Aaron Rodgers spent the New York Jets' first three preseason games on the sideline.

That will change in their exhibition finale.

Rodgers will reportedly make his Jets debut on Saturday against the New York Giants in the team's final tuneup before the regular-season opener against the Buffalo Bills on September 11.

Brian Costello of the New York Post reported the Jets' decision to start the future Hall of Famer against the Giants on Sunday.

Rodgers hasn't appeared in a preseason game since 2018, but had spent his entire 18-year NFL career with the Packers prior to joining the Jets in April so had a familiarity with Green Bay and its system.

After being acquired by New York, the four-time league MVP has spent all training camp working on chemistry with his new teammates, but has yet to see game action with backup quarterback Zach Wilson starting the first three preseason games.

Jets coach Robert Saleh made it clear early in camp that Rodgers would sit out the first three exhibition games but left the door open for the 39-year-old to play in the finale.

While many NFL teams rest most of their starters in the final preseason game to avoid the risk of injury, the Jets are expected to start many of their first-stringers with Rodgers in the mix.

Newly signed running back Dalvin Cook, fellow running back Breece Hall and wide receiver Garrett Wilson have yet to appear in a preseason game, but appear likely to face the Giants as the Jets will try to get their first-team offense some work together in game action before Week 1.

Katarina Johnson-Thompson has won a brilliant heptathlon gold at the World Championships in Budapest.

The 30-year-old has endured a tough four years, punctuated by injury and frustration, since her world title win in Doha four years ago.

Here, the PA news agency looks at her road to recovery.

Covid delays the Olympics

Coming off the back of her 2019 world title, Johnson-Thompson was ready for another showdown with Nafi Thiam. The Belgian won Olympic gold in Rio but was defeated by KJT in Doha as the Brit set four personal bests.

She was in the form of her life and their battle was poised to be one of the best of the Games – only for the Covid pandemic to strike and the Olympics were postponed for 12 months.

Achilles rupture threatens her career

Johnson-Thompson suffered a serious Achilles injury in December 2020 which left her fearing for her career. Just eight months ahead of the Olympics it left her hopes of making Tokyo in doubt.

“Covid, my Achilles injury and then the injury in Tokyo were three major things which made it feel like the universe was telling me to stop,” she said.

Heartbreak in Tokyo

The 30-year-old recovered in time to make the delayed Olympics in Japan and was fifth going into the final event on day one, the 200m. Yet she was struck by another massive blow when she injured her right calf with around 50 metres left.

She refused a wheelchair and limped to the finish – stating she started her year in a wheelchair and did not want to end it in one.

The defending champion

Johnson-Thompson arrived at the Worlds in Oregon last year as the defending champion but there was never any expectation she would retain the title. She was sixth after day one, trailing Thiam by over 300 points, despite a gutsy effort.

A frustrating 6.28m in the long jump dropped her to seventh while she was unable to improve her place in the javelin and 800m to ultimately finish eighth.

Commonwealth title defence

Having pulled out of the pentathlon at the World Athletics Indoor Championships earlier in the year, Johnson-Thompson came from Eugene straight to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

Her 2018 Gold Coast victory was the start of her trajectory and foundations for her Doha victory.

Despite her previous injury problems she was still expected to retain the crown and she did with a measured performance to finish 144 points ahead of Northern Ireland’s Kate O’Connor.

Dermot Weld ended Joseph O’Brien’s stranglehold on the Comer Group International Irish St Leger Trial Stakes, as Shamida showed both class and courage to hold off Dawn Rising and set up a Group One tilt.

O’Brien had won the last two runnings of the Group Three contest and with Roger Varian’s Eldar Eldarov and Aidan O’Brien’s Library both non runners for the staying challenge, he was ultimately responsible for three of the four runners that headed to post at the Curragh.

Despite having numbers on their side, the Owning Hill-trained trio had no answer to Shamida, who tracked the pace set by Royal Ascot scorer Okita Soushi before being asked by jockey Chris Hayes to stride on two furlongs from home.

Having proven her stamina when claiming the Stanerra Stakes over this trip at Leopardstown, Hayes knew he had a willing partner underneath him and once Okita Soushi was beaten off, she had plenty in reserve to repel the closing Dawn Rising deep inside the final furlong as Shamida returned a half-length verdict as the 5-4 favourite.

Weld said: “She was in Cork on Friday night, but we withdrew her because of the ground. She’s a good-actioned filly and would never want the ground too soft.

“I’d say she will have one more run this year and I’d say it will be the Prix Royallieu, it’s the Group One mile-and-six for fillies and mares. It’s kind of written for her.

