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Phil Hay has dropped a worrying injury update concerning Leeds United centre-forward Patrick Bamford.

What’s the latest?

In comments made on a recent Q&A on The Athletic, the Leeds United correspondent hinted that, after being left out of Jesse Marsch’s 20-man matchday squad to face Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, the 28-year-old may not be able to make a return to fitness before the crucial trip to Brentford this weekend.

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Regarding the England international’s absence at Elland Road, Hay said: “No Patrick Bamford in the 20. Will be Brentford for him, if at all.”

Leeds supporters will be sweating

While it is true that both 18th placed Burnley and 16th placed Everton have a game in hand on the Whites, the point gained from Pascal Struijk’s late equaliser against the Seagulls will have undoubtedly given the Elland Road faithful hope that their side could well go on to pull off what would be a rather miraculous escape from the drop.

However, in order to do so, Leeds will need both Aston Villa on Thursday and Newcastle United on Sunday to do them a big favour against the Clarets, while the Whites simply must ensure that they take all three points home from Brentford Community Stadium this weekend – a task which will be made a great deal more difficult is Bamford is once again out.

Indeed, the £18m-rated forward has been a huge miss for Leeds this season, with the 28-year-old’s two goals and two assists over nine Premier League appearances in 2021/22 being pale in comparison to his return of 17 goals and eight assists over 38 top-flight fixtures last season.

As such, it is clear to see just how big of a miss the £74k-per-week striker has been in the Leeds frontline this term, with the Englishman’s availability for what is undoubtedly the Whites’ most important game of the season sure to be something that will have both Marsch and supporters sweating throughout the week – as Bamford remaining sidelined would certainly come as a huge blow to Leeds’ hopes of remaining a Premier League side in 2022/23.

AND in other news: Talks held: Leeds plot bid for £19.8m-rated “phenomenon”, it’s surely bye-bye Raphinha

Wolves host Norwich City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, with Bruno Lage’s men looking to end a run of five matches without a win whilst conceding ten goals in their last three games.

With the Canaries already relegated, Dean Smith’s outfit will be the ideal side for the West Midlands club to face for their final home game of the season – at least on paper, that is.

Although seriously unlikely, qualifying for Europe is still possible for the Old Gold, who sit five points behind seventh placed West Ham United with two matches to go.

However unlikely finishing higher than eighth may be, it will be vital that Lage’s men secure a positive result to sign off from Molineux for the season after a woeful couple of weeks which have seen a promising campaign turn slightly sour.

It is also an opportunity for the manager to give other players a chance in the starting line-up, with forward Hwang Hee-Chan ideally in line for a start.

Lage must unleash Hwang

The South Korean has endured a mixed first campaign in England, having joined Wolves initially on loan from RB Leipzig before making the move permanent in January.

Having scored five goals and provided one assist in 28 Premier League appearances, the 26-year-old has laid a platform to build upon going into next season. Moreover, those five goals make up 14% of Wolves’ tally of 36 this term, with Lage’s men scoring the fourth-fewest goals in the top flight.

Described by his manager as a “top player” whilst also being deemed to be someone who has “got everything” by pundit Ian Wright, Hwang has started just three of Wolves’ last eight matches, with game-time inconsistent for the South Korean. He had to make do with minutes as a substitute against Chelsea and Manchester City in the team’s last two matches.

Goals have been at a serious shortage of late from the Old Gold forwards, with Raul Jimenez scoring just once in his last 11 appearances, whilst Fabio Silva and Pedro Neto haven’t scored all season.

The latter has struggled to make an impression on Lage since returning from a serious knee injury and could be in line to return to the bench after a couple of starts.

However, the £26k-per-week centre-forward is also suffering from a lack of goals, with Hwang enduring an 11-match goal drought, having not scored since the 2-1 defeat at Arsenal in late February.

Therefore, being handed an opportunity to end that dry spell against the league’s bottom club in Norwich could certainly prove worthwhile in order to regain some confidence going into the summer and pre-season.

AND in other news: Wolves handed huge boost as early Norwich team news emerges, Lage will be delighted

His stocks dipped with lean IPL and domestic form across 2024 and 2025, but he seems to have rediscovered his groove since his return to Delhi

Daya Sagar01-Sep-2025Nitish Rana marked his return to Delhi cricket with a statement performance in the crunch games of the Delhi Premier League (DPL), leading West Delhi Riders to the title. In the three playoff matches, he produced one century and one half-century, finishing unbeaten each time with scores of 134*, 45*, and 79*. It was a decisive response from a player who had been searching for form across the past two years and had started the tournament poorly. His unbeaten 134 off 55 balls in Qualifier 1, with eight fours and 15 sixes, was the defining knock of the tournament.”In big matches, it is very important for big players to perform because there is a lot of pressure in these games,” Rana said afterwards. “Big players know a little better how to handle pressure, and I place myself in that category of players who can steer the game under pressure situations.”As an experienced player, you know whether you are in good touch or not. I knew I was batting well, but the runs were not coming. I continuously backed myself. I knew I was only one big innings away, and luckily it came when the team needed it most. Now we are champions.”Related

