The 2022 world 1500m champion is back in competitive action in Boston this weekend for the first time in over a year

Jake Wightmans return to racing is set to be one of the highlights of the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on Sunday (Feb 4).

It is just over a year since a freak foot injury doing plyometric work set off a chain reaction of issues which meant he was unable to defend that world title in Budapest last summer.

His last race came on January 8, 2023, when he was pipped to victory by Phil Sesemann over 3000m at the BMC Sheffield Indoor Grand Prix. After a long and frustrating wait, he will lace up his racing spikes to tackle the 1500m in Boston this weekend before heading to Australia to compete at the Maurie Plant Meeting in Melbourne on February 15 in search of an Olympic qualifying time.

In an exclusive interview in the February issue of AW, he says: It is the most consistent spell Ive had since this time last year. Im in a similar situation to how I was last year [before the injuries] which is ready enough to race but not obviously at my fittest point of the year.

The biggest test was always going to be stepping back into a race pace stuff. The fact that the last time I really got ready to race was the summer of 2022 it feels like a long time since Ive been doing this sort of work and its just getting used to the feeling of hurting yourself again on the track.

Its a very different thing going through lactate and an anaerobic session where your legs cant move much. Thats the kind of thing that I enjoy and its nice to find Im in a fit enough place that I can feel that hurt again.

Wightman adds: I dont do this sport to train and I especially dont do it to cross train. Racing is the one thing that Im in the sport for and to be able to get back and do it when you havent been able to for so long its something that is going to be quite a rewarding feeling, I hope.

Wightman faces world road mile champion is up against, among others, world road mile champion Hobbs Kessler, plus the world road mile bronze medallist Sam Prakel of the United States, in addition to Wightmans training partner Tom Keen.

Elsewhere, world 100m and 200m champion Noah Lyles faces 2022 world 100m champion and fellow American Fred Kerley over 60m.

World 800m champion Marco Arop of Canada and world indoor 800m champion Mariano García of Spain plus Bryce Hoppel of the United States square off over 1000m.

The womens 3000m sees a clash between Elle St Pierre, the American indoor record-holder at two miles, and Medina Eisa of Ethiopia, the world under-20 record-holder at 5000m.

In the mens 60m hurdles the four-time world champion Grant Holloway faces world 110m bronze medalist Daniel Roberts and 2022 world silver medallist Trey Cunningham.

The womens long jump features world silver medallist Tara Davis-Woodhall, Olympic bronze medallist Ese Brume and 2022 USA champion Quanesha Burks.

In the womens 1500m, world indoor record-holder, 5000m world outdoor record-holder and reigning 10,000m world champion Gudaf Tsegay is joined by fellow Ethiopian Birke Haylom.

Timetable and results here

The NHL is hopeful that New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes can still participate in the NHL All-Star Game and skills competition this weekend in Toronto.

Hughes, 22, hasn't played since suffering an undisclosed upper-body injury in the Devils' Jan. 5 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Devils coach Lindy Ruff indicated that Hughes hadn't returned to skate with the team before the All-Star break.

"We're waiting on Jack," said NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer. "I know that Jack wants to play in the All-Star Game really badly. He continues to be evaluated. We're hopeful, but we have no information as of right now as to whether or not Jack's going to participate."

Hughes was expected to play a prominent role during All-Star Weekend in Toronto. He's co-captaining one of the All-Star Game's four teams with his brother, Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes. They're scheduled to draft their team during a new televised Thursday night event.

Jack Hughes is also scheduled to take part in a revamped skills competition on Friday night that features 12 players competing for a $1 million winner-take-all prize.

Mayer said the NHL would like to keep Hughes as a team captain even if he doesn't compete on the ice.

"We want him to be here in Toronto. He knows that. And so we'd like to keep Team Hughes [together] even if he doesn't play," said Mayer. "But again, we're waiting day by day. We're proceeding as if he's playing, but we also understand that he continues to be evaluated and we're going to wait until the last possible second to see if he can play."

Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said last week that Hughes is expected to attend NHL All-Star Weekend whether he plays or not.

"He's excited to be part of the festivities," said Fitzgerald.

Mayer said that if Jack Hughes ends up not competing in the skills competition and All-Star Game, the NHL will substitute another player in for him. He's currently the only member of the Devils that made the All-Star roster.

NHL All-Star Weekend is scheduled for Feb. 1-3 in Toronto.

Auburn is set to hire veteran SEC assistant DJ Durkin as its next defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN's Chris Low on Monday.

The deal is for three years, a source told ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Durkin will help fill the void left by defensive coordinator Ron Roberts, who was hired by Florida earlier this month. Auburn also hired former Colorado defensive coordinator Charles Kelly as co-defensive coordinator earlier this month.

Durkin will look to improve on a Tigers defense that finished eighth in the SEC in total defense last season.

This will be Durkin's fourth stop as a defensive coordinator in the SEC, including the past two seasons serving under Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M. Durkin was also the co-defensive coordinator at Ole Miss from 2021 to '22 and the defensive coordinator at Florida from 2013 to '14, where he also spent two additional seasons as an assistant.

