
“First time playing Aryna so definitely a lot of nerves and I feel the first set was trying to adjust to her game.”
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Sabalenka was the only Grand Slam champion left in either the men’s or women’s singles draws at Roland Garros, but belied that status by making a whopping 57 unforced errors.
Russia’s Diana Shnaider reacts after winning the quarterfinal tennis match against Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus at the French Open in Paris, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Shnaider was playing in her first major quarterfinal, but now finds herself a strong favorite to reach the final heading into her last-four tie against world number 114 and fellow left-hander Chwalinska.
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“Definitely super happy I managed to finish on a good note rather than start on a good note. Definitely a special tournament for me here,” added the Russian.
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“It’s going be a lefty battle so I’m looking forward (to the semi-final).”
Sabalenka’s scarcely believable defeat was reminiscent of the way she threw away a strong position in last year’s final against Coco Gauff.
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The Belarusian was playing in a 14th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final but failed to become the first woman to make seven straight major semis since Serena Williams.
Increasingly frustrated Sabalenka
The top seed raced into a 5-1 lead and eventually sealed the opener on her third set point after initially failing to serve it out.
The second set followed a similar pattern at first, as Sabalenka moved 4-1 in front with a double-break before throwing away her next service game.
Sabalenka became increasingly frustrated as she gifted Shnaider three break points to level at 4-4.
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After some animated remonstrating with her box, she recomposed herself enough to hold.
But the 28-year-old’s game continued to come apart, as a string of dreadful unforced errors allowed Shnaider to break again and tie up the set at 5-5, with Sabalenka left to gesticulate wildly towards her coaching staff.
Shnaider could not believe her luck as Sabalenka dumped successive forehands into the bottom of the net to finish off the set and send the match into a decider.
The Russian grew in confidence and moved 2-0 up in the third as Sabalenka sprayed eight unforced errors around Chatrier in the space of two games.
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Shnaider cruised to victory from there, fittingly securing a semi-final berth when Sabalenka knocked a routine backhand into the net on the third match point.
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A stunned world number one was left to trudge off court after winning just 14 points in the deciding set.
The New York Knicks held their collective breath during the first quarter of Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday night after All-Star guard Jalen Brunson suffered an injury scare against the San Antonio Spurs.
Spurs reserve Harrison Barnes accidentally collided with Brunson’s right knee while falling to the floor, and the Knicks star immediately grabbed at the leg in apparent pain.
Brunson signaled to the bench and headed to the locker room after checking out of the game. He later returned to the bench but had not re-entered the contest as of publication.
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This is a developing story. More to come.
Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.
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