England face Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday in a send-off for the World Cup that is fraught with danger given the Islanders have toppled Tonga, Japan and Samoa in recent weeks.

Here the PA news agency examines five talking points ahead of the final Summer Nations Series match.

Crisis management

England have yet to set foot in France but already events are conspiring against them. While the disciplinary lapses that have seen Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola banned for dangerous tackles are problems of their own making, the growing number of injuries are a cruel misfortune. Anthony Watson joins Jack van Poortvliet in being ruled out of the tournament before a ball is kicked and there are significant concerns over Tom Curry and Elliot Daly, both of whom face a race against time to be fit for the crucial opener against Argentina on September 9.

Jonny set to answer May day call

Watson’s calf injury that was sustained against Ireland has resulted in a World Cup reprieve for Jonny May, who Steve Borthwick all-but confirmed will be plugging the gap in the 33-man squad. Injury and repeated bouts of Covid-19 have conspired against May in recent times, but the ultra-professional England wing is capable of scoring spectacular tries out of thin air and will bring the kick-chase pressure and aerial threat that was missing in Dublin.

Keep your heads

It is a message that had been drummed into the players – no more cards. In the last four Tests England have been shown three reds and four yellows in an alarming collapse in discipline headlined by Farrell and Vunipola being sent off by the bunker review system. Borthwick is confident their respective four and two-game bans can be absorbed by the depth in their positions, but knows that an underperforming team that has lost four of their last five games must keep 15 players on the pitch if they are to halt the slide.

100 not out

Courtney Lawes becomes only the fifth man to make a century of Test appearances for England when he leads Borthwick’s side out at Twickenham. The achievement is a victory for resilience in the face of persistent injuries and the willingness to evolve as a player. Lawes’ calling card early in his career was as a defensive hitman whose bone jarring tackles were a favourite on highlights reels, but he has since added more layers including a smart carrying game based on footwork, line-out expertise and better handling. Having set out on his 14-year international odyssey as a second-row, he is now the epitome of the modern blindside flanker.

Fiji on the rise

Given Japan’s dispiriting slump since lighting up the 2019 World Cup, Fiji have emerged as disruptors with the heavyweights in their sights. Both Wales and Australia will be eyeing their Pool C encounters nervously as the Islanders, bolstered by the success of their Fijian Drua side in Super Rugby, have added a strong scrum, greater cohesion and superior conditioning to the magical attacking skills that are their bread and butter. Waisea Nayacalevu and Semi Radradra have been paired together in the centres against England, taking star billing in a rotated side that will ask questions at Twickenham even if short of full strength.

Jurgen Klopp dismissed fresh speculation linking Mohamed Salah with a move to Saudi Arabia, insisting the Egyptian forward is “essential” at Liverpool.

Al-Ittihad have snatched Fabinho from Liverpool this summer, signing the midfielder for £40million, and have reportedly renewed their interest in Salah, who still has two years left to run on his contract.

The sums being mentioned are staggering, with a £60m fee touted for the 31-year-old, who could allegedly pocket £155m over two years to become one of the highest paid footballers in the world.

However, Klopp revealed Liverpool have had no contact from any of the big-spending Saudi Pro League clubs, adding any official bids exceeding even £100m for their star asset would be rejected.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premier League trip to Newcastle, the Liverpool manager said: “It’s always a bit difficult to talk about media stories because there is nothing to talk about at the moment.

“We don’t have an offer, Mo Salah is still a Liverpool player, obviously for all the things we do, he’s essential and will be. There’s nothing there. If there would be something, the answer would be no.

“My life philosophy is I think about a problem when I have it. At the moment, there’s absolutely nothing. I said already if there is something, the answer would be no.”

Salah, who has scored 187 goals in 308 appearances since switching to Merseyside from Roma in 2017, is just 12 months into a three-year deal which is the most lucrative contract in Liverpool’s history.

