Eddie Jones wants to spark a revival of interest in the Wallabies by getting the team to play in...

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has been suspended 10 days and fined

Kamaru Usman will face Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event of UFC 294, after replacing Paulo Costa on 10 days’ notice. Usman, who reigned as welterweight champion from 2018 until 2022, will make his middleweight debut in the bout, which pits him against one of the most dominant prospects in mixed martial arts. Swedish-born Russian Chimaev is 12-0 as a professional with 11 stoppage wins. The match-up was confirmed on Wednesday (11 October), when Costa revealed that he would need two elbow surgeries this week, having already undergone one two weeks ago. As such, the Brazilian is out of UFC 294, which takes place in Abu Dhabi on 21 October. The 32-year-old’s withdrawal was the second by a Brazilian in the space of two days; on Tuesday (10 October), Charles Oliveira withdrew from the main event of UFC 294 due to a severe cut over his right eye. Oliveira was due to challenge Islam Makhachev for the lightweight title in a rematch – 12 months after the Russian submitted him in the same venue in Abu Dhabi. Alexander Volkanovski, who holds the featherweight title, is stepping in to replace Oliveira and contest his own rematch with Makhachev, who narrowly outpointed him to retain the lightweight belt in February. Usman, 36, last fought in March, suffering a decision loss to Leon Edwards while challenging for the welterweight title, which Edwards took from the Nigerian-American with a brutal head kick last August. Chimaev, 29, last fought in September 2022, submitting Kevin Holland in Round 1. Chimaev was originally set to face Nate Diaz on that occasion but missed weight, leading the card to be altered on short notice. Diaz instead fought and submitted Tony Ferguson in the main event. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Usada ends UFC partnership over ‘untenable’ Conor McGregor situation Charles Oliveira replaced by Alexander Volkanovski in Islam Makhachev fight UFC schedule 2023: Every major fight happening this year

SAVE $402: As of May 15, you can score an Echelon Connect Sport-S indoor exercise

Manchester City face Inter Milan in the Champions League final in Istanbul on Saturday. Here, the PA news agency looks at some talking points ahead of the game. City’s holy grail Winning the Champions League has been City’s top objective since their takeover by Sheikh Mansour in 2008 and, after a number of near-misses, it now feels tantalisingly within reach. Beating Inter Milan would complete a mission for the club’s hierarchy, as it would for Pep Guardiola, the man they hired to deliver it. Despite City’s near-dominance of the domestic scene in recent years, and the regularity with which they have reached the Champions League’s latter stages, Guardiola has admitted the club need to win it to truly underline their greatness. On a personal level too, Guardiola has been the greatest coach of his generation but it has now been 12 years since the second of his two triumphs with a Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona and it is an itch he needs to scratch. Treble bid Victory would not only fulfil a long-held ambition for City, but complete a glorious treble, earning them a place in the history books alongside arch-rivals Manchester United as only the second side to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season. United achieved the feat in 1999, at a time when City were fighting for promotion from the third tier. How their fans are enjoying the change in circumstances 24 years on. Tactics and form City will head into this game against the side that finished third in Serie A as overwhelming favourites. After an inconsistent spell either side of the World Cup, they hit form in the spring to reel in Arsenal at the top of the Premier League and power into two major finals. Their level of performance has arguably been better than anything they have produced before under Guardiola, with some particularly outstanding displays in key games against the Gunners, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. Guardiola has often been accused of overthinking and getting things wrong tactically in the key matches, but there seems little reason to deviate now from what has worked well this season. No injury worries City would appear to have a clean bill of health. There were concerns when Kyle Walker did not appear at an open training session on Tuesday, having been substituted late in the FA Cup final on Saturday, but the player allayed any worries, saying he would not miss the Champions League final “for anything”. Guardiola is therefore unlikely to stray much from the side which started against Arsenal and both legs against Madrid, which was: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Akanji, Rodri, Gundogan, Grealish, Silva, De Bruyne, Haaland. Inter’s plan Inter will be determined not to make up the numbers but manager Simone Inzaghi probably recognises City are likely to dominate possession, putting his side’s notably tough defence to the test. The Italians will hope to soak up the pressure and catch City on the counter, looking to the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku to take any chances that come their way. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Caitlin Foord signs new Arsenal contract How do the current Man City side compare to Man Utd’s treble winners of 1999? Chelsea’s owners pledge to improve and say they are optimistic over future

The Atlanta Falcons lost a starter from the middle of their defense for at least four weeks when they placed linebacker Troy Andersen on injured reserve with a shoulder injury

Russia's Arman Adamian won a world judo title on Friday at the first major international team competition to welcome back Russian and Belarusian athletes since...

