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• Leonard 'getting stronger' after knee injury

  Kawhi Leonard says he is feeling "good and getting stronger" as the Los Angeles Clippers small forward continues his recovery from a knee injury.

  The two-time NBA champion missed the final eight games of the 2023-24 regular season after suffering inflammation in his right knee, as well as most of the Clippers' first-round series defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs.

  Leonard has since undergone surgery and heavily focused on strengthening his knee during the Clippers' training camp in Hawaii.

  However, the 33-year-old knows he must not rush his return to competitive action, or playing in successive games.

  "I feel good. [I have] just been taking my time, getting stronger and getting ready," he said during the Clippers' 91-90 pre-season defeat to the Golden State Warriors, in which he did not feature.

  "We're just taking it slow, day by day, and just trying to get me back on the floor. Once those conversations come, we'll see what they're talking about [on the best approach for back-to-backs]."

  Leonard played 68 regular-season games last term, his most in a single campaign since 2016-17.

  And while he wants to feature as regularly as possible this season, he is focused on maintaining his fitness for the crunch stages of the campaign.

  "This is what I work for," he added. "I strive to get a championship, and I'm not out there to try to [solely] play 82 games.

  "I'm trying to win, even though [playing as much as I can] that's obligated for me. I try to. But it hasn't worked out [the last two post-seasons], so we'll see."

• Olympic bronze medallist Campbell wants more appreciation for athletes in Jamaica

  When an athlete makes history for their country in the world’s biggest sporting spectacle, the Olympic Games, the typical reaction from that country is some sort of acknowledgement or celebration of that historic performance.

  Unfortunately, this has yet to be the case for Jamaican shot putter Rajindra Campbell.

  Campbell became the first Jamaican man to ever medal in a throwing event at an Olympic Games when he threw 22.15m to win bronze in Paris on August 3.

  Four days after Campbell’s performance, Roje Stona also made history, throwing a personal best 70.00m for gold in the discus, becoming Jamaica’s first ever Olympic champion in a throwing event.

  In the latest episode of SportsMax TV’s Out D Blocks hosted by Leighton Levy and D Major, the 28-year-old national record holder spoke candidly about the lack of acknowledgment and appreciation back home for these historic achievements.

  “We have talked about it. The only problem is, as what Omar McLeod mentioned at trials about the 2016 Olympics, we don’t feel the appreciation from Jamaica,” Campbell said, referencing Omar McLeod’s comments after the Olympic trials where he spoke about not feeling appreciated by Jamaica after his Olympic gold medal performance eight years ago.

  “You see the kind of celebration Julien Alfred got? I’m not expecting the same here but Jamaica has such a rich history in track and field, I don’t think the athletes are really appreciated for what they do,” he added.

  Campbell, born in Ocho Rios, moved to Joplin, Missouri in 2018 to attend Missouri Southern State University where he attended for three years.

  He noted that he’s received more of a celebration for his achievement in Joplin than back home in Jamaica.

  “I met with the school President on Wednesday of last week and he explained certain things they have in store for me and there is a big sign on campus that people come in and see. It’s a different celebration taking place here compared to Jamaica,” he said.

  As Campbell noted, whenever a Jamaican is in an event, Jamaicans expect them to do well. He wonders whether more appreciation would be given to the athletes when they do well if people understood the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.

  “The love for Jamaica will never die. We will always continue to represent but, at the same time, the amount of sacrifice it takes to get to the level we are, something that I’ve found is once there is a Jamaican in an event, you’re expected to do well. How do we get there?”

  “When you actually get there it’s like ‘Oh! I expected it or I knew you could do it.’ At the same time, there’s a journey that nobody really understands,” he continued.

  He added that there has been no communication to him or Stona regarding any sort of celebration or acknowledgement in Jamaica.

  Out D Blocks can be seen live every Thursday on the SportsMax TV YouTube channel.

   

   

   

   

   

• Bayern confirm Musiala 'sidelined for the time being' with hip injury

  Bayern Munich have confirmed that midfielder Jamal Musiala will be out "for the time being" after picking up a hip injury in their Champions League defeat to Aston Villa. 

  Musiala, who played in the second half of the 1-0 loss at Villa Park, has been ruled out for Bayern's upcoming Bundesliga fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

  He will also miss Germany's Nations League fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands, with Julian Nagelsmann replacing the 21-year-old in his squad with Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling. 

  Musiala has been in fine form for Vincent Kompany's side, scoring three goals and laying on three assists in eight appearances in all competitions. 

  The midfielder also has the joint-most completed dribbles in the Bundesliga this season (seven), while only Michael Olise (14), Joshua Kimmich (13) and Harry Kane (10) have created more chances for Bayern than Musiala (seven). 

  He has also impressed for Germany on the international stage, scoring six times in 36 games for his country, playing a starring role in their Nations League opener against Hungary last month, scoring once and providing three assists in the 5-0 victory. 

  "Following an examination by the club's medical staff, Jamal Musiala will be sidelined for the time being with a hip problem," Bayern said on their social media accounts.