England wing Jack Nowell will travel to the World Cup on Sunday despite being struck down with appendicitis while also recovering from his long-standing ankle problem.

Nowell spent four days in an Italian hospital after having his appendix removed last week.

But he has now joined up with the rest of the squad at their Treviso base.

England remain confident he will be fit to play a role in Japan, with their opener against Tonga on 22 September.

"We have no worries there," said assistant coach John Mitchell.

Mitchell says Nowell "needs a good meal" after his illness, but has praised his attitude and energy after returning to camp.

"What I really admire about him is when going through his rehab and the sickness, it doesn't seem to upset him in terms of the energy that he brings to the group," he added.

"He is a good man and we really back Jack."

Nowell hasn't played since damaging ankle ligaments in the Premiership final in June, and has now suffered a series of setbacks in his recovery.

"The ankle is progressing and we expect him to be running pretty soon," Mitchell added.

"The [appendicitis] doesn't help but we still have 20 days until the tournament start and they will be extremely vital for him."

Elsewhere, fellow wing Ruaridh McConnochie "has a shot" of being fit to make his long-awaited debut against Italy in Newcastle on Friday, but centre Henry Slade remains a doubt with his knee problem.

But Mitchell says it is "no major issue" if some players board the plane to Japan without having played any competitive rugby in their warm-up schedule.

"It's all about managing players and the way we train always gives us a very good indication of whether a player can handle the threshold of a Test match," he added.

'Game getting faster and more powerful'

Meanwhile, Mitchell says the game is "constantly changing and evolving" with a number of countries dropping experienced players from their squads on the eve of the tournament.

England have dispensed with the likes of Chris Robshaw, Mike Brown and Danny Care, while New Zealand have left out Owen Franks, Ireland have overlooked Devin Toner, and Wales have jettisoned experienced props Rob Evans and Samson Lee.

"This game is getting more powerful and faster," he explained.

"It's not a personal judgment on any of those guys but unless you can evolve physically with the demands of the game then you are always going to get challenged at some point.

"One thing this game has always taught me is there is no place for self-preservation and it's a tough environment."

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Ninety drivers are on the final entry list for the Driven2SaveLives BC39 powered by NOS Energy Drink on Sept. 4-5 at The Dirt Track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 90 entered drivers marks the third largest field for a USAC NOS Energy Drink Midget National Championship event in the past three decades, which includes 23 USAC National championships and 208 total USAC National Midget feature wins spread out among the 90 drivers, a stacked field from top-to-bottom who are gunning for the $15,000 prize awarded to the winner of the feature on Sept. 5.

Among the 90 drivers entered are eight drivers who have extensive experience on the famed 2.5-mile oval surrounding the dirt track located in turn three of the infield.

Conor Daly and J.J. Yeley have each finished in the top-ten at the Indianapolis 500, Daly in this past May’s race and Yeley in 1998.  Yeley has also made eight Brickyard 400 starts, with fellow Brickyard starters Kyle Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ready to give the BC39 a go along with NASCAR Xfinity Series race veterans Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell and Chad Boat, who finished as the runner-up in the inaugural BC39 in 2018.  Meanwhile, Chris Windom made a start in this year’s Freedom 100 Indy Lights race on Carb Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Brady Bacon is the reigning BC39 race winner from a year ago, leading the final nine laps to score the popular victory.  Bacon is a two-time USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car champ in 2014 and ’16 and one of 11 past USAC National champs in the BC39 lineup, in addition to Yeley, Bell and Windom.

Tyler Courtney is the defending USAC AMSOIL National Sprint Car titlist, while Logan Seavey is the reigning USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget champ. Dave Darland and Jerry Coons Jr. are among the three USAC Triple Crown champs, along with Yeley, to have won all three USAC National championships throughout their career.
Spencer Bayston, Tanner Thorson and Russ Gamester represent three more titles among eight previous USAC National Midget champions represented in the BC39 field.