“This is a very game, tough three-year-old. She’s an immature filly and I think she will improve.

“Two of the horses there won at Royal Ascot and it was a very good trial.

“She’s a stayer with speed.”

Layfayette served a reminder of his quality as he bounced back to his very best to land the Fitzdares Royal Whip Stakes at the Curragh.

Noel Meade’s six-year-old was winning for the ninth time and it was perhaps unsurprising that he left a couple of lacklustre recent showings in the past at the scene of some of his finest hours.

Held up in rear in the early stages by Colin Keane, the son of French Navy began to make some stylish progress as the runners straightened for home and as the final furlong approached the 7-2 chance had the front-running Unless in his sights.

Aidan O’Brien’s Justify filly refused to lie down, but it was Layfayette who held all the momentum and surged ahead of the 15-8 favourite to register a going-away three-quarters of a length victory in the Group Three contest, with the stable’s Helvic Dream also staying on for third.

Meade said: “I was disappointed in Naas, but he had to get some treatment on his back and he needed time off and just got stuffy. He blew up in Naas. I know that was over a mile and a half which stretches him a bit, but he’s an older horse and takes a bit of work.

“He loves this place. He loves the long straight and this place and Naas suits him well. In Group Twos and Group Threes he’s very competitive.

“He’ll probably go for the mile-and-a-half race on Champions Weekend in Leopardstown if there is an ease in the ground.

“Gary (Carroll) said that Helvic Dream gave him a great feel and moved well. We might try and stretch him out to a mile and a half because later in the year on the ground that he wants there are not that many races over a mile and a quarter.

“There horses are very hard to find, you don’t come across them too often for reasonable money.”

Asean came with a storming run up the stands rail to record a most taking success in the Qatar Racing And Equestrian Club Irish EBF Curragh Stakes.

Donnacha O’Brien’s youngster had got off the mark in a Cork handicap when last seen and had no trouble handling the move to Listed company.

Ridden at the rear of the field, Gavin Ryan’s mount began to engage top gear over a furlong out and soared past her rivals in tremendous fashion.

The winning margin was half a length over Aidan O’Brien’s Alabama and there looks sure to be more to come from the 17-2 scorer.

“She travelled strong, she has a lot of speed and I thought Gavin gave her a brilliant ride,” said O’Brien. “She has a really good turn of foot and he rode her for that.

“She did it nicely in the end and it was a good performance.

“Gavin let her relax and they all started racing fairly early. He let it happen in front of him and I told him to have a go at them in the last furlong and that’s what he did.

“She quickened up really well and is obviously a smart filly. We’ll probably step her up into Group company now.

“She’s all speed and we’ll probably keep her to five. She’d probably stay six, but she is very comfortable at five.

“I’d say she loves quick ground, the quicker the better. She’s by Ten Sovereigns and he wanted it like the road.”

Elsewhere, Eddie Lynam enjoyed a one-two in the Bord Na Mona Recycling Handicap, with the Ben Coen-ridden Jon Riggens (9-2) edging out James Ryan on 7-2 favourite Heavenly Power by a neck.

Lynam said: “Over the five on this sort of ground, especially the way the track is riding the last few days with the wind, he’s been struggling to make up the ground.

“I sent Dave Mason down to the gate with him today as he gets a bit buzzy with the open spaces here.

“When you ride them for luck it’s exactly what it says on the tin. If he hit the front a furlong down then I won’t use the jockey again and also he won’t finish in the first three. That’s the way he is.

“The other horse went out with his heart on his sleeve. I love both horses and it’s hard when one beats the other, but at least one of them has won.

“They will come back here next month for the Bold Lad.”

Aston Villa bounced back from their heavy opening-day Premier League defeat by cantering to a 4-0 home win against Everton.

Captain John McGinn and Douglas Luiz’s penalty gave Villa a 2-0 lead at the break and after second-half efforts from Leon Bailey and substitute John Duran, Unai Emery’s side put last week’s 5-1 loss at Newcastle behind them.

It was all too easy for Villa as they cashed in on some wayward Everton defending, which prompted half of their fans to leave Villa Park long before the final whistle.

Everton have lost their opening two games for the second successive season and their cause was not helped by the first-half withdrawal of the luckless Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The England striker, who scored only two goals last season after being dogged by injury, failed to recover from an early clash of heads with Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez and was eventually forced off in the 38th minute.

Villa were without key players Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia (both knee) and Jacob Ramsey (foot) due to long-term injury, but midway through the first half they had established a comfortable lead.

McGinn fired them in front in the 18th minute, volleying home Bailey’s cut-back after the latter had wriggled his way to the byline.

