Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson must take her chance to become a world beater, according to Sally Gunnell.

The 1992 Olympic 400m hurdles champion believes Hodgkinson has the right mentality to secure her first global title at the World Championships.

Hodgkinson opens in the 800m heats on Wednesday with defending champion Athing Mu expected to compete after doubts over whether the American would travel to Hungary.

Kenya’s Mary Moraa also remains a threat to Hodgkinson – who has already won world and Olympic silver at the age of 21 – and Gunnell feels the Brit has the perfect chance in Budapest to top the podium.

“She’s still got many more years to go but sometimes you have to take these opportunities and now’s the time to do it,” she said.

“This week is going to be the big test of that, isn’t it? The last few years it has been about ‘wow, this new person is getting medals’.

“The stages you have to go in to be a top athlete, you’ve got to do your apprenticeship and this week is about going in as one of the favourites.

“She’s got massive competition in there, don’t get me wrong, so it’s not going to be an easy walkover by any means.

“These athletes don’t come by very often. It’s that outstanding talent and ability that somebody has, that natural ability she’s got.

“On top of that, she’s got a great mindset. She’s competitive. She’s focused, she trains hard. She’s got absolutely everything.

“She’s still young but she’s mature enough to be able to hold that and you almost feel like she has to take the opportunity because you don’t know what the next four years is going to be like.”

Gunnell’s husband Jon Bigg trains Jemma Reekie, who is also set to race in the 800m on Wednesday.

The 57-year-old, who won 400m hurdles gold at the World Championships in Stuttgart 30 years ago, believes this generation of athletes has the platform for success.

“It’s a very different era. Then we didn’t have the support of the National Lottery and being a full-time athlete,” she said.

“Now the support they have, the funding and the team that’s around them, has allowed us to have more depth and more are getting to finals.

“The pathway has been put in place. That’s the bit that is really showing us the difference.”

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Lewis Hall has joined Newcastle on a season-long loan from Chelsea with the option for a permanent deal for the defender.

The clubs have been in negotiations over a move for the 18-year-old academy graduate since last week, with Eddie Howe’s side having come in with an initial offer of £28million.

The PA news agency understands that should Newcastle choose to make the deal permanent in a year’s time, the deal will include an additional £7m in possible add-ons plus a sell-on fee owed to Chelsea should he later depart.

Hall agreed a new six-year contract to stay at Stamford Bridge earlier in August but Newcastle’s interest has persuaded the Blues to part company with a player who made 11 first-team appearances last season, including nine in the Premier League.

In a difficult season for the club, the teenager’s integration into the senior set-up was one of a few bright spots, with one of his most impressive performances coming against his new side in a 1-1 draw on the last day of the season.

His first start had come in a 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park in November, playing 73 minutes before being substituted, and after impressing interim boss Frank Lampard he went on to start in each of Chelsea’s final four games of the season.

He first joined the club aged eight and progressed through the academy set-up before making his first-team debut under former manager Thomas Tuchel in a 5-1 win against Chesterfield in the FA Cup third round in January 2022 aged just 17, making him the youngest player to appear for the club in the competition.

During Chelsea’s injury crisis that struck immediately following last year’s World Cup he was pressed into action as an emergency midfielder, enduring a difficult game as the team were dumped out of the FA Cup 4-0 by Manchester City in January.

He becomes Newcastle’s fifth singing of the season as they prepare to make their first appearance in the Champions League since 2003.

Savethelastdance and Bluestocking will renew rivalry at York on Thursday with the pair among 10 fillies declared for the Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks.

Aidan O’Brien’s Savethelastdance ground out a half-length win over the Ralph Beckett-trained Bluestocking in an attritional renewal of the Irish Oaks at the Curragh a month ago.

The rematch is set to take place on far less demanding ground on the Knavesmire though and there is little between the duo in the market.

Al Husn bids for back-to-back Group One wins for Roger Varian after causing a minor upset in the Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, while Karl Burke fires a twin assault, with Lancashire Oaks heroine Poptronic joined by her stablemate Novakai, who dominated a Listed contest at Newmarket on her latest outing.