The full entry list can be found below:

BC39 ENTRY LIST (90 Drivers)
00 LUKE HOWARD/Overland Park, KS (Jay Mounce)
08 CANNON McINTOSH/Bixby, OK (Dave Mac Motorsports)
1 KARSYN ELLEDGE/Mooresville, NC (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
1BR CHASE JONES/Greenwood, IN (SFH Racing Development)
1K BRAYTON LYNCH/Springfield, IL (Rusty Kunz Racing)
1NZ MICHAEL PICKENS/Auckland, NZ (RMS LLC)
1ST ALEX BRIGHT/Collegeville, PA (Daryl Saucier)
2 RYAN HALL/Midlothian, TX (Mark Bush)
2J J.J. YELEY/Phoenix, AZ (Jeff Taylor)
2x MATT LINDER/Hoschton, GA (Mark Bush)
3 RICH DRANGMEISTER/Hobart, IN (Rich Drangmeister)
3N JAKE NEUMAN/New Berlin, IL (Jim Neuman)
4A JUSTIN GRANT/Ione, CA (RAMS Racing)
4D ROBERT DALBY/Anaheim, CA (Ken Dalby)
5 KEVIN THOMAS, JR./Cullman, AL (Petry Motorsports)
5B CHASE BRISCOE/Mitchell, IN (Chase Briscoe Racing)
5D ZACH DAUM/Pocahontas, IL (Daum Motorsports)
7 CRITTER MALONE/Pittsboro, IN (Seven LLC)
7BC TYLER COURTNEY/Indianapolis, IN (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
7s JON STEED/Rushville, IN (Steed Motorsports)
7u KYLE JONES/Kennedale, TX (Trifecta Motorsports)
7x THOMAS MESERAULL/San Jose, CA (RMS LLC)
8 RANDI PANKRATZ/Atascadero, CA (Wally Pankratz)
9 CHRIS BAUE/Indianapolis, IN (Chris Baue)
9B CLINTON BOYLES/Greenwood, MO (Jay Mounce)
9H EMILIO HOOVER/Broken Arrow, OK (James Hoover)
10 LANCE BENNETT/Aurora, CO (Olivia Bennett)
10A MICHAEL KLEIN/Elsmere, KY (Mike Wallace)
11L AARON LEFFEL/Springfield, OH (Chuck Taylor)
11m KENDALL RUBLE/Vincennes, IN (Martin Motorsports)
11T TOMMY KOUNS/Lebanon, IN (Chuck Taylor)
12 BILLY WEASE/Noblesville, IN (Amanda Wease)
15 DAVE DARLAND/Lincoln, IN (Petry Motorsports)
15DJ DAVID PRICKETT/Fresno, CA (Neverlift Motorsports)
15J JEFF WIMMENAUER/Indianapolis, IN (Jeff Wimmenauer)
15s SHANNON McQUEEN/Bakersfield, CA (Broc Garrett)
15x CARSON GARRETT/Littleton, CO (Broc Garrett)
17 RICKY STENHOUSE, JR./Olive Branch, MS (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
17BC CHRIS WINDOM/Canton, IL (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
19 SPENCER BAYSTON/Lebanon, IN (Brodie Hayward)
19m ETHAN MITCHELL/Mooresville, NC (Bundy Built Motorsports)
20 CODY WEISENSEL/Sun Prairie, WI (Kevin Weisensel)
21 CHRISTOPHER BELL/Norman, OK (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
21D JUSTIN DICKERSON/Pittsboro, IN (Mike Dickerson)
21F JONATHAN BEASON/Broken Arrow, OK (Team Ripper)
21KS C.J. LEARY/Greenfield, IN (Team Ripper)
21m MARIA COFER/Macdoel, CA (Team Ripper)
22 JOHN HEYDENREICH/Bloomsburg, PA (John Givens)
23m DAVID BUDRES/Beloit, WI (Manic Racing)
25 JERRY COONS, JR./Tucson, AZ (Petry Motorsports)
25B STEVE BUCKWALTER/Royersford, PA (Steve Buckwalter)
27 TUCKER KLAASMEYER/Paola, KS (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
28 ACE McCARTHY/Tahlequah, OK (Jim Neuman)
31 TRAVIS BERRYHILL/American Canyon, CA (Manic Racing)
32J CHRIS JAGGER, JR./Warsaw, IN (Chris Jagger, Jr.)
35 CONOR DALY/Noblesville, IN (Petry Motorsports)
39BC ZEB WISE/Angola, IN (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
41 OLIVER AKARD/Ft. Myers, FL (Dan Akard)
43 BRENT BEAUCHAMP/Avon, IN (Kevin Arnold)
46 RUSS GAMESTER/Peru, IN (Gamester Racing)
47BC ANDREW LAYSER/Collegeville, PA (Clauson/Marshall Racing)
50 TONY DiMATTIA/Malvern, PA (Tony DiMattia Motorsports)
54 MATT WESTFALL/Pleasant Hill, OH (Steve Bordner)
54m RAY SEACH/Beloit, WI (Manic Racing)
55 NICK DRAKE/Mooresville, NC (Troy Cline)
56AP COLTEN COTTLE/Kansas, IL (Travis Young)
56x MARK CHISHOLM/Cheyenne, WY (Mark Chisholm)
57D DANIEL ROBINSON/Ewing, IL (McCreery Motorsports)
57K KEVIN STUDLEY/Plainfield, IN (Kevin Studley)
61 TREY OSBORNE/Columbus, OH (Mel Kenyon)
67 LOGAN SEAVEY/Sutter, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
67F KYLE O’GARA/Beech Grove, IN (SFH Racing Development)
67K HOLLEY HOLLAN/Broken Arrow, OK (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71 JESSE COLWELL/Red Bluff, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71B ROBERT BELL/Colfax, IA (Robert Bell)
71K TANNER CARRICK/Lincoln, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
71s CODY SWANSON/Norco, CA (Marcie Campbell)
72 SAM JOHNSON/St. Peters, MO (Joe Johnson)
76 KEN DRANGMEISTER/Hobart, IN (Ken Drangmeister)
76E BRADY BACON/Broken Arrow, OK (FMR Racing)
76m JASON McDOUGAL/Broken Arrow, OK (FMR Racing)
77B BLAZE BENNETT/Parker, CO (Olivia Bennett)
81 DILLON WELCH/Carmel, IN (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
84 CHAD BOAT/Phoenix, AZ (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
85 GIO SCELZI/Fresno, CA (Tucker/Boat Motorsports)
88 TYLER NELSON/Olathe, KS (Tyler Nelson)
91T TYLER THOMAS/Collinsville, OK (Brian Thomas)
97 KYLE LARSON/Elk Grove, CA (Keith Kunz Motorsports/Curb-Agajanian)
97A AUSTIN O’DELL/Rochester, IL (Patrick O’Dell)
TBA TANNER THORSON/Minden, NV (TBA)

