The injury bug strikes the San Francisco 49ers yet again. 

San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling is reportedly expected to miss at least two months after undergoing surgery on his injured left ankle.

Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday that he opted for surgery and added he expected Stribling to miss about 10 weeks.

On Wednesday morning, ESPN reported that 49ers rookie wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling is expected to miss at least a month after injuring his ankle in Week 1 against the Los Angeles Rams. 

The 49ers then officially placed Stribling on injured reserve, which will meant he would miss at least four games. Stribling’s absence is another blow to a wide receiver unit already missing Ricky Pearsall, who is out for the season with a knee injury.

Stribling, a second-round pick out of Ole Miss, suffered an ankle injury late in the first quarter against the Rams but returned to action. His return was brief, however, as he went down again on the 49ers’ next drive and had to be carted off the field. While there was initial speculation of an Achilles tear, head coach Kyle Shanahan ruled that out after the game. 

Stribling’s impact in his NFL debut was limited, but the 49ers were still able to pull out a win against their divisional opponent. The passing attack didn’t miss a beat, as quarterback Brock Purdy put together a strong performance.

Though Stribling failed to record a catch in the season opener, he had a strong offseason and training camp for the 49ers. With him sidelined, expect an increased workload for veteran receivers Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel and Demarcus Robinson. Against the Rams, the trio combined for 14 catches for 147 yards and three touchdowns. 

The 49ers host the Miami Dolphins in Week 2. How the San Francisco offense maintains its explosiveness will be something to watch.

The New York Yankees returned right-handed pitcher Clarke Schmidt from his rehabilitation assignment and reinstated him from the injured list on Wednesday, aiming to integrate the 30-year-old into their bullpen for the postseason following his 14-month recovery from elbow surgery.

Schmidt had an internal brace procedure on his ulnar collateral ligament on July 11, 2025, and began minor league rehab on Aug. 29. The 2017 first-round draft pick was used exclusively as a starter since 2023, but with Cam Schlittler, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon and Gerrit Cole in the rotation, Schmidt will transition to relief.

“It’s been a long journey, a lot of work that goes into this. A lot of long days, early mornings,” Schmidt said before the game Wednesday against the Minnesota Twins. “I’ve just been itching to come back.”

The Yankees designated popular multi-position player Oswaldo Cabrera for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Schmidt. Cabrera missed most of the 2025 season with a severe ankle injury.

“I’m blessed to have a lot of guys on this team that you just admire and respect and love doing the job with on a daily basis,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Oswaldo’s right there at the top of that list.”

Reporting by The Associated Press.

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is aiming to redirect the public spotlight back towards “actual athletes” in the wake of significant pushback from female Olympians regarding a controversial betting company advertisement featuring Euphoria actress Sydney Sweeney.

The internet entrepreneur’s innovative all-female track meeting, Athlos, makes its debut appearance in the UK on Friday at a sold-out StoneX stadium in London, where Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell are among those competing for Tiffany-crafted crowns and a share of the 1,057,000 million US dollar (£790,266) prize pot.

Even Ohanian’s wife, tennis icon Serena Williams, has been drawn into the wider discussion surrounding the commercial, which featured a nude Sweeney strategically covered by items of sports equipment. It sparked viral dissent among athletes, who have used the moment to celebrate women in sport – a primary objective behind Athlos.

“Look, we know sex sells as a product. That’s a thing that just continues to apparently work,” Ohanian told the Press Association, after viewing the advertisement for the first time with the news agency.

“It is crazy to me that it seems like people now are just trying to generate attention by any means necessary, and it is incredibly disappointing that this is even a conversation when you have so many actual athletes who are still finding their economic footing in most of the sports.

“How do I feel about it? It’s not at all surprising, unfortunately, and I am glad to see so many women athletes remixing it as a way to promote what they are about.”

The entrepreneur’s portfolio also includes a minority stake in Chelsea Women, and he was a founding controlling owner of National Women’s Soccer League team Angel City.