Villa doubled their lead from the penalty spot in the 24th minute after VAR ruled Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had taken out Ollie Watkins with a flailing arm.

Watkins’ had moments earlier seen his shot cleared off the goal-line, while Pickford, making his 250th Premier League appearance, was booked for delaying the spot-kick, which was coolly dispatched by Douglas Luiz.

England’s number one went some way to redeeming himself soon after when turning Moussa Diaby’s goal-bound volley on to a post.

Everton troubled Martinez for the only time before the interval when a low, angled shot from Calvert-Lewin’s replacement, summer signing Arnaut Danjuma, forced the Argentinian into a near-post save.

The visitors were forced into another change soon after the restart when Alex Iwobi hobbled off and was replaced by Neal Mapauy.

It got worse for Everton in the 51st minute when Villa put the result beyond doubt. Bailey pounced after Everton defender Michael Keane had miscontrolled a throw-in into the box and fired home a low shot under Pickford.

Watkins went close to adding a fourth when his angled effort rolled inches wide before Martinez superbly blocked Maupay’s close-range effort at the other end following a corner.

Keane was caught out again in the build-up to Villa’s fourth, miskicking from former Villa defender Ashley Young’s throw-in and Duran ran clear to bury his first goal for the club, less than a minute after stepping off the bench to replace Watkins.

Vandeek maintained his unbeaten record in brilliant fashion to edge out home favourite
Ramatuelle in a high-class renewal of the Sumbe Prix Morny.

Simon and Ed Crisford’s youngster arrived in Deauville with a perfect record, having followed up a Nottingham maiden success by claiming the Richmond Stakes at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, and he showed all his quality in this step up to Group One level.

Always travelling comfortably in the hands of Andrea Atzeni as Clive Cox’s Jasour set the pace, Vandeek followed the move made by Aurelien Lemaitre on Ramatuelle as the final furlong approached.

The duo soon became embroiled in a thrilling duel for the first prize, with Vandeek gradually finding himself alongside the stylish French runner and then ahead in the shadow of the post to strike a telling blow for owners KHK Racing Ltd.

The son of Havana Grey, who was a 625,000 guineas breeze-up buy in the spring, could now go in search of further Group One glory with both Paddy Power and Betfair going 7-2 from 11-2 for the Middle Park Stakes, 6-1 from 12s for the Dewhurst and 16-1 from 33s to taste Classic success next season in the 2000 Guineas.

England boss Sarina Wiegman felt the Lionesses exhausted every effort to win their first Women’s World Cup final despite coming up just short with a 1-0 loss to Spain in Sydney.

The Dutch boss, who led England to their first major trophy at last summer’s European Championship, finds herself with a silver medal in two consecutive attempts after steering 2019 runners-up the Netherlands to the title-decider four years ago in France.

Second place is still a best-ever finish for the Lionesses in a global showpiece, beating their bronze medal from 2015, but the three-time FIFA Best winning coach knows from experience it may take some time before the sting subsides.

Wiegman, who reiterated her commitment to remaining in England on multiple occasions this week, said: “That’s hard to take now, and of course we did everything, we gave everything, we’ve overcome lots of challenges and today we did everything we could to win.

“It feels really bad, of course, and very disappointed, but still very proud of the team.

“I’m just hurt about this moment. Losing a game and in a final, when you’re in a final you want to win it. I guess you mean because it’s a second final, I don’t see it (like that), this was a different game, a different team.

“I was totally convinced before the game that it would be a very tight game but we were confident that we were able to win it. I hope in the future I get a new moment with the team I work with, that would be amazing, because it’s very special to play finals.”

Lauren Hemp came inches away from scoring an opener with a first-half attempt that clipped the crossbar, and it remained England’s best chance of the contest.

Spain took a 1-0 lead when Mariona Caldentey slipped the ball to the onrushing Olga Carmona, who finished past Mary Earps with a left-footed effort into the bottom right corner after 29 minutes.

Wiegman initially employed the 3-5-2 shape that had been so successful in England’s 6-1 victory over China, but reverted to a 4-3-3 in the second half, when she brought in Lauren James – available for the first time following her two-match ban – and Chloe Kelly after the break.

Spain could have doubled their advantage in the second half when Keira Walsh was punished for a handball inside the penalty area following a lengthy VAR check, but the competition’s Golden Glove winner Earps read Jennifer Hermoso’s spot-kick perfectly and produced a fine save to keep England in the contest.

Wiegman said: “I think we played better in the second half. We changed shape, we got momentum, we got more in their half. Then they got the penalty and when Mary saved it I thought, ‘OK, now we’re going to score a goal and get the 1-1’, but we didn’t.”