John and Thady Gosden will be hoping Free Wind can bounce back to her best after floundering in the Goodwood mud three weeks ago and Rosscarbery is an interesting contender for Paddy Twomey after chasing home Emily Dickinson in the Curragh Cup.

O’Brien’s second string Warm Heart, the William Haggas-trained Sea Silk Road and Stay Alert from Hughie Morrison’s yard complete the quality field.

Day two of the Ebor Festival gets under way with the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes, for which nine juvenile fillies are set to go to post.

Relief Rally is a major contender for the Haggas team after running away with the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury, while O’Brien runs Cherry Blossom, who could hardly have been more impressive when opening her account at the second attempt at the Curragh.

Star Of Mystery (Charlie Appleby) and Beautiful Diamond (Burke) also feature.

Gus Atkinson endured multiple false starts to his career but battling back on each occasion has given him extra satisfaction in the wake of his World Cup selection.

Atkinson was dealing with persistent injury setbacks when two members of his age-group at Surrey – Sam Curran and Ollie Pope – were appearing for England and others were making waves on the domestic scene.

Recurring stress fractures in his back in 2017, 2018 and 2019 would have tested the resolve of anyone but Atkinson was able to contextualise an injury that is an occupational hazard for fast bowlers.

He has hardly looked back since his first-team debut in 2020 and his 90mph-plus speeds for Surrey and Oval Invincibles in The Hundred have seen him fast-tracked into England’s preliminary World Cup squad.

The uncapped paceman told the PA news agency: “I never really felt like I was not going to make it.

“I know these things happen with young bowlers and there’s plenty of bowlers who have been through similar stuff so I just knew with my age, stress fractures happen. Each year I just came back stronger.

“I look back and it was a tough time but because I hadn’t experienced playing any professional cricket while I had those injuries, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

“It was just a delay to my career. Those were pretty important years for me, to be honest. It was tough but to be here now, looking forward to a World Cup, it makes it seem ages ago.”

Atkinson admitted the coronavirus pandemic three years ago which shut down most sports or, in cricket’s case, led to a drastically reduced summer schedule was beneficial for his recovery and development.

He said: “Covid, to be honest, actually helped with my back because we didn’t have a full summer of cricket, I had a bit of extra time just to relax. I could push through without the risk of injury.”

A slick, repeatable action is at odds with how fast Atkinson can bowl – he has clocked 95mph in The Hundred – but he is not just a one-trick pony as he possesses a devilish bouncer and several changes of pace.

He has inevitably been likened to Jofra Archer, whose ongoing elbow trouble has effectively hastened Atkinson’s promotion into the England set-up for a white-ball series against New Zealand, starting next week, and the defence of their 50-over World Cup crown in India in October and November.

Atkinson himself shied away from the parallels, saying: “I think that’s really the only comparison – we both have good pace and can make it look quite easy. But I don’t like to get too caught up with that.

“I think I’ve got quite a natural whippy action, a bit of hyper-extension and quite a strong wrist. I’ve improved the momentum in my run-up as well.

“There are a few different factors (in where his pace comes from) but I’d say it’s quite natural to me.”

Atkinson is the joint-leading wicket-taker this year for the Invincibles, with his 10 dismissals in five matches helping them top the men’s group stage, bypassing the eliminator to go directly into Sunday’s final at Lord’s.

The 25-year-old is then likely to make his T20 and ODI bows within the next month before heading to the pressure cooker of a World Cup, where England begin their campaign against the Black Caps on October 5.

It remains to be seen how England deploy their latest pace weapon but with nine group stage fixtures in 38 days in the subcontinent, they will be wary of overextending their other express quick Mark Wood.

Atkinson, who has never been to India before, insisted he has not allowed himself to get carried away, adding: “I’m just trying to focus on The Hundred.

“I’m trying not to look too far ahead. When this is over, I’ll start thinking about the T20s and ODIs. It’s come into my head but I’m not trying to think about it too much.”

Almost 20 per cent of playing time at the Women’s World Cup went to players from English-based clubs.

