On Brendan Smith's 29th birthday, he thought his time with the New York Rangers was over. And maybe his NHL career, too.

On Feb. 8, 2018, Rangers management sent a letter out to fans signaling a rebuild. Then they put Smith on waivers.

Smith was less than eight months into a four-year, $17.4 million contract, with expectations that he would be a top-four defenseman. But his first full season in New York was a disaster. "Things didn't go well with our team off the bat," Smith said. "We didn't play very well, and I had a very short leash. At the moment, I felt like the Rangers gave up on me."

He waited for the rest of his birthday to see if anyone would claim him. They didn't, and he was relegated to the minors. "I could have been picked up by another team," Smith said. "But it meant no other team thought I was worth my contract." His confidence was shot. "There were some dark moments," Smith said. "In an Original Six market, everyone knows hockey. There were a lot of tough articles. Reading those articles, you don't believe you are an NHL player. You question whether you were ever good enough."

Smith relied on support from his wife, Samantha, and younger brother, Reilly, a forward with the Vegas Golden Knights. "He had a lot of pride," Reilly Smith said. "He felt like he could definitely play in the NHL as a regular defenseman. I felt the same way, and sometimes some people just don't see the situation the same way you do."

Friends and former coaches across the NHL texted Smith old articles about himself to help remind him of how talented he was. After all, Smith was a first-round NHL draft pick, a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award at Wisconsin, and had played nearly seven NHL seasons to that point, mostly with the Detroit Red Wings. "How can you erase the seven years before this because of one bad half-season?" Samantha would ask.

Smith spent the rest of the season in Hartford, Connecticut, with the AHL Wolfpack. And then he made a commitment to himself. "Everyone goes through hard times. The question is, 'How are you going to react to it?'" Smith said. "My parents taught me growing up not to give up, roll over and play dead. It's all about working hard and adapting and trying to find that next job or next outlet."

Nearly two years later, Smith is back as an important member of the Rangers because he reinvented himself. He's now playing forward (while still taking shifts on defense for the penalty kill). "If that has happened in the NHL before, it doesn't happen very often," Reilly Smith said. The transformation gave Brendan Smith a new lease on his contract with the Rangers -- and his hockey career.

"When a player gets put in a situation like that, when they are told to switch roles, it's pretty disheartening," Reilly Smith said. "Ninety percent of the time you're going to look at it in a negative aspect. Brendan did a great job taking the positive out of the situation. It's really easy to just get down on yourself and just blame the world, but that's something Brendan didn't do. Instead, he tried to get better and worked hard, and that's definitely pretty inspiring."

The summer after his stint in Hartford, Smith stayed in Connecticut and worked with trainer Ben Prentiss. Teammate Chris Kreider was Smith's workout partner. And they worked hard.

"Chris is an absolute freak," Smith said. "I try to emulate him or try to keep up with him -- which is almost impossible -- but it's a good partnership .He wants to beat me in every exercise -- every exercise, no matter what it is. I feel like I'm no slouch, so we push each other."

Smith made the Rangers roster for 2018-19, but he understood his place on the team was different. "In [coaching and management's] mind, they wanted to move on and transition the younger defensemen through the organization quicker," Smith said.

So midway through last season, coach David Quinn approached Smith with an idea: Would he try switching to forward?

Smith had played forward growing up. He was actually on a line with John Tavares and Sam Gagner in bantam. But at 15, Smith moved to defense, felt comfortable back there, and never looked back. Now he had to.

At first, Rangers coaches pitched it as a trial. It was a learning experience for everyone. "My first game at forward, I played a little forward and defense," Smith said. "Quinn would call my name to go play fourth line, then right after that [assistant coach] Lindy Ruff would call my name to play defense, so I had to listen to both coaches. One time it got confusing because I was on the ice as a defenseman and then Quinn called me to play as a forward, and I wasn't there. A couple times I got double-shifted -- which was kind of nice for me because the more minutes I play, the happier I am."

Smith admitted he was "definitely nervous the first game."

"I understood the game enough where I felt somewhat prepared, but there are certain areas that are tough for guys that have even played forward forever -- getting the pucks out on the walls and those areas. Playing as a forward, you're balls to the wall a bit. You're forechecking. You're almost never not skating. You're skating as a defenseman, but it's a different type of skating. As a forward, you're huffing and puffing a little more coming off. As a defenseman, you are reading the play a little more, and then as a forward you are reacting to the play a little more."

Smith is clear on the fundamental question: He prefers playing defense. "Obviously, I played my whole career there, so it feels more comfortable to me. I see the ice a little better. I tend to play a physical game, so it helps in front of the net and stuff like that."

But in conversations with Quinn, Smith remained open-minded. "I basically told Coach, 'I want to play, and I want to help this team win, any way I can. If this is the way you think you can best utilize me or help the team, I'll do it.'"

This past summer, Smith returned to his family's cottage in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This time, Reilly was his workout partner. The brothers would get on the ice at least three times per week, and Brendan joined Reilly in forward drills for the first time since they were kids: skill drills around the net, cutbacks, corner plays. They worked on deception, receiving passes and shooting quickly.

"He was better at a lot of the drills, making me look bad half the time," Reilly said. Brendan often peppered his brother with questions. "Why would you find yourself in the weak spot here? What would you do in this situation?"

"My little brother is a hell of a player," Brendan said. "So any chance I get to watch him, and pick his brain to see how he sees the game, definitely helps me."

Brendan once again proved his versatility to the Rangers this season. Through most of the preseason, he played defense, mostly because they were down a man while Tony DeAngelo held out for a new contract. Then the coaching staff switched Smith back to forward but had him keep his regular shifts killing penalties from the blue line. His new goal: finding the scoresheet a little more as a forward (he has just four points in 19 games).