BROWNSBURG, Ind. — John Force Racing and Chevrolet have agreed to a multi-year partnership extension.

“I want to thank Chevrolet and everyone who has faith in John Force Racing. I got a job to do and that’s to win and sell Chevrolet cars and trucks. They want winners and I told them we’d give it everything we’ve got and that’s all you can do. Trusting in us and re-signing us, that’s pretty cool,” said John Force, CEO and owner of John Force Racing and driver of this weekend’s PEAK Chevrolet Performance Accessories Chevrolet Camaro SS. “I started with Chevrolet. I’ll never forget that. We’re helping to keep that Chevrolet name alive in the NHRA because they keep John Force Racing and 140 employees alive and we just thank you for that, Chevrolet.”

“We are proud to continue to partner with John Force and his race team,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet Vice President Performance and Motorsports. “John is the best. He is an incredible champion and a legend, and we are thrilled that John Force Racing and Chevrolet will continue to race together.”

The legendary drag racing team and automobile titan have had a storied history. Team owner and CEO John Force has won 72 of his 150 NHRA victories in a General Motors vehicle, 19 of which have come in a Chevrolet. His first final round in 1979 was in a Chevrolet, his first win came in an Oldsmobile in Montreal 1987 and Force’s first three of 16 championships came in an Oldsmobile. His fourth championship, in 1994, came in a Chevrolet.

Since returning to Chevrolet in 2015, John Force Racing has produced two championships (2017 Funny Car with Robert Hight and Top Fuel Dragster with Brittany Force) and 40 national event wins (Robert Hight, 16 Funny Car; John Force, 9 Funny Car; Brittany Force, 9 Top Fuel, Courtney Force, 5 Funny Car and Austin Prock, 1 Top Fuel).

BROWNSBURG, Ind. – E3 Spark Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series competitor Chad Green was transported to a local hospital Saturday after a horrific high-speed crash during qualifying at the 65th annual Chevrolet Performance NHRA U.S. Nationals.

Green was transported by ambulance from Lucas Oil Raceway to Indiana University Methodist Hospital, where he awaits surgery to address an upper back injury.

“First off, the support we’re getting from the racing community has been overwhelming,” said Pat Musi, who has served as crew chief for Chad Green since the Midland, Texas-based driver started laying the foundation for his NHRA Pro Mod debut in 2018. “To everyone who’s offered to drive the rig, came by the pits and helped us load up, offered their well wishes – thank you. We truly appreciate it.