Social media reach and boosting athlete compensation were central factors in launching the spectacle-embracing, “entertainment-rich” Athlos, stemming from Ohanian’s regret, he revealed, “that what I should have done in 2019 was actually just buy the (NWSL)”.

Ohanian identified a “no-brainer” opportunity in women’s athletics, where he discovered “the follower counts of the top women athletes just crush the men. Compared to six years ago, brands really want to be aligned with women’s sports, so it checked all these boxes of obviousness from a business case”.

He said: “Even as we get a little bit of pushback from folks who are like, ‘Why don’t you add the men?’, I actually see that as a positive because it means they care, and we’ll do it. I think we’ll probably be the first league in history to have a women’s league that then includes men.”

Determined to make an industry-wide impact on competitors’ livelihoods through a substantial financial fund, Ohanian appointed US Olympians Gabby Thomas, Sha’Carri Richardson and Tara Davis-Woodhall as advisor-owners.

The 43-year-old is collaborating with World Athletics to better integrate Athlos into the season and expand into a league format. He met with Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Tuesday, and hopes to “make London a fixture” on the tour.

Viewing the situation as a businessman, the father of two daughters conceded the Sweeney campaign was a “masterclass” in securing “free advertising”, sitting at the heart of a “perfect storm” for a prediction-market product claiming to focus on ‘just sports’.

But, he said: “It hits this nerve where it feels like such a step back in light of all the progress women’s sports has been making.”

Some, including Sweeney herself, have shared images from past editions of ESPN’s Body Issue, marketed as a celebration “of the incredible power of the athletic form” and featuring 23-time grand slam singles winner Williams and other athletes posing semi-nude.

Ohanian views accusations of hypocrisy as a “false equivalency”, noting: “They’re athletes. The resume of physical excellence is a fit body. No disrespect to Sydney Sweeney, but I don’t think she’s devoted her body and life to physical excellence in sport.”

It will be a no-go for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold.

Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald revealed in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon that Darnold won’t dress for the team’s Week 2 road matchup against the Arizona Cardinals due to the glute injury he sustained in the team’s Week 1 win over the New England Patriots.

Darnold suffered the injury on the Seahawks’ opening possession of the season and was replaced at quarterback by Drew Lock, who will get the starting nod against the Cardinals. Macdonald said Seattle doesn’t “anticipate” placing Darnold on injured reserve.

Darnold reportedly suffered a muscle strain but not a fracture, giving the Seahawks optimism that the starting quarterback’s absence will be short-lived. 

Taking over in the first quarter for Darnold against the Patriots, Lock threw for 187 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, while posting a 113.3 passer rating and completing 72.7% of his passes (16 of 22) in a 13-10 win for the Seahawks. Behind Lock, who has 28 NFL starts under his belt, is second-year quarterback and former third-round pick Jalen Milroe.

Last season (2025), Darnold totaled 4,048 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 14 interceptions and a 99.1 passer rating, while completing 67.7% of his passes in what was his first year with the Seahawks. He also earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl nod.

And, of course, the 2025 campaign, which saw Seattle have the best record in the NFC at 14-3, concluded with Darnold, Macdonald and the Seahawks winning Super Bowl LX, the second championship triumph in franchise history.

As for Seattle’s Week 2 game against Arizona, which can be viewed on Sunday afternoon at 4:25 p.m. ET on FOX, the Seahawks swept the 2025 season series with their NFC West rival and have won nine consecutive games against the Cardinals.

Florida has sailed through the first two weeks of the Jon Sumrall era, but Sports Illustrated isn’t quite sold on the program’s transformation just yet. Despite UF posting a combined 118 points in its first two matchups, College sports writer Bryan Fischer isn’t putting them in the College Football Playoff conversation just yet.

SI projects Florida to face SMU in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 30.