It is barely two weeks since his agent, Ramy Abbas, insisted on Twitter Salah remains “fully committed” to Liverpool, and asked whether that remains the case, Klopp responded: “One hundred per cent.”

Corbin Carroll hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning to lift the Arizona Diamondbacks to their fifth straight win, 3-2 over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.

After the Reds scored twice in the top of the eighth to take the lead, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. led off the bottom half with a walk. Alex Young got Evan Longoria to fly out before Carroll followed with his 22nd home run of the season for a 3-2 lead.

Miguel Castro got the final out of the eighth for the win and Paul Sewald worked around a one-out walk in the ninth for his seventh save since joining the Diamondbacks.

Arizona has won eight of nine to move past Cincinnati and San Francisco into sole possession of the third and final NL wild-card spot.

Merrill Kelly had a stellar start for Arizona, allowing one hit over seven scoreless innings while matching a career high with 12 strikeouts before leaving with an undisclosed injury. 

He was warming up in the eighth but grimaced after throwing a pitch. Kelly walked around the mound for a few seconds before leaving the field with Arizona’s medical staff.

Rookie Brandon Williamson was almost as good for Cincinnati, yielding six hits in six shutout innings with one walk and six strikeouts.

Nick Senzel had a pinch-hit home run in the eighth for the Reds, who had a three-game overall winning streak snapped and fell to 0-4 this season against the Diamondbacks.

Jeffers hits late HR as Twins extend Rangers’ slump

Pinch-hitter Ryan Jeffers hit a tie-breaking home run in the eighth inning, Michael A. Taylor went deep twice and the Minnesota Twins beat the Texas Rangers 7-5 Thursday, handing the Rangers their seventh straight loss.

The Twins entered the eighth trailing by a run but tied the game when Matt Wallner scored from first on a Carlos Correa double. With two outs, Jeffers pitch hit for Edouard Julien and hit the go-ahead blast off Will Smith.

Royce Lewis and Kyle Farmer also went deep for Minnesota, while Texas came up short despite home runs from Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Leody Tavares.

Twins Reliever Josh Winder held the Rangers hitless in three innings to keep the game close, and Griffin Jax induced a game-ending double play for his second save of the season.

Minnesota expanded its lead in the AL Central to six games with the win, while Texas failed to expand on its one-game lead in the AL West.

Verdugo, Abreu help Red Sox rip Astros

Alex Verdugo and rookie Wilyer Abreu each had four hits and a home run to lead the Boston Red Sox to a 17-1 rout over the Houston Astros.

Verdugo led off the game with his home run and finished 4 for 7, while Abreu was 4 for 5 with a walk.

Every player in Boston’s starting lineup had at least one hit and at least one RBI as the Red Sox had the highest-scoring game of their season.

Red Sox starter Brayan Bello earned his 10th win, working around nine hits and three walks to allow one run in seven innings.

Boston has won 10 of its last 15 games but still trails Houston and Seattle by 3 ½ games in the chase for the AL’s final wild card spot.

Rory McIlroy is three strokes behind the leaders at the Tour Championship after he said he suffered muscle spasms going into the tournament as he tries to win his fourth FedEx Cup title.

McIlroy is the only three-time winner of the FedEx Cup after overturning a six-shot deficit in the final round of the same tournament last year.

He said he is “over the moon” to be placed where he is considering the spasms.

“I was at the bottom of a squat, a body-weight squat, and my whole lower back spasmed, seized up. I couldn’t move. I honestly couldn’t address the ball this time yesterday,” McIlroy said.

“So, yeah, I mean, I hung in there and I just felt like if I could get through today, it’s better than it was yesterday, hopefully tomorrow’s better than it was today, and just sort of try to keep progressing.”

McIlroy is sitting on seven under par in tied seventh after he finished the day with the same score as he started with, hitting four birdies and just as many bogeys.

“So I was always going to tee off. It was just a matter of how I felt on the course,” McIlroy said.