Durkin also was the defensive coordinator at Michigan in 2015 before serving as head coach at Maryland.

Durkin was fired at Maryland on Feb. 6, 2020. He had been reinstated by the school the day before his firing after being placed on paid administrative leave on Aug. 6, 2019 following two separate investigations into the football program and meetings and calls between the 17-member board of regents following the June 13 death of 19-year-old offensive lineman Jordan McNair from a heatstroke he suffered at a May 29 offseason workout.

Houston Texans linebackers coach Chris Kiffin was also a strong candidate for the Auburn job.

The Seattle Mariners and Minnesota Twins swung a five-player trade Monday, with second baseman Jorge Polanco going to Seattle for outfield prospect Gabriel Gonzalez, reliever Justin Topa, starter Anthony DeSclafani and minor league pitcher Darren Bowen.

The Mariners are also giving the Twins cash considerations. Both teams announced the deal Monday night.

Polanco, a 30-year-old switch hitter, joins a Mariners team that has spent the winter seeking bats to complement its elite starting pitching. An All-Star in 2019, Polanco has been a consistently well-above-league-average hitter in his 10-year big league career, slashing .269/.334/.446, and is likely to slot into the middle of a Mariners order that includes Julio Rodriguez, J.P. Crawford, Cal Raleigh, Ty France and a pair of offseason additions, Mitch Garver and Mitch Haniger.

The Twins had exercised a $10.5 million option on Polanco this winter, and his deal includes a $12 million club option for 2025.

Minnesota has spent much of the offseason looking to shed payroll after winning the American League Central last year. The Twins lost Sonny Gray, who finished second in AL Cy Young voting, via free agency to St. Louis. Starters Kenta Maeda and Tyler Mahle as well as reliever Emilio Pagan left in free agency, too. Minnesota's one major league transaction prior to the deal was signing reliever Josh Staumont for $950,000.

Gonzalez, 20, is the centerpiece of the deal for Minnesota. A right-handed-hitting corner outfielder, he split last season between Single-A and High-A, thriving at the lower level (.348/.403/.530) but struggling in 181 at-bats at the upper tier (.215/.290/.387). He is a borderline top-100 prospect whose bat-to-ball skills are his carrying tool.

Topa, 32, was the latest reliever to thrive with Seattle in the big leagues. He posted a 2.61 ERA over 75 games last year, striking out 61 and walking 18 in 69 innings, and his career ground ball rate is an excellent 56.5%.

DeSclafani, whose $12 million salary will be covered in part by Seattle sending cash to Minnesota, was traded for the second time this winter, previously accompanying Haniger in a deal that sent former Cy Young winner Robbie Ray to San Francisco. DeSclafani posted a 4.88 ERA in 99 innings last season, missing the final two months with a flexor strain in his right elbow.

Bowen, 23, was a 13th-round pick out of UNC-Pembroke in 2022 and posted a 3.88 ERA over 55 innings in his first minor league season.

Andy Murray suffered a first-round exit at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier, but Katie Boulter won to reach the Linz Open second round.

Murray was beaten 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 by France's Benoit Paire.

The 36-year-old, who was also beaten in the first round at the Australian Open, has now won only one of his last eight matches.

British number one Boulter cruised past Italian sixth seed Jasmine Paolini in straight sets in Austria.

Murray looked to be rediscovering his form when he took the first set in just 38 minutes, but Paire hit back to take a much closer set on a tie-break.

Paire then had the better of the decider, eventually taking it 6-3 despite Murray saving four match points.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray has now lost all three of his matches in 2024 and slipped to 49th in the world rankings.

The Scot has previously hinted he would think about retiring if he did not enjoy playing this year, having struggled for form in the closing stages of the 2023 season.

Meanwhile, Boulter needed just 76 minutes to wrap up a 6-2 6-2 victory against Paolini, saving all five break points she faced.

The 27-year-old will play Russian world number 42 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the last 16 in Austria.

British number two Jodie Burrage qualified for the main draw with a win over Germany's Anna-Lena Friedsam.

Burrage lost the first set but recovered to secure a 5-7 6-3 6-2 win in two hours 27 minutes.

Marcus Rashford will be available for selection for Manchester United's Premier League fixture against Wolves on Thursday after holding clear-the-air talks with manager Erik ten Hag.

Ten Hag spoke to Rashford alongside football director John Murtough and Rashford's brother and agent, Dwaine, after the England forward was pictured visiting a Belfast nightclub last week.

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Rashford was asked to explain the trip and clarify the timing of his visit in a meeting at Carrington on Monday.

A statement released by the club later on Monday read: "Marcus has taken responsibility for his actions. This has been dealt with as an internal disciplinary matter, which is now closed."

On Friday, the club was under the impression Rashford had visited Belfast on Wednesday night ahead of a scheduled day off on Thursday. There have since been reports he was there on Thursday night before informing United he was too ill to train on Friday.