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Five SEC teams made the outlet’s predicted 12-team playoff field, including Texas, LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M and Ole Miss. While the Gators are overlooked right now, there will be plenty of opportunities to change that perception. Fischer also has Alabama facing Penn State in the Citrus Bowl, Oklahoma taking on Houston in the Las Vegas Bowl and Tennessee playing Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

The Gators host No. 9 Ole Miss on Sept. 26 before facing projected playoff teams Texas and Georgia later this season. But to flip to the notion of mediocrity covering the Orange and Blue, Sumrall and his squad must upend Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium, a place Florida hasn’t won at since 1999. Securing a win in the opening game of the SEC schedule should produce a fair amount of optimism around the team moving forward.

Coming off a 4-8 season, a bowl appearance wouldn’t be anything to scoff at for Gator Nation, but the talent on this roster suggests it’s capable of something special if Sumrall really has changed the identity in Gainesville. Nevertheless, a bowl berth means at least six wins, which would be a sign of progress that fans can latch onto.

Florida did what it was supposed to do in its tune-up games. Saturday night’s matchup against Alex Golesh and the Tigers marks the first indication of whether Florida’s ceiling is merely bowl eligibility or something greater.

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Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak has learnt to live with injuries and the long road back to competition after those setbacks, but the frustrating cycle has done little to dampen her spirits as she chases a maiden Asian Games medal in her fourth appearance at the mega-event. The 31-year-old, who is the only Indian gymnast selected for the quadrennial event, left for Aichi, Nagoya, Japan on Wednesday night for the Games beginning September 19. It has come about after a carefully managed recovery from plantar fasciitis (inflammation of foot) that bothered her this season. She missed out on the women’s vault final at the Commonwealth Games because of this.

“I am 100 per cent fit now. Injury is a part of a gymnast’s life. A gymnast has a lot of injuries. We have to take care of them,” Nayak, who trains at the Odisha AM/NS India Gymnastics High Performance Centre, told PTI.

“I had made a mistake while running (in Glasgow) but injury was not the reason behind it. After coming back from Commonwealth Games, I have focused on perfection, landing and flexibility. I made a running mistake.

“I can’t do anything about it now. It was a very difficult phase for me. Now I am ready and focused,” she said.

The immediate response after Glasgow, however, was to step away from the apparatus rather than increase the workload.

“She had a slight injury in her leg. That’s why after the Commonwealth Games, we gave her a full three-week rest. She went home to visit her family. After that, I didn’t make her do total vaulting. We focussed on preparatory basic training stages,” coach Ashok Mishra said.

“When she got used to the rotation and twisting, when her leg recovered, then we focussed on vaulting.” Nayak had recovered from a grade 2 ankle ligament tear suffered in 2025 to win a silver medal at the FIG World Challenge Cup in Tashkent in May this year.

The return was also about regaining confidence in the movements that precede a vault, something she admits can be difficult after an injury.

“It is very difficult. The recovery takes a long time. After that injury, I had to face a lot of problems. But I never gave up. I will try to give my 100 per cent in the upcoming competition,” said the Midnapore gymnast, the first Indian to claim three Asian Championship medals.

She has also worked on the mental side of her comeback, including with consultations with psychologists, to help her concentrate on the routine rather than the pressure surrounding it.

“I have worked with a lot of psychologists. They say that you should focus on what you are doing. If you think well, it will be good. You should train your mind. Even if I can’t train much, I can keep repeating the drill in my mind,” Nayak said.

The approach will be particularly important in Nagoya, where Nayak expects a strong field featuring leading gymnasts from across Asia.

“The Asian Games will be very tough. All the top gymnasts and a lot of Olympic medallists will participate. I saw them in the qualification for the Asian Games,” she said.

Nayak has the high-difficulty Tsukahara 720 in her repertoire, but Mishra is not looking to unleash it immediately. The first objective is to get her through qualification with a clean vault and into the final.