Spanish champions Barcelona were the dominant individual club as their nation defeated England in the final and here, the PA news agency looks at what the statistics show.

Super League shows the way

Twenty of England’s 23 finalists play for Women’s Super League clubs, with Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh contributing to Barca’s tally and Georgia Stanway of Bayern Munich the other exception.

That was a big factor in the English league’s dominance but, mirroring the growth of the men’s Premier League, the collection of top talent from around the world has also contributed significantly.

While none of the Spain squad play in the WSL, beaten semi-finalists Sweden and Australia both gave more than 45 per cent of their minutes to players based in England.

A total of 89 players from English clubs featured on the pitch in Australia and New Zealand, combining for 29,104 minutes of playing time out of the 146,252 minutes across all players at the tournament (19.9 per cent).

Ever-present Lionesses Mary Earps and Alex Greenwood led the way with 756 minutes each, with Australia’s Steph Catley and Caitlin Foord playing 750 and 749 respectively.

English-based players also scored 37 goals, 10 more than those from any other domestic league, led by four each from Sweden and Arsenal defender Amanda Ilestedt and Manchester City’s Dutch midfielder Jill Roord.

Ilestedt and 15 Arsenal team-mates combined for 6,048 minutes and a dozen goals, while 16 Chelsea players played a total of 5,228 minutes. City’s 13 representatives played 4,858 minutes and scored 11 goals, the latter figure one behind Barca and Arsenal’s leading total.

Barca success continues

Those figures are eclipsed by Barca, who had a tournament-high 18 players and 7,608 minutes of playing time while matching Arsenal’s goal tally.

The club won last season’s Spanish title and Champions League and nine of their players – Irene Paredes, Ona Batlle, Aitana Bonmati, Salma Paralluelo, Mariona Caldentey, Cata Coll, Laia Codina, Alexia Putellas and Maria Perez – can now call themselves world champions as well.

That came at the expense of Walsh and Bronze in the final while Fridolina Rolfo reached the last four with Sweden. Norway pair Caroline Graham Hansen and Ingrid Syrstad Engen, Switzerland’s Ana Maria Crnogorcevic, Nigeria forward Asisat Oshoala, Italy teenager Giulia Dragoni and Brazil’s Geyse were their other representatives.

Paris St Germain edged out Real Madrid, and their seven Spain players, for fifth place in playing time and matched their eight goals, a total also shared by Lyon and American side Racing Louisville – home of Brazil’s Ary Borges, who scored a hat-trick against Panama, and South Africa’s Thembi Kgatlana and China’s Wang Shuang with their two goals apiece.

Another notably overachieving club in the goals column were Japan’s MyNavi Sendai with five. They had only one representative at the World Cup but that player was Hinata Miyazawa, who won the Golden Boot as her country reached the quarter-finals.

Carney Chukwuemeka has undergone surgery on the knee injury he sustained playing for Chelsea against West Ham on Sunday.

The PA news agency understands the 19-year-old, who scored his first goal for the club in their 3-1 defeat at the London Stadium, will be out for around six weeks.

The former Aston Villa midfielder struggled for game time last season after joining 12 months ago for £20million, but has started both of Mauricio Pochettino’s first two Premier League games in charge.

He had surgery on Monday night after being withdrawn 15 minutes from the end of his side’s loss in east London, the first defeat of Pochettino’s tenure.

Earlier, he had equalised Nayef Aguerd’s headed goal when he cut inside and crashed an unstoppable right-footed drive past goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.

It was his first goal in 17 appearances in all competitions since arriving at Stamford Bridge.

The Hammers went on to win it in the second half with goal from Michail Antonio and a penalty from Lucas Paqueta, after Enzo Fernandez had a penalty saved for the visitors.

What the papers say

Manchester City and West Ham had come to an agreement in principle on a £85million transfer deal for midfielder Lucas Paqueta before the bid crumbled due to potential betting breaches, the Daily Mail reports.

Fulham’s pursuit of Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has become tougher as the Evening Standard says Everton and Nottingham Forest have joined the race for the 22-year-old.