He missed training on Friday and Saturday and was not in the squad for the 4-2 win over Newport County in the FA Cup on Sunday. Rashford was, though, able to train at Carrington on Sunday.

It's not the first time Rashford has run into trouble with Ten Hag after the 26-year-old attended a birthday party in a Manchester nightclub just hours after a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in October.

Ten Hag branded the incident "unacceptable" and Rashford apologised. The England forward was also dropped for a game at Wolves last season after arriving late for a team meeting.

Rashford has struggled for form this season, scoring just four times in 26 appearances. He was also dropped to the bench for games against Chelsea and Bournemouth in December following a poor performance in the 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United.

A source has told ESPN that Rashford trained as normal on Monday and will be available for United's next game against Wolves at Molineux on Thursday.

Sammie Szmodics scored twice as the second-tier Blackburn Rovers came from behind to beat lowly Wrexham 4-1 on Monday and secure an FA Cup fifth-round clash with the Premier League's Newcastle United.

Andy Cannon fired Wrexham of League Two ahead in the 19th minute, but the Championship side replied with two more first-half goals in the space of two minutes.

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Szmodics equalised in the 32nd minute and Sam Gallagher made it 2-1 in the 34th with Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo caught out of position.

Szmodics then grabbed his second, and fifth of the FA Cup campaign, in first-half stoppage time before Norwegian midfielder Sondre Tronstad made it 4-1 with a deflected shot in the 59th.

Blackburn's Danish manager Jon Dahl Tomasson, a former Newcastle player, told BBC television the Cup always held dangers for a side like his against lower opponents.

"We started really well, could have been 2-0 up after five minutes and then we conceded a goal. But the players stayed calm and we scored three brilliant goals after that and dominated the game. It was a great win," he said.

Cannon's goal was Wrexham's first real chance of the night and he blasted the ball past goalkeeper Aynsley Pears to a roar from the 7,000 Wrexham fans who had made the trip to Blackburn's Ewood Park.

Pears denied Cannon a second with a fine double save three minutes later but there was to be no fairytale finish for the Welsh side as Blackburn turned up the heat and swept the visitors aside.

Wrexham have won a new global support since movie A-listers Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took over and helped secure their return to the English Football League last season after a 15-year absence.

Those with longer memories will know Wrexham as past giant-killers, famously dumping then-league champions Arsenal out of the third round of FA Cup in a huge 1992 upset as fourth-tier opponents.

In 1974, as a third tier side, they reached the quarterfinals.

"It's a great lesson for us against better quality opponents. You've got to be switched on all the time or you get punished, and they punished us tonight," said Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson, who was serving a touchline ban. "Tonight wasn't the night for us but we'll concentrate on the second part of the season in the league."

Wrexham are currently second in League Two and chasing a second successive promotion.

FA Cup holders Manchester City booked their place in the fifth round last Friday with a 1-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur.

Moussa Niakhate missed his penalty in the shootout as holders Senegal tumbled out of the Africa Cup of Nations after a drama-filled 5-4 loss to hosts Ivory Coast following a 1-1 draw at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium on Monday.

Senegal were quick out the blocks and took the lead inside four minutes as Sadio Mane's cross from the left was chested down by Habib Diallo, whose thunderous shot from 10-yards settled in the top corner of the net.

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Mane was fortunate not to get a red card shortly after that following a poor challenge, but Senegal could not add to their lead and paid the price when the Ivorians were awarded a clear penalty and equalised through Franck Kessie four minutes from the end of the 90 minutes.

Ivory Coast will face the winner of Tuesday's last-16 tie between Mali and Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

The Ivorians were in disarray just days ago. Hammered 4-0 in a record loss on home soil by Equatorial Guinea, they were on the verge of elimination and sacked coach Jean-Louis Gasset, replacing him with assistant Emerse Fae.

But a fortuitous set of results elsewhere saw them squeeze into the knockout round and they put up a much-improved display against a Senegal side that had won all three of their pool matches with relative ease.

"It's very emotional, the last few days were tough for us," Ivory Coast striker Sebastien Haller said. "We have opened the door and given ourselves a chance. We can forget now about what happened in the group stages."

The hosts were the better side on the night and might have wrapped things up before the need for penalties, but will simply be relieved to fight another day having avoided an embarrassing early exit from their own tournament.

Leading 1-0, Senegal thought they should have had a penalty in the second half when Ismaila Sarr went down in the box, but the match officials decided there was not enough contact to send him sprawling, much to the annoyance of coach Aliou Cisse. Mane also fired wide when he should have scored.

The Ivorians could have been level when Nicolas Pepe had a clear shot of goal but could not beat Edouard Mendy, before they were awarded a clear spot kick on VAR review as the former was clattered in the box by the latter and Kessie buried his kick.

The game went to penalties and the unfortunate Niakhate missed his side's third kick as he struck the post while the Ivorians held their nerve to secure a place in the quarterfinals.