Formula One F1 - Hungarian Grand Prix - Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary - July 30, 2021 Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas in action during practice. (Photo: Reuters)   

Valtteri Bottas knocked Formula One championship leader Max Verstappen off the top of the timesheets to set the pace ahead of Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton on the opening day of practice at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The Finn lapped the 4.3km-long Hungaroring track in one minute, 17.012 seconds, edging Hamilton by just 0.027 seconds. Verstappen was 0.298 seconds off the pace in third.

* Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford will soon undergo surgery on a shoulder injury, the Premier League club said on Friday. Rashford had struggled with a shoulder problem during the latter part of the 2020-21 season and played only a limited role with England during their run to the Euro 2020 final, where they lost to champions Italy.

* Juventus, Arsenal and another English club are in talks over the signing of Italy international midfielder Manuel Locatelli, Sassuolo CEO Giovanni Carnevali said on Thursday. The 23-year-old impressed at Euro 2020 as the Azzurri claimed the European crown, scoring twice in a group stage win over Switzerland.

* Serie A soccer club Juventus said on Friday it has signed a pre-underwriting agreement with a group of Italian and international banks for a planned capital increase of up to 400 million euros (US$475 million).

* The Republic of Korea’s city of Jeonju will host the two quarter-finals and the semi-final of the eastern half of the Asian Champions League in October, the Asian Football Confederation announced on Friday. The matches will be held on a centralised basis rather than as home and away legs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the quarter-finals to be played on Oct. 17. The semi-final will be three days later.

* Nigerian sprinter Blessing Okagbare on Saturday was provisionally suspended after testing positive for human growth hormone before the Tokyo Olympics, the Athletics Integrity Unit said in a statement, adding that she tested positive on July 19. Okagbare, competing in her fourth Olympics and having won silver in the long jump at the Beijing 2008 Games, had competed in the 100m heats on Friday and was due to run in Saturday's semi-final.

* The calendar for the new A-League season will include breaks to accommodate Australia's attempt to qualify for next year's World Cup while the campaign will conclude for the first time with the final of the Football Federation Australia (FFA) Cup. The new calendar will begin on Oct. 29 with the opening of the A-League and will run for a full year, ending with the FFA Cup final on Oct. 28, 2022.

* England defender Ben White has joined Arsenal from Brighton & Hove Albion on a long-term contract, both Premier League clubs announced on Friday. Arsenal did not disclose the transfer fee but British media reported that the deal was worth £50 million (US$69.53 million).

* Villarreal midfielder Dani Parejo looks set to miss next month's European Super Cup clash with Chelsea after suffering a calf injury, the Spanish club said in a statement on Friday. "Medical tests carried out on Dani Parejo have confirmed that he suffered muscle damage to his right calf during yesterday's (Thursday) friendly match against Levante UD," the statement said.

* British footballers Gareth Bale and Kieran Trippier will retain their status as EU squad members in La Liga, the Spanish football league confirmed on Friday. La Liga rules allow for three non-European Union nationals to be registered in each club's 25-man playing squad, and there were fears that Bale and Trippier's status would change following the UK's withdrawal from the EU on Jan. 31 last year and the finalisation of the transition period at the end of December.

Reuters