Chelsea's winners and losers from the September 2023 international break.

Erik ten Hag revealed Casemiro is in a “race against the clock” to make the Manchester derby and says the squad is behind Alejandro Garnacho as he faces a potential ban for a social media post. The eyes of the footballing world will be on Old Trafford this Sunday afternoon as treble winners Manchester City look to end the Red Devils’ unconvincing three-game winning streak in all competitions. United have stumbled to those victories against Brentford, Sheffield United and Copenhagen, with a vastly improved performance required if they are to lay a glove on Pep Guardiola’s men. The midfield battle looks key and Ten Hag says his side may be missing Casemiro for a third straight game, with an ankle injury sustained on Brazil duty putting his place in jeopardy. “Aaron (Wan-Bissaka is back) in training today and Case is a race against the clock,” Ten Hag said. “No, not 100 per cent.” Casemiro had trained ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League clash against Copenhagen – a group match he was unable to play in due to suspension. The Red Devils were made to sweat in a narrow 1-0 victory against the Danish champions, with Andre Onana producing a stoppage-time penalty save that saw the under-fire goalkeeper mobbed by team-mates. Garnacho later uploaded a photo on X, formerly known as Twitter, of the United players celebrating with the Cameroon international with a caption featuring two gorilla emojis. The post was quickly deleted and Onana defended his team-mate, who he said was trying to express “power and strength” as he added “this matter should go no further”. But the Football Association has punished players in the past for making racial references on social networking sites and is understood to have sought Garnacho’s observations. “Not (concerned about a ban) in this moment,” Ten Hag said. “We are talking with the FA. “But what you see and I can confirm that and I want to emphasise, we are together, we are United and we have seen that in the post of Andre Onana.” Former United striker Edinson Cavani was banned for three games and fined £100,000 in 2020 for using the Spanish phrase ‘Gracias negrito’ – which translates as ‘thanks little black’ – below a friend’s Instagram post. The Uruguay striker also underwent a two-hour face-to-face training course for a comment said to be a term of endearment in his native Uruguay. The previous year Bernardo Silva was given a one-match ban and fined £50,000 by the FA for his tweet to Manchester City colleague Benjamin Mendy. The Portuguese tweeted an image of a young Mendy alongside an image of the cartoon brand mascot of Spanish confectionery brand Conguitos, with the caption “Guess who?” Silva could be lining up at Old Trafford against Garnacho this weekend in the 191st Manchester derby – a match that could define United’s mood at a key stage of the season. Definitely you see we are back where we wanted to be in that this is a hard team to beat Erik ten Hag “Definitely you see we are back where we wanted to be in that this is a hard team to beat,” United boss Ten Hag said. “They find a way to win, so we are going in the right direction. “I think it’s a match above many other derbies. It’s so huge because it’s Manchester, internal. “But I think it’s also about world football and all the eyes will be on this game global-wide. “In this moment they’re six points ahead, we’re six points back, so we have to catch up. “We know we have to progress the team, so we have to make developments.” Read More South Africa out to inspire new generation in World Cup final against All Blacks Where has it all gone wrong for England at the World Cup? Mike McMeeken’s move ‘out of comfort zone’ to Catalans earned England recall Jurgen Klopp believes Mohamed Salah is ‘biologically’ still a young player Ange Postecoglou: Tottenham not a better team without Harry Kane, just different Sandro Tonali could play for Newcastle this weekend despite 10-month ban

England extended its lead over Australia to 189 runs with two wickets left at lunch on the third day of the fourth Ashes test with a declaration likely to be imminent

The team's success is despite conditions in Australia, not because of them, those in the sport say.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce left the game against the Vikings with an apparent non-contact injury that has Kansas City fans worried.