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The Qualifier also featured an exchange of words with South Delhi Superstarz spinner Digvesh Rathi, which went viral online. Rana did not want to linger much on the episode. “It would be very unfair if I only share my side of the story and Rathi doesn’t get to say anything,” Rana said. “All I can say is that he started it and poked me, so I replied. I was born and raised in Delhi, and I have hot blood too. If someone pokes me, I am not the kind of person to stay quiet… He got disturbed in his line and length, and I responded with sixes.”The DPL title followed one of Rana’s toughest periods. In 2024, despite Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) lifting the IPL trophy, injuries and team balance meant he featured in only two matches. His domestic returns were no better. For Uttar Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy that season, he was dropped after scoring just one fifty in six innings. In the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that followed, he averaged 13.88 with a strike rate of 114.43 across nine games, while in the Vijay Hazare Trophy he was left out after one game. In IPL 2025, playing for Rajasthan Royals, he scored two half-centuries but made six single-digit scores in 11 innings. Soon after, Rana returned to Delhi for the 2025-26 season, citing family reasons.Nitish Rana takes a selfie with his UP team-mates after a win•ESPNcricinfo LtdIt was not his first setback. In 2022-23, he scored only 71 runs at 17.75 in the Ranji Trophy and was dropped after three games, prompting a move from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh in search of opportunities. Looking back, Rana said: “I went to Uttar Pradesh because I thought maybe I would play better in a new place. But it didn’t work out that way. Now I have left those things behind and returned to the same Delhi dressing room where I learned to score runs. It’s not that I had to prove something, but personally, these DPL innings are very important for me.”Cricket is a game of experience. When you grind yourself, go through bad times, it becomes very important to try to learn from those situations. I too have had many bad patches, I have fought with myself, punished myself too. But I trust myself a lot. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail. But all this is part of the game.”In the seven seasons from 2017 to 2023, Rana was one of a few batters to score at least 300 runs in every IPL. In 2021, during the Covid-19 period, he earned an India call-up, playing one ODI and two T20Is in Sri Lanka. Since then, the door to the national side has stayed closed, though he has remained a regular contributor in domestic cricket and has on occasion captained his Ranji and IPL teams.For now, he is not looking beyond the immediate. “There are a lot of things to think about,” Rana said. “I also want to make a comeback to the Indian team, but by thinking about it, I will only put pressure on myself. That’s why I don’t think too much now. I only focus on things that are in my control. Right now, my cricket is in my control, and I am only focusing on that.”

Barcelona’s Champions League hopes took another hit after a 3-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, worsened by Ronald Araujo’s first-half red card that left the Catalans battling with 10 men for most of the game. Hansi Flick admitted the sending-off was avoidable and vowed to review the incident with his captain as pressure mounts on Barca amid their poor European form.

Araujo’s red card leaves Barca with uphill battle

Barcelona’s trip to Stamford Bridge quickly turned into a nightmare as Flick’s side were reduced to 10 men in the first half, eventually falling 3-0 to Chelsea. The Catalans had started brightly, creating early chances through Ferran Torres, but their momentum collapsed the moment Araujo received two bookings – the first for dissent, the second for a heavy challenge on Marc Cucurella just before the end of the first half.

The dismissal forced Barcelona into damage-control mode, leaving them outnumbered for over an hour in a must-win Champions League tie. Flick did not hide his frustration post-match, admitting the defender “shouldn’t have gone in like that” and that the red card fundamentally changed the game’s dynamic. That set the stage for the German coach to share his wider assessment of a disappointing night.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportFlick’s frustration over Araujo and the team’s display

In the post match press conference Flick made it clear he believed the Uruguayan's dismissal was avoidable, while also reflecting on Barca’s struggle to compete a man down.

"I don't know what happened with the first yellow card," the German said. "I have to talk to him and see the videos, and the second one shouldn't have gone in like that. But these things happen in football. It wasn't the right time or the right play, but that's how it was."

He then expanded on the team’s overall performance in London: "It's just one game. We started well, with good chances, from Ferran, and then with one less player it became very difficult. We didn't have the necessary intensity, but I'm positive about the future." 

"It's not easy to win against this team, Chelsea, with one less player. But I'm positive about the upcoming matches. We have three games left and I'm confident we can win them. But today we made some mistakes, we didn't keep possession, some players made errors… Today it wasn't enough, but there are positives: Raphinha is back, Marcus is playing well… we have to be positive. If you analyze the game, you have to see that we played with one less player and that has a big impact. You play better with one more player. For Chelsea, playing against ten is a huge advantage."