“Right now, we’re focused on getting Chad on the mend. He’s with his family – his mother and father have flown in – and his kids were by his side all night. He’s alert, talking, knows what’s going on and what happened. The doctors have gotten his pain under control, and he’ll be going into surgery this afternoon.”

Andrew Petersen, Director of Marketing for Chad Green Motorsports, echoed Musi’s sentiments and added there’s currently no timetable set for a return.

“It’s our hope to know more and have more details later today and, of course, over the course of the next few days, weeks and months,” said Petersen. “Chad and his family are so very grateful for the outpouring of support – phone calls, texts, emails. We’ll do our best to keep our racing family and fans updated throughout this process.”

Robert Hight was ready to go for the NHRA season opener at California’s Auto Club Raceway at Pomona in February.

Then, he discovered in cross-country trips from his Anaheim Hills, Calif., home to the John Force Racing headquarters in Brownsburg, Ind., that the bitter midwestern temperatures were irritating his still-healing collarbone. He had broken it during the final-round crash that made his Countdown victory last September at Gateway Motorsports Park even more spectacular.

Within two weeks after the crash, he had undergone surgery, gotten fitted for custom padding and won the next race, pressuring eventual champion J.R. Todd until the final day of the season.

Losing in the first round at the final two races, losing his grip on first place and being unable to stop Todd kept Hight motivated.

Then came the mad scramble at John Force Racing — where Hight has been president since January 2011 — to get Austin Prock on track in time for the Winternationals.

Back in April 2018, team owner John Force had spoken of a three-year plan to groom Prock for his pro debut. But drag-racing legend Don Prudhomme found sponsorship for Prock and the race was on to assemble a Top Fuel team for the youngster.

The Winternationals was just five days away when Hight received the phone call informing him of the 11th-hour development. So Hight switched gears, put aside his own preparations and organized the formation of Prock’s team.

Prock had tested in a Funny Car but never in a dragster, so he was getting the feel of the Montana Brand/Rocky Mountain Twist Dragster — of any dragster — for the first time with five days until showtime. Hight was engaged fully in the process of Prock’s premiere, from deciding the 23-year-old former midget and sprint car driver would race a dragster rather than a Funny Car to completing contracts to ensure the proper decals were affixed to the car.

That was in addition to monitoring costly but crucial safety improvements to both of the team’s Funny Cars and Brittany Force’s dragster. The NHRA mandated specific extra padding for the Funny Cars and JFR was fashioning a wider Top Fuel canopy.

That would have been enough to keep Hight occupied throughout an offseason. But on top of that, the lingering issue of the sanctioning body’s unclear-at-best concussion protocol also needed to be addressed. So at the urging of IndyCar Series driver Graham Rahal, John Force’s son-in-law, Hight and Force met with Indianapolis-based orthopedic expert Dr. Terry Trammell and NHRA tech officials Glen Gray and Tim White to learn how best to protect drivers.

All of these distractions didn’t faze Hight one bit on the race track. He won the season-opening Winternationals and has led the standings ever since. He built his 34-10 record during the first 16 races on five victories in seven final rounds. His victory at California’s Sonoma Raceway in late July was the 50th of his career.

This hectic pace is simply a way of life now for Hight, who said that during his early days in the sport, “Mechanically, I knew enough and I could get a job on a team — I didn’t know I could get a job with John Force.”

Hight’s career has evolved in a rather stunning way. At first, he was elated just to be a crew hand. He served as the clutch specialist for seven championship seasons from 1995-2001. He eventually wanted to get off the road and manage the facility, then had the urge to drive, which Force satisfied in 2005.

“It’s one thing to be a crew member. These guys work very, very hard, do the same thing week after week. I didn’t want to continue doing that. Now, driving, that’s another thing. It’s not the same,” Hight said. “And years later, I still love it just as much as I did. It never gets old. I never look at is as, ‘Oh, gosh, I’ve got to get on a plane again tomorrow.’ Heck no — I’m going to a race. Even when I’ve been in slumps, it was never, ever,‘Why am I doing this?’ Nothing like that. It’s like, ‘This is going to be our weekend,’ always dreaming that this is the weekend we’re going to turn things around.”

Hight is a two-time champion (2009 and ’17) and president of the company. And he, too, claims he’s amazed at how far he has come in a sport his parents urged him not to pursue.