Chelsea have agreed to a £14million deal for New England Revoultion’s 23-year-old goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, according to the Daily Mail.

The same publication says Mason Greenwood is set to look for offers from clubs in Turkey and Italy after he and Manchester United parted ways after an internal investigation.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Jeremy Doku: Journalist Fabrizio Romano says Manchester City have agreed to personal terms with the Rennes winger, with the French club accepting a deal worth around £51million.

Dominic Solanke: Football Insider reports West Ham have entered a bid for the Bournemouth striker worth around £35million.

Cal Raleigh homered twice and drove in a career-high six runs to lead a 15-hit outburst by the scorching Seattle Mariners, who rolled to a 14-2 rout of the Chicago White Sox on Monday to extend their winning streak to seven games.

Raleigh went 3 for 5 with three runs scored and accounted for half of the Mariners' four homers as Seattle won for the 15th time in 18 games. Teoscar Hernandez and Dominic Canzone added solo shots with Hernandez finishing with two hits and three RBIs.

The Mariners' surge has moved them past the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL's final wild card and within two games of slumping Texas for first place in the American League West. The Rangers twice blew late leads in a 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

Seattle also received strong pitching from ace Luis Castillo, who struck out nine while holding the White Sox to one run in seven innings to win his third consecutive start.

Chicago starter Touki Toussaint was tagged for five first-inning runs and seven overall before being removed with none out in the fifth.

Diamondbacks rally twice late to stun struggling Rangers

Tommy Pham's walkoff two-run double in the 11th inning capped a second late rally that catapulted the resurgent Arizona Diamondbacks to a stunning 4-3 win over the reeling Texas Rangers to open a key two-game series.

After forcing extra innings on Ketel Marte's solo homer in the ninth inning, the Diamondbacks trailed 3-2 with two outs in the 11th when Pham drove Rangers closer Will Smith's pitch into the gap in right-center field to plate Marte and Geraldo Perdomo and give Arizona an improbable eighth win in 10 games.

The Diamondbacks closed within a half-game of the San Francisco Giants for the National League's final wild card spot.

Texas, meanwhile, was dealt a season-high fifth straight loss and saw its lead over second-place Houston in the AL West reduced to 1 1/2 games after the Astros recorded a 9-4 win over the Boston Red Sox on Monday.

The Rangers got eight shutout innings from Jordan Montgomery and a solo homer from Adolis Garcia to carry a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but couldn't hold it as Marte homered off reliever Aroldis Chapman with one out.

Texas regained the upper hand on Nathaniel Lowe's two-run double in the top of the 11th, but Smith intentionally walked Marte to put two on in the bottom of the frame before Perdomo delivered an RBI double to trim the lead to 3-2.

Montgomery yielded just four hits and a walk while striking out six in a tough-luck no-decision.

Harper's inside-the-park home run highlights Phillies' rout of Giants

The Philadelphia Phillies hit four home runs, including an inside-the-park shot from Bryce Harper, in a 10-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants that opened a three-game series between National League playoff contenders.

Edmundo Sosa, Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber also went deep to back seven strong innings from Aaron Nola as the Phillies strengthened their hold on the NL's top wild card spot. The defending NL champions now own a 2 1/2-game advantage on the Chicago Cubs, who moved past San Francisco by a half-game for the No. 2 wild card with Monday's 7-6 win over the Detroit Tigers.

Sosa gave Philadelphia a 3-1 lead with a two-run homer off Sean Manaea in the second inning, and the Phillies increased the margin with a two-run fifth highlighted by Harper's second career inside-the-park homer. The two-time NL MVP raced around the bases to extend the advantage to 5-2 before Bryson Stott doubled home Bohm for a four-run cushion.

Schwarber's 33rd homer of the season followed Johan Rojas' two-run triple in the seventh to give Philadelphia a commanding 10-2 lead.

Nola surrendered solo homers to Joc Pederson and Lamonte Wade Jr. over his first three innings before shutting out the Gians over the remainder of his stint. The standout right-hander scattered seven hits and one walk while striking out five.