“And it got progressively a little tighter as I went, but it will hopefully get loosened up here and just another 20, or 18 hours of recovery and go again.”

There is a three-way tie for the lead between Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley and Viktor Hovland on 10 under par.

England’s Matt Fitzpatrick is even with McIlroy in seventh spot while Tyrell Hatton is one stroke behind the pair.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy could miss the start of the upcoming NFL season after injuring his right hamstring in Thursday's practice.

An MRI taken on Jeudy's hamstring revealed a moderate injury that is expected to sideline the 2020 first-round pick multiple weeks, according to NFL.com. The Broncos begin their season in 17 days with a home game against the AFC West rival Las Vegas Raiders on Sept. 10. 

"Hopefully it's not anything long term," Broncos head coach Sean Payton told reporters after Thursday's practice.

The Broncos are already thin at the wide receiver spot after projected starter Tim Patrick suffered a season-ending ruptured Achilles tendon earlier this month. Denver also waived slot receiver KJ Hamler early in camp after he was diagnosed with a heart condition, though the team has indicated it could bring him back if medically cleared.

Jeudy, who led Denver in receptions (67), receiving yards (972) and touchdown catches (six) last season while recording career highs in all three categories, has had trouble staying healthy in the past. He missed seven games in 2021 with a severe high-ankle sprain and two last season with another ankle injury.

The former University of Alabama star finished his 2022 campaign strongly by averaging 91.6 receiving yards over the final five games, which ranked fourth in the NFL over that time frame. Jeudy began that stretch with three touchdown catches against the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Week 14. 

Jeudy's injury leaves veteran Courtland Sutton as possibly Denver's lone established wide receiver for the season opener, and could force 2023 second-round pick Marvin Mims Jr. into a prominent role right away in his rookie season. 

Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw will be out for a number of weeks with a muscle injury.

The 28-year-old defender is a mainstay of Erik ten Hag’s side and started the first two Premier League matches of the season.

But Shaw will miss Saturday’s Old Trafford encounter against Nottingham Forest and next weekend’s trip to Arsenal as well, it seems, as England’s upcoming internationals.

The left-back is facing a number of weeks out with a muscle injury that is still being assessed.

A club statement read: “Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has sustained an injury which will rule him out of forthcoming games.

“The muscle issue is still being assessed but the England left-back is expected to be out of action for a number of weeks.”

United and England will be hoping nothing worse crops up during those assessments, especially with fellow left-back Tyrell Malacia also sidelined through injury.

The Old Trafford club loaned out another left-back earlier on Thursday, with Brandon Williams joining Ipswich for the remainder of the campaign.

United had already announced an injury to Mason Mount ahead of the Forest match and it remains unclear whether new boy Rasmus Hojlund will be fit to make his debut.

Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo and Tom Heaton are also out, while Harry Maguire missed the trip to Spurs with a knock.

Mauricio Pochettino has warned his Chelsea players that Luton will get the better of them at Stamford Bridge on Friday night if they fail to match the desire to win of Rob Edwards’ newly promoted side.

The manager recalled one of his early games in charge of Espanyol when he took his team to the Nou Camp and staged a famous victory against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona en route to masterminding the team’s La Liga survival.

That 2-1 win in February 2009, earned thanks to two goals from midfielder Ivan de la Pena as Espanyol ended a 27-year wait for a victory at the home of their city rivals, announced Pochettino’s arrival as a coach and was a springboard for dragging his new team out of the relegation zone to safety.

It went down as one of the shocks of the LaLiga season in Spain, particularly as Barcelona were en route to winning a domestic and European treble in what was Guardiola’s first season in charge.

Pochettino prepares his side to welcome Luton in rather less swashbuckling form, still seeking a first win under his tenure following a draw and a defeat in his first two games in charge and grappling with the problem of integrating a flux of summer recruits.

Defeat to the Hatters, who last won in the league at Stamford Bridge in 1986 and are yet to pick up a point in their debut Premier League season, would add to the noise surrounding Pochettino’s Chelsea rebuild, with the club having spent more than £350million on nine new signings so far this summer.