“Our target will be to qualify for the first final. She did Tsukahara 720 before, but if she does a perfect 360 with execution, a fixed landing, and a spring straight 360, then she’ll be in the final,” Mishra said.

“When she qualifies for the final, we have two days to think whether we’ll go all out. She has two vaults, a 720 and forward 540. We’ll see how she suits the equipment, and how she does it.” The final decision will be taken after assessing how Nayak responds to the equipment and training in Japan.

“Once we get there, we’ll train for three days and then we’ll set up mentally,” Mishra said.

Nayak won three Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships medals in Ulaanbaatar (2019), Doha (2022), and Jecheon, South Korea (2025). She also holds two World Cup bronzes from Cairo (2024) and Antalya (2025). But an Asian Games medal remains a missing piece in her collection.

“My competition is with myself, so I will try to give my best. I will see how I am landing and how is my jumping and then will decide which vault I will go for,” Nayak said when asked whether she would stick to a 360-degree vault or attempt a higher difficulty.

The 2020 Olympics remains an emotional milestone for Nayak, so much so that she has etched the Olympic rings as a tattoo on her right arm.

At 31, she knows the window for a gymnast at the highest level does not stay open forever, but her sights remain firmly set on one more Olympic appearance in Los Angeles.

“I will not give up till the time I am fit.” 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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Eddie Hearn has predicted that Conor Benn will soon retire from boxing, after his former ally’s emphatic loss to Ryan Garcia.

Last week, Garcia stopped Benn in the second round, retaining the WBC welterweight title in their Las Vegas main event.

Garcia, 28, dropped Benn with a hard right hook, and although the Briton beat the referee’s count, he was overwhelmed by the American, forcing the referee to stop the fight.

Benn, 29, later said he was unsure what his next move will be, and that his priority is spending time with his family. He had previously suggested, however, that he will move back up to middleweight next.

In any case, Hearn has now discussed the fight, which was Benn’s second after leaving Hearn’s Matchroom promotion in a shocking move in February.

“My last few predictions were that I thought Ryan Garcia would win inside three rounds,” Hearn told iFL TV.

“I just felt [Benn] looked lost. I don’t know, didn’t really look like himself… and in the ring he looked all over the place, he looked like a rabbit in headlights.

“Listen, Conor Benn will be done in the next year or so. He may have one more fight. Who knows? He may not even fight again. He’s made his money.”

Doubling down on the sentiment, Hearn said: “Yeah, I do [think he’ll retire soon]. I think he wants his money, and he’s made a load of money. What else is there?

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“He’s not gonna beat anyone of any significance at 160lb [middleweight], so what are you in the game for? He’s in the game to make money, and he’s done that.

“I don’t think he’s gonna wanna hang around in the sport of boxing; he’s got other interests, he’s got family.”

Benn and Hearn’s split was a stunning one, with Matchroom having stood by the “Destroyer” during a drug-test saga that lasted from 2022 until 2024, only for the fighter to join Hearn’s rival Dana White at Zuffa Boxing.

Benn had failed two drug tests in summer 2022 and was provisionally suspended from fighting in the UK, until he was cleared to do so again in late 2024. He maintained his innocence throughout the episode.

Benn was reportedly offered $15m to sign with Zuffa on a one-fight deal, and his promotional debut came against Regis Prograis in April. On the undercard of Tyson Fury’s win over Arslanbek Makhmudov, Benn outpointed the former world champion, who was boxing at a career-highest weight and retired after the bout. Benn then extended his Zuffa deal and faced Garcia.

His likeliest next move is a trilogy bout with Chris Eubank Jr, with whom he traded middleweight wins in 2025. Eubank Jr outpointed Benn in April, before his bitter rival returned the favour in November – scoring two knockdowns along the way.

Eubank Jr, 36, was quick to mock Benn after his loss to Garcia, while middleweight champion Denzel Bentley this week offered Benn a shot at his WBO belt.