A number of the most prominent basketball stars returned to the courts of the American Basketball League (NBA) in conjunction with the start of the new season on Tuesday, after a long absence imposed by injuries, and they are very eager to return to the competitive atmosphere.
It's been 15 months since playmaker Tyrese Haliburton last appeared in the league. A rupture of the Achilles tendon that he suffered during the final series against Oklahoma City in 2025, which ended with his team losing 3-4, led to the loss of an entire season for the Indiana Pacers star, who emerged with the second-worst record in the regular season.
Haliburton (26 years old) confirms that he is now “in good health, 100 percent,” noting that he was ranked third on the list of the best passers in the league during the 2024-2025 season (with an average of 9.2 assists) behind Serbian Nikola Jokic and Trae Young before he suffered the injury.
His return would bring about a radical change in the performance of the Indiana Pacers, especially with the presence of Croatian Ivica Zubats, who averaged 14.1 points and 10.6 rebounds, and winger Aaron Nesmith, whose level has improved significantly.
Damian Lillard faced a similar injury, which kept him out of competition for a year and a half, since he was playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.
Since then, the league has witnessed major transformations, as dominance moved from the West (Oklahoma City) to the East (New York Knicks), and Lillard returned to his former team, the Portland Trail Blazers, at the age of thirty-six.
Portland's general manager took advantage of the opportunity to bring in a high-caliber playmaker from Memphis, Ja Morant, who has played just 79 games over the past three seasons and hasn't played since the end of January.
Morant and Lillard must combine with the brilliant Israeli winger Deni Avdia, who averaged 24.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.7 assists, and who was credited with leading Portland back to the playoffs last season.
It will be interesting to follow Kyrie Irving's return to the Dallas Mavericks after recovering from a torn cruciate ligament in his knee, and alongside him is the exceptional talent Cooper Flagg (19 years old, who in his first season among the elite achieved averages of 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists).
The 34-year-old playmaker, who averaged 24.7 points in the 2024-25 season, is seeking to revive the Mavericks, who finished last season in twelfth place in the Western Conference with a modest record of only 26 wins.
Both Flagg and Irving will lead the game, giving French player Zachary Rezachet a golden opportunity to shine and prove his abilities.
Fred VanVleet (32 years old) returns to the field after a year's absence due to a tear in the cruciate ligament in his right knee.
The playmaker is expected to be a strong addition to the Houston Rockets, who aspire to compete for the title, despite their first-round exit in the playoffs last season against the Los Angeles Lakers (2-4).
With veteran Kevin Durant (38 years old), this duo must prove that they have the necessary capabilities to achieve great ambitions.
After moving from the Atlanta Hawks to the Washington Wizards last season, where he played only 5 games in the American capital, playmaker Trae Young, who averages 25.1 points, seeks to breathe new life into the team.
Young will join Anthony Davis, who suffered a hand injury before his transfer in February from the Dallas Mavericks to the Wizards, in a promising lineup that also includes rising talent AJ Dibantsa Jr., the No. 1 pick in the “Draft” this summer, in addition to the Frenchmen Alex Sarr and Bilal Coulibaly.
The English Football Association said on Monday that national team coach Sarina Wegman has extended her contract until the end of the 2029 Women's European Championship.
Wegman, who assumed her position in September 2021, led the England women's national team to the first major title in its history, the European Championship 2022, before retaining the title 3 years later.
England, under the Dutch coach, reached the final of the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, but finished second behind Spain.
“I am very happy to be able to continue working with this team, and I cannot imagine a better job than this in the world of football,” Wegman said in a statement.
England has not yet qualified for the 2027 Women's World Cup, and will face Ukraine in a two-match playoff next November and December. To determine who qualifies for the tournament to be held in Brazil.
The 56-year-old coach added: “Everyone who knows me will realize that my main interest at the present time is undoubtedly (qualifying for) the World Cup, and helping this team reach its maximum potential in the coming years.”
She continued: “We have an important challenge ahead of us to confirm our qualification to Brazil, and we hope that we will be able to achieve this and give the country another exceptional summer that will be remembered next year.”
David Raya, the goalkeeper of the English football team Arsenal, praised the reaction of his teammates after the harsh loss to Brighton before the international break, after the team achieved 3 consecutive victories since the resumption of competitions.
The British news agency PA Media reported that Arsenal suffered a heavy defeat against Brighton at the end of last September, before its players had to wait three weeks until playing their next match, due to them joining their country’s national teams during the international break. But the team achieved 3 victories in the 3 matches it played since the resumption of competitions, the last of which was a victory over Nottingham Forest 1-0 with a goal by Noni Maduike, which came in the last minutes of the match that was held on Sunday.
Raya, whose team will meet Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the Champions League, praised the reaction of his teammates, describing it as “amazing.” Raya told the club's website: "We came back very strong, especially after the heavy loss to Brighton and having to wait 19 days to play a match." He added: “The way we responded; The way we played, the way we came back, is amazing, you know.” He continued: “Therefore; I am happy with the performance we gave in every match. Of course, there are things we need to improve, as usual, but we take the positives, and we are currently looking forward to Wednesday’s match.”
The match against Nottingham Forest was not easy, as Madueke's shot in the 80th minute, which deflected after colliding with a player to give the team the points, was Arsenal's only shot on target. But the match highlighted the team's ability to extract results, a feature that distinguished their path to winning the title last season.