The 2027 Women’s World Cup hosts will be announced at the 74th FIFA Congress in May, while England will defend their European title in Switzerland in 2025.

First comes UEFA’s newly launched Nations League, which also serves as a qualifier for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.

England, Scotland or Wales would need to reach the final to qualify as Team GB, or finish third if automatically qualified hosts France are one of the last two.

Wiegman managed the Netherlands during the postponed 2020 Tokyo Games, but was disappointed by the Covid-19-impacted experience, remarking earlier in the week that “it felt like a jail. We were stuck in a hotel.”

So rather than thinking about the next World Cup in an as-yet-undecided location, Wiegman was looking ahead to just over a month’s time when England will kick off their Nations League campaign against Scotland at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light on September 22.

She added: “Four years is a little bit of a long time. We will start in September in the Nations League to try to qualify for the Olympics.

“You want to improve all the time. This team and this group of players are so eager to be successful. We want to grab every moment to be better. We hope we come back and play good games again to win.”

Andre Fabre’s Mqse De Sevigne pounced late to deny Via Sistina in a thrilling finish to the Sumbe Prix Jean Romanet.

The daughter of Siyouni successfully dropped back to a mile to land the Prix Rothschild last month and thrived once again up in trip to secure back-to-back Deauville Group One victories.

Ridden cold in rear by Alexis Pouchin, the four-year-old had the majority of the field ahead of her as the runners turned for home.

And as most eyes were drawn to the stylish progress being made by George Boughey’s Via Sistina who hit the front with what appeared a winning run under Jamie Spencer, Mqse De Sevigne was matching every stride and got her head narrowly ahead when it mattered to score by the barest of margins.

New England Patriots rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden was released from the hospital the morning after being carted off the field in an NFL preseason game that prompted the exhibition against the Green Bay Packers to be called off.

In a statement released by the Patriots on Sunday, the team said Bolden was kept overnight in a Green Bay-area hospital for observation and after undergoing a series of evaluations, he has been discharged and cleared to travel with the team back to Massachusetts.

In Saturday's game at Lambeau Field, Bolden appeared to collide with teammate Calvin Munson while attempting to make a hit on a pass completion to Malik Heath of the Packers.

The 23-year-old then was motionless on the turf as medical officials tended to him. Bolden, a seventh-round pick by New England out of Jackson State, was eventually carted off the field and the Patriots said after the game that he had feeling in all his extremities. 

Following the injury, the NFL made the decision to call the remainder of the game, with New England up 21-17 with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter.

Also in the wake of Bolden's injury, the Patriots have decided to alter their training schedule for the week.

They will no longer hold joint practices with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday and Wednesday in Nashville. After practising in Foxborough this week, the team will fly to Tennessee on Thursday ahead of its preseason game on Friday.

Westover is poised to head straight to ParisLongchamp where he will get a second crack at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Last year’s Irish Derby hero went to the French capital with a point to prove 12 months ago following a lacklustre display as beaten favourite in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes and performed with credit to finish sixth in unsuitably testing ground.

However, this time around the Ralph Beckett-trained colt will cross the Channel at the peak of his powers following an agonising head second to Hukum in the Ascot showpiece, and hopes are high that the thriving son of Frankel – who is a best price of 12-1 for Arc glory – can build on last year’s finishing position.

Westover is currently enjoying a break at his trainer’s Kimpton Down base with connections keen to follow last year’s route to the Bois de Boulogne, with a trip to Santa Anita also on the cards following his tilt at Europe’s richest middle-distance prize on October 1.

“He came out of the King George great and he’s having a little break now at Ralph’s,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.

“He’s had two quick runs, so we’re freshening him up and we’ll aim for the Arc and hopefully it’s not heavy ground and we’ll be able to turn up there.

“Ralph was thinking of doing what he did last year and taking him straight there on the back of his King George run.

“He’s been on the go early this year having been to Dubai and then recently had two quick runs, so I think he’s thinking he’ll freshen him up and go to the Arc then on to the Breeders’ Cup.”

Although a Classic winner at three, Westover has taken his form to the next level this term, chasing home the all-conquering Japanese superstar Equinox in Dubai on his reappearance before three more high-class performances closer to home.

He registered his second Group One when landing the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in a record time before going down bravely in defeat at Ascot, and Mahon revealed the Westover team were always optimistic he would improve with age.

He added: “He always threatened to be and he was such a big frame of a horse last year that we always felt he was going to be better this year when he strengthened and he’s run a career best his last run and at least run up to his best the time before.

“I think he’s definitely a better horse and we’ll go to the Arc with a live chance if the ground’s not too soft.”