In contrast, Luton have paid out around £20m on transfers during the last 18 months, but the Chelsea manager was quick to remind his players of football’s unique propensity for springing upsets.

“It’s the beauty of football. In the pre-season I was talking with (Brighton manager) Roberto De Zerbi, he’s a good friend. I said ‘look, I was at Southampton and at Espanyol. Sometimes you face Real Madrid and you cannot complain, because I know how you feel when you face this type of team’.

“I was on one side, now I am on another. I understand. Sometimes people will say ‘you need to win 4-0 or 5-0’ before the start of the game. But it’s the beauty of football. At Espanyol we beat the dream team of Barcelona with Lionel Messi and Xavi and (Andres) Iniesta. It is similar (to) Luton and Chelsea. It’s the beauty of football.

“I was telling the players today in the meeting. We need to match the same will as the players of Luton. If we match all this, then we presume that we have better quality for us to win. But if not the game can be crazy. Maybe we can win or we can lose. That is football. It happens more here in the Premier League.

“It was the first time the bottom team had beaten the top team. It had never happened in the past. It was amazing, Espanyol in the Camp Nou. It was a little but lucky, we had some help also.

“There’s nothing to lose (for Luton). You go there, we were Espanyol and we said we don’t care about making a mistake. We need to be brave. (But) I don’t want to give the Luton coach all the strategies.

“It can only happen in football. You can see basketball, NFL, you see the quality of the players and you say (one team) it’s impossible, you cannot do it. In football you can shoot 30 times and not score, and they can shoot only once and score. In other sports, it’s impossible.

“Football is about belief, being together and (showing) fight, and then the quality that you have, if you match this, it’s about the players. If you don’t match this, the game is going to be over.”

It was near the end of the transfer window last season that former manager Thomas Tuchel talked of there being “a curse” on Chelsea’s number nine shirt, such has been the club’s lack of success with strikers in recent seasons.

Pochettino acknowledged that the door may not be fully closed on Romelu Lukaku’s future at Stamford Bridge if a deal cannot be reached to sell him before the end of the window, although the player is eager to leave and unlikely to prove the answer to the team’s goalscoring woes unless his relationship with the club improves.

The manager said the club remain in the market for another attacking option but only if a player of the hight profile becomes available.

Summer signing Christopher Nkunku is out until December and the number nine shirt is currently not assigned.

“I didn’t hear about the curse,” said Pochettino. “We need to do something to try to change the energy. I’ll ask the kitman to bring all the number nine shirts and we’ll do some cleaning, energetic thing.

“If we bring a new striker I’ll be sure he gets the number nine to try and change the feeling that this number is not welcome.”

David Haye believes the smoothest and possibly only route to an undisputed world heavyweight title fight is by Daniel Dubois pulling off a major upset against Oleksandr Usyk this weekend.

Usyk, the WBA, IBF and WBO champion, will take on mandatory challenger Dubois in Wroclaw, Poland, on Saturday after negotiations for a showdown against WBC belt holder Tyson Fury broke down earlier this year.

Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder were also at an impasse when they held the major world titles, with Lennox Lewis the last recognised undisputed champion in the division nearly a quarter of a century ago.

Competing interests have often got in the way, but Haye pointed out Dubois and Fury are both represented by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and argued a fight between the duo should be simpler to make.

Haye told the PA news agency: “It feels like we’ve had three or four opportunities where the fighters with the belts could have come together and done a deal. For whatever reason, it hasn’t materialised.

“We’re in a position where if Dubois wins on Saturday night, one promotional entity holds the champions of all of the belts – there would never be an easier time, politically, to make the undisputed fight.

“If Usyk wins, is Tyson Fury ever going to fight Usyk? I don’t know. For one reason or another, it doesn’t seem like it’s gelling. If it hasn’t happened by now, is it going to happen? Probably not.