“I pinch myself. It’s hard for me to believe,” he said. “Honestly, I never thought I would get to drive. It was my dream, but you’ve got to face reality. Luckily, John gave me the chance. In all honesty, it wouldn’t have happened if I had not been married to his daughter.”

That’s one wrinkle in an otherwise perfect story. Hight and Force’s eldest daughter, Adria, are the parents of teenage daughter Autumn. But Hight and Adria Force split several years ago, although their relationship is amicable for their daughter’s sake — and the fact they still work together. Adria Force is the CFO of John Force Racing.

“We get along fine. We have to work together every day. If we didn’t do it right, it would be awkward for everybody that works around us and that isn’t fair to them,” Hight said. “We communicate, like we always did. There’s not going to be any fighting. Things didn’t work out and we moved on.”

Many wonder how Hight feels being overshadowed by the larger-than-life John Force, the boss who has eight times more championships and literally 100 more victories.

“I don’t look at it like that,” Hight said. “John’s been racing 40 years and he’s a 16-time champ and has more wins than anybody else. He deserves to be where he’s at today. I’m very grateful for him giving me this opportunity to drive. If it wasn’t for John, I wouldn’t be doing this. So it doesn’t bother me one bit. I’m probably his biggest fan. I like the role that I play. I’m not a storyteller. I’m not a comedian. I’m more serious and technical. I think it’s a good balance.”

A sign of Hight’s loyalty came in 2007 when Force was hospitalized for several weeks with multiple fractures and injuries from a frightening crash. Hight stayed by Force’s side and even provided some custodial care. That’s about as personal as it gets, yet Hight said, “When you care about somebody, you do whatever you can to help him. It didn’t bother me a bit.”

Hight thinks a team with two John Force personalities might be impossible.

“It would clash. I just don’t know that that could work,” Hight said. “John’s an easy person to get along with. John can get along with anybody. But Kobe Bryant could not play with LeBron James.”

But he was quick to say Force gives people the limelight more often than fans might recognize: “Definitely. He wins a race against you, and he wants to pull you into the interview and get you some attention, too. That’s the kind of person he is.”

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Carolina Hurricanes captain Justin Williams says he is taking a break from the NHL to start this season.

With the start of training camp looming later this month, the 37-year-old forward said Monday that he will "step away" from the sport.

"This is the first time in my life that I've felt unsure of my aspirations with regards to hockey," Williams said in a statement released by the team. "For as long as I can remember, my whole offseason until this point has been hockey and doing what was necessary to prepare for the upcoming season.

"Because of my current indecision, and without the type of mental and physical commitment that I'm accustomed to having, I've decided to step away from the game," he added.

Williams is an unrestricted free agent and three-time Stanley Cup champion whose two-year contract with Carolina expired after last season. He took over the team captaincy last year and led the Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference final in their first playoff berth since 2009.

Williams has 312 goals and 474 assists in his 18-year career with Carolina, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Washington. He was a key member of the Hurricanes' 2006 Cup championship team and also won it twice with the Kings, earning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2014.

He had 23 goals and 30 assists while playing all 82 regular-season games last season, then had four goals and three assists during the Hurricanes' three playoff rounds.

General manager Don Waddell says the Hurricanes prepared for the possibility of not having Williams.

Paris Saint-Germain have completed the signing of goalkeeper Keylor Navas from Real Madrid on a permanent basis with Alphonse Areola moving in the opposite direction.

The Costa Rica international established himself as the Spanish giants' first-choice goalkeeper after his arrival in 2014 from Levante and helped Real to three consecutive Champions League titles between 2016 and 2018.

- Champions League group stage: All you need to know

Navas said in a tweet: "If God changes our plan it is because he has something better in mind. I hope to begin a new path and make history with PSG."

Navas, 32, also won the La Liga, Supercopa de Espana, two UEFA Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cup titles but has since fallen to second in the pecking order behind Thibaut Courtois.

He joins PSG as No. 1 ahead of Sergio Rico and fellow summer signing Marcin Bulka -- a move that ends years of uncertainty over the goalkeeping hierarchy.

Navas, who underwent his medical in Spain, should debut for the French champions at home to Strasbourg in Ligue 1 after the international break.

He will also immediately come up against his former employers Madrid in the opening match of PSG's Champions League Group A campaign at Parc des Princes.

Areola, 26, moves to the Bernabeu on a one-year loan deal with no option to purchase.