The Indianapolis Colts have granted disgruntled running back Jonathan Taylor permission to seek a trade as the team and the 2021 NFL rushing champion remain locked in an ongoing contract dispute, multiple outlets reported Friday.

Taylor, the runner-up for the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, initially requested a trade upon reporting to training camp in late July with the Colts unwilling to discuss a contract extension. The fourth-year pro is entering the final season of his rookie deal and is scheduled to earn $4.3 million in 2023.

According to ESPN, the Colts are seeking a package equivalent to a first-round pick for Taylor, who ran for a franchise-record 1,811 yards in 2021 to become the first Colts player to lead the NFL in rushing since Hall of Famer Edgerrin James did so in back-to-back seasons in 1999 and 2000. 

The Colts' reluctance to extend Taylor seems to stem from injuries that lessened his production this past season. The 24-year-old is currently on the physically unable to peform list while recovering from ankle surgery that ended his 2022 campaign in December.

Taylor also briefly left camp last week for what the Colts said was an excused absence to attend to a personal matter. He previously was away from the team for a short period to undergo therapy on his ankle through an outside source. 

Ankle issues limited Taylor to 11 games last season, which he finished with 861 rushing yards and four touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per attempt.

Taylor averaged 5.5 yards per carry during his superb 2021 season in which he also tied for the NFL lead with 20 total touchdowns while playing in all 17 games.

Since entering the NFL as a second-round pick of the Colts in 2020, Taylor's 33 rushing touchdowns are tied for second in the NFL and his 3,841 rushing yards are the fourth most of any player, trailing only Derrick Henry, Dalvin Cook and Nick Chubb. 

Mikel Arteta may have “loved” Arsenal’s narrow win at Crystal Palace but believes a stopwatch may be needed to iron out inconsistencies in time-wasting after Takehiro Tomiyasu fell foul of the rules.

The Gunners won 1-0 in south London as Martin Odegaard’s second-half penalty proved the difference.

Japan defender Tomiyasu was sent off at Selhurst Park, picking up a soft yellow card for a foul on Jordan Ayew just seven minutes after being cautioned for perceived time-wasting at a throw-in.

The new remit for officiating this season has called, among other changes, for a clamp down on time-wasting but Arteta believes the timing did not add up on Tomiyasu’s booking.

Asked about the rule changes, the Spaniard replied: “For me it is not an issue. The referee makes that call.

“And we are consistent with that. They explained it. The only thing we are asking for is consistency. If not we need to play with a stopwatch to understand what is it and what is not.”

Arteta did not agree when told Tomiyasu had waited 23 seconds to take the throw-in before being cautioned – replying: “It wasn’t. I think it was eight seconds. We might have to play with a stopwatch.

“This is the standards.”

Despite the red card, Arsenal made it two wins from two following on from the opening-day victory over Nottingham Forest.

Odegaard stepped up to tuck away a penalty after Eddie Nketiah – who had hit a post in the first half – was tripped by Palace goalkeeper Sam Johnstone.

“I loved it, absolutely loved it,” Arteta said of the win.

“It’s a really difficult place to come, we played the way we wanted to play 11 against 11. We dominated the game, we created enough chances, we missed two very, very huge chances.

“We scored the penalty and then we have to play half an hour with 10 men. It’s a conflict we didn’t prepare for but we had to adapt and the players were fantastic.

“I don’t think we gave anything away. The subs were great, the way they came out, the concentration, the focus, how much they helped the team, the coaching. They changed momentum in many occasions of the game. So really happy.”

Eagles boss Roy Hodgson was in a reflective mood and felt his side put in a good showing despite coming out of the contest with no points.

“I would be tempted to say we deserved something from the game,” he said.

“When they went down to 10 men we gave it our best shot but they are a top-quality team and they were able to defend the efforts we had.

“They got a lot of bodies around the goalkeeper so we couldn’t get through the cordon but that is often the case.

“There were very few disappointments in the game for me in terms of the Crystal Palace performance. On another day I think we would be feeling even happier and proud of ourselves.”