“We want to know who’s number one. If Dubois wins then that makes it possible and the fight fans finally, after all of these years, will have one champion with all of the belts.”

Haye recognises Dubois has a mountainous challenge ahead of him, with Usyk a prohibitive favourite to retain his world titles and extend his unblemished professional record to 21 wins from as many bouts.

Usyk’s dazzling footwork and blurring hand speed from a southpaw stance has led to many suggesting the heavy-handed Dubois has just a puncher’s chance despite having height and weight advantages.

However, Haye feels Dubois (19-1, 18KOs) has nothing to lose and that his learning curves in a loss to Joe Joyce in 2020 and having to get up off the canvas three times before stopping the lightly-regarded Kevin Lerena last December are hugely beneficial for the Londoner’s chances heading into this weekend.

Haye, who alongside Usyk and Evander Holyfield are the only fighters to have won world cruiserweight and heavyweight titles, added: “I like the fact there’s no pressure on Dubois whatsoever.

“He’s got everything to gain. Nobody is expecting him to be able to cause an upset here. He has the firepower, all he needs is one punch, one clean shot.

“He had a very interesting fight against Kevin Lerena where he was put down early from a southpaw who was a former cruiserweight.

“He understands that he’s bigger and stronger but he can be hurt, that was the best thing for him because it gives him the reality of what he’s putting himself in (when he takes on Usyk).

“It looks from the outside like a mission impossible but I’m liking what I’m hearing from him – he’s talking about making it rough and uncomfortable for Usyk and that’s exactly what he needs to do.

“He may get dropped or hurt or some facial damage but he’s going to need to work through that to get to the promised land if he wants an opportunity to seriously gatecrash the heavyweight division.”

:: Watch Usyk v Dubois exclusively live on TNT Sports Box Office on Saturday 26 August. Learn more at www.tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice

Aberdeen manager Barry Robson praised his team’s bravery after they came from two goals down to get a Europa League draw at BK Hacken.

Goals in the last 14 minutes from Bojan Miovski and Nicky Devlin gave the Dons an excellent platform to reach the group stages when they host the Swedish champions next Thursday night.

Aberdeen were well worth their 2-2 play-off first-leg draw and substitute Jamie McGrath had a debut goal ruled out for offside after the hosts were reduced to 10 men in stoppage-time in Gothenburg.

The Dons created chances throughout the game and were eventually rewarded for a bold approach.

Robson told RedTV: “First and foremost people need to realise they are a proper football team.

“I knew they were, I could tell by the players they moved on for a couple of million quid, and I know they have a very strong budget as well.

“I knew it was going to be a very difficult game for us.

“You could see us really pressing aggressively high and they are a really good side who can release the ball and get through you at times, and they did.

“We stayed brave with it and I thought the difference between the two halves was, when we get the pressing side right and actually started to handle the ball better…

“That’s what I said to them at half-time, all the things we work on every day with the ball, when they did that, and brought the two together, Hacken really struggled with us. We looked like a proper outfit.”

Robson added: “We are a work in progress but you can see the way we want to be and the speed we want to bring to the game, and the excitement.

“We were maybe a bit gung-ho and dangerous at times but I would rather do that than sit in.”

Matt Hudson-Smith revealed his injury battle after a brave 400 metres silver – but insisted the world title slipped through his fingers.

Just as gold seemed to be his at the World Championships in Budapest, the 28-year-old was caught by Antonio Watson with just metres left.

Hudson-Smith, who ran 44.31 seconds, was leading down the final straight but Jamaica’s Watson began to make ground with 50m remaining and snatched the lead with around 10m left.

The Briton, who had been battling Achilles tendonitis since May which threatened his hopes of competing in Hungary, struggled to hide his frustration.

“I came here looking for gold,” said the double European champion. “You are never satisfied, you’re always going to want more. Even when you look back and go: ‘what if?’ I’m grateful but I know there’s more.