Champions League qualification hangs by a thread

Barcelona’s European campaign is now in a precarious position. With just two wins from five Champions League group games and sitting 16th in the table with seven points, the Catalans must win their remaining fixtures against Eintracht Frankfurt, Slavia Prague and Copenhagen to have a realistic chance of going straight through to the round of 16 without having to navigate the knockout play-off.

Flick acknowledged the challenge, stressing that qualification remains possible but only if the team drastically improves their aggression and intensity. "It will be very difficult to finish in the top eight, but anything is possible. We need to play aggressively. We've seen a more dynamic Chelsea, and that's what I want from my team. We have to fight harder and play more aggressively," he said.

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Getty Images SportFlick promises a response as Barca look to rebound

Despite the setback, Flick ended the night with an optimistic tone, insisting that Barcelona’s level will rise in the coming weeks. With La Liga fixture against Alaves up next and Champions League qualification on the line, the pressure is growing but the coach remains defiant. "We'll see a different Barca, I can promise you that. I see how we train, the intensity and the quality, and it's different from a few weeks ago… I have a good feeling about it." 

The Blaugrana sit second in La Liga, a point behind Real Madrid, but must now juggle domestic ambitions with the crucial European mission ahead. All eyes turn to the Camp Nou this weekend, where Flick hopes a convincing performance can reset their trajectory.

“This is the fourth time in two Tests that we’ve lost wickets lower down the order cheaply. We need to take responsibility.”

Danyal Rasool23-Oct-2025Pakistan’s head coach was left to bemoan a familiar flaw with the team’s performance, pointing to his side’s first-innings collapse as the turning point in the game. After the Test, which South Africa won by eight wickets, Azhar Mahmood said Pakistan had specifically discussed this at their training camps, and that it was “not acceptable” that this kept happening.”The first innings collapse was where it started,” he said at the post-match press conference. “We lost 5 for 17. We should have posted 400-425 there, which was the position we’d put ourselves in. Agha and Rizwan were building a partnership which we couldn’t utilise.”This is the fourth time in two Tests that we’ve lost wickets lower down the order cheaply. This is not acceptable, and we need to take responsibility. We spoke about this at our two camps. Whenever your top players score 270-300, the contribution from the lower order really matters.”Related

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The only thing more reliable than Pakistan’s late-order collapses this series has been a senior player or coach criticising those collapses. Midway through the first Test, Mahmood was fiercely criticial of Pakistan’s first innings collapse which saw then lose their last 5 for 16, slumping from 362 for 5 to 378. Following the game, captain Shan Masood highlighted the issue once more after Pakistan lost their final six for 17 in the second innings.But forewarned has not proved forearmed. The second Test saw the same issues prop up in each innings. On Thursday, Pakistan began at 94 for 4, but soon crumbled to 105 for 8, losing their final six for 43 to set South Africa up for a straightforward chase.”You also have to give credit to opposition,” Mahmood said. “South Africa were much better than us in this department. We could have taken the lead but credit goes to Muthuswamy, the way he played; his shot selection was perfect. He put on 70 with Maharaj and 98 with Rabada. If you play with a quality team and you give them several chances in a brief period of time, they will punish you. That’s what happened and we allowed them extra runs.”You have to work on your game and know your scoring shots. You can learn from the opposition. Muthuswamy scored primarily from the sweep and reverse sweep. You should know your scoring options. When we went to bat, we started blocking early. If we had rotated the strike and put pressure on them, we could have pushed them off their lengths. The way they did – though of course a low target made it easier. You need mental toughness; international cricket is all about how you cope with pressure.”Shan Masood and Aiden Markram pose with the shared trophy after the series ended in a draw•AFP/Getty ImagesIt was that innings from Muthuswamy which turned the Test around from one Pakistan controlled to one South Africa ran away with. With South Africa reduced to 235 for 8, 98 shy of Pakistan’s first innings total, it looked like a repeat of the Lahore Test. But Muthuswamy, who finished unbeaten on 88, struck a 70-run stand with Keshav Maharaj, and another 98-run partnership with Kagiso Rabada to give South Africa a 71-run lead.It set Pakistan up for what has now become a familiar phenomenon – the third innings implosion. In several Tests last cycle, Pakistan’s third innings turned Tests which were relatively evenly poised to ones the opposition dominated by crumbling late on, leaving them with innings defeats or straightforward chases for the opposition. That was a feature in each of the three Tests Pakistan lost before their turn to spin wickets – two against Bangladesh and one against England – and it reared its head once more.Mahmood admitted that was a concern, though believed Pakistan’s calendar didn’t help. “It is a concern that we have a poor record in our third and fourth innings. But if you play four Tests in a year and the team only gets together every six months, you don’t have time to work on your game. We last played in January and our next Test is in March. These gaps are too long, and we’ll have to play regular Test matches to cope with these situations.”