“It’s been a topsy-turvy year. I’ve had Achilles tendonitis really badly so that’s why I’ve been pulling up, that’s why I’ve been in a wheelchair in London (Diamond League). Sometimes I can’t walk, sometimes I can.

“My Achilles has been mashed up bad. This has been like a mental battle. I came for the gold, tired up (in the) last 30 (metres) but under the circumstances I can’t complain.

“It was do or die. I tried to find a gear but that’s what happens when you don’t really have races. I found an extra gear in the semi-finals but it’s not there yet. I’m going to finish off the season, aim to get 43 (seconds), finish off strong.”

Last year, immediately after winning world bronze in Eugene, the Wolverhampton runner revealed he struggled with his mental health to the point where he tried to take his own life.

A little more than 13 months on and Hudson-Smith can call himself one of the world’s best, ahead of next year’s Olympics in Paris.

He had set a new personal best of 44.26 seconds in the semi-final, breaking a 36-year-old European record in the process.

“Next year, we’ve got big plans. I’ve just got to stay healthy,” said Hudson-Smith.

“That’s the moral of my story in my career, to stay healthy but we’re getting there. It’s just building consistency. Once I’m there, it will be 43s and golds.”

He added to the British medals after golds for Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Josh Kerr in the heptathlon and 1500m and Zharnel Hughes’ 100m bronze.

Earlier on Thursday, Ben Pattison reached the 800m final but Max Burgin and Daniel Rowden failed to progress while Jamaica’s Danielle Williams claimed the women’s 100m hurdles title with the Netherlands’ Femke Bol winning the women’s 400m hurdles.

Matt Hudson-Smith revealed his injury battle after a brave 400 metres silver – but insisted the world title slipped through his fingers.

Just as gold seemed to be his at the World Championships in Budapest, the 28-year-old was caught by Antonio Watson with just metres left.

Hudson-Smith, who ran 44.31 seconds, was leading down the final straight but Jamaica’s Watson began to make ground with 50m remaining and snatched the lead with around 10m left.

The Briton, who had been battling Achilles tendonitis since May which threatened his hopes of competing in Hungary, struggled to hide his frustration.

“I came here looking for gold,” said the double European champion. “You are never satisfied, you’re always going to want more. Even when you look back and go: ‘what if?’ I’m grateful but I know there’s more.

“It’s been a topsy-turvy year. I’ve had Achilles tendonitis really badly so that’s why I’ve been pulling up, that’s why I’ve been in a wheelchair in London (Diamond League). Sometimes I can’t walk, sometimes I can.

“My Achilles has been mashed up bad. This has been like a mental battle. I came for the gold, tired up (in the) last 30 (metres) but under the circumstances I can’t complain.

“It was do or die. I tried to find a gear but that’s what happens when you don’t really have races. I found an extra gear in the semi-finals but it’s not there yet. I’m going to finish off the season, aim to get 43 (seconds), finish off strong.”

Last year, immediately after winning world bronze in Eugene, the Wolverhampton runner revealed he struggled with his mental health to the point where he tried to take his own life.

A little more than 13 months on and Hudson-Smith can call himself one of the world’s best, ahead of next year’s Olympics in Paris.

He had set a new personal best of 44.26 seconds in the semi-final, breaking a 36-year-old European record in the process.

“Next year, we’ve got big plans. I’ve just got to stay healthy,” said Hudson-Smith.

“That’s the moral of my story in my career, to stay healthy but we’re getting there. It’s just building consistency. Once I’m there, it will be 43s and golds.”

He added to the British medals after golds for Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Josh Kerr in the heptathlon and 1500m and Zharnel Hughes’ 100m bronze.

Earlier on Thursday, Ben Pattison reached the 800m final but Max Burgin and Daniel Rowden failed to progress while Jamaica’s Danielle Williams claimed the women’s 100m hurdles title with the Netherlands’ Femke Bol winning the women’s 400m hurdles.