Smith understands the switch is a risk. While it saved his career with the Rangers, it might not necessarily bode well for future earnings. Or it might. He's not sure.

"It's uncharted territory," he said. "When this contract is up, I'm not sure how teams will view what we've done with the Rangers, whether it's successful or not. It will be interesting negotiation talks, for sure. You never know how other teams will view it. I do know that with the Rangers, they know I can still play, and they still want me to be part of the team. I'm not sure about the future, so I take it day by day. I'm just happy to have the opportunity right now."

Liverpool fans have been able to enjoy the international break, basking in the glory of an eight-point lead over Chelsea and Leicester City.

But boy are they lucky to be so far in front!

ESPN and the team led by Dr. Thomas Curran, at the London School of Economics, compile the Luck Index to examine how the Premier League would be if luck were not a factor through this season. And our latest update shows that Liverpool's lead would be slashed if they weren't so lucky, and Manchester City so unlucky.

Arsenal must have broken a mirror and walked under a ladder as they are by far the unluckiest team -- so much so they should be in the hunt for a Champions League spot. Poor Unai Emery.

The November Luck Index shows that Liverpool would have two fewer points, while Manchester City would have an extra three, and the title race would be back ON!

Rather than a gap of nine points between the two championship favourites, it would be just FOUR.

Let's start by taking the huge slice of luck Liverpool had against City in the last game before the break, when referee Michael Oliver did not give a penalty with the score at 0-0. Had Trent Alexander-Arnold been penalised for that handball, the Luck Index says that the game would have finished as a draw, rather than a Liverpool win.

City get a win for the home draw against Tottenham, when the champions did not get a penalty for a foul by Erik Lamela on Rodri.

Liverpool also lose two points from the controversial, late penalty win at home to Leicester, but are credited with a win at Manchester United after Marcus Rashford scored despite an alleged foul in the build-up by Victor Lindelof.

The unluckiest team this season have, without any doubt, been Arsenal -- costing them four more points (7) than the next unluckiest teams City and Southampton (3). The Index shows that the Gunners have lost SEVEN POINTS this season due to bad luck. And while that may only move them up one place, they would be just two behind Chelsea and four behind City. Maybe the fans are being a bit harsh on beleaguered boss Emery...

The most-recent incident for Arsenal came at home to Crystal Palace, when Sokratis' late winner was mysteriously ruled out by the VAR. And they were also denied a penalty in the loss at Sheffield United when the score was goalless.

Manchester United are only one point better off after luck is filtered out, leaving them well behind the race for the top four. While Aston Villa are also only one point better off, the effect on other teams sees the Villans move up four places from 17th to 13th, and Tottenham lose one point but actually move up two places into 12th as others slip.

The luckiest team this season has been Crystal Palace, benefitting to the tune of five points and six places. Without Lady Luck, the Eagles would plummet down the table into the relegation zone, below Southampton once they have had three points added to their tally.

The only team to fall as many places are Sheffield United. Chris Wilder's side sit fifth in the table, but the four points they are stripped of from the Arsenal game and the home win over Burnley (which becomes a draw) sees them tumble to 11th with a net loss of four points.

Just as lucky have been Brighton & Hove Albion. They probably feel safe, sitting up there in 11th place in the table. But that does tell their tale of luck, with a loss of four points forcing them down five places into 16th. And Newcastle are three points better off, as they should have lost at home to Wolves and drawn at Tottenham.

All in, it really does make for a thrilling relegation battle. In the real life standings, there are seven points between 11th and 19th. But that's cut to just three in the Luck Index.

Bangladesh had to use two concussion substitutes after Liton Das and Nayeem Hasan were hit on the helmet by Mohammed Shami. The visitors' choice of replacements though put their planning for this Test series in bad light.

While there was one bowler for bowler swap with Taijul Islam taking Nayeem's place, Mehidy Hasan, a specialist spinner, took over from Liton Das, a wicketkeeper batsman, meaning he cannot bowl for the entire duration of the game. As per the ICC Playing Conditions, a concussion substitute has to be a like-for-like replacement and perform the same role as that of the concussed player. Both Liton and Nayeem have gone to the hospital for scans.

It is unclear why the BCB didn't call in replacements considering both Saif Hassan and Mosaddek Hossain were ruled out long before day one of the Eden Gardens Test.

Saif's injury was confirmed on November 20, two days before the game, and although there are 30-minute flights between Dhaka and Kolkata, no one was was flown in. Mosaddek meanwhile, had left the Test squad on November 11, even before the first Test, to be with his ailing family member, but the BCB didn't name a replacement.

Runners will race at Sefton Park for places on the British European Cross Country Championships team

Such is GB’s success in the European Cross Country Championships, with likely team medals on offer at the very least, many see the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Liverpool, which incorporates the Euro Cross trials, as one of the most important events of the winter.

The top four finishers in the senior and under-23 men’s and women’s events on Saturday will automatically book a spot in Britain’s team for Lisbon next month with a further two discretionary selections being made in each.

The top five in the under-20 races qualify with one further place available.

Women’s events

Last year’s women’s race saw Charlotte Arter gain a narrow win from Verity Ockenden, Jess Piasecki, Melissa Courtney and Kate Avery and a similar high quality line-up is expected again this year at Sefton Park.

Arter won the Cross Challenge in Cardiff and was seventh in Atapuerca recently although it is her 31:35 10km in Leeds that shows she is in the form of her life.

Avery, a two-time European runner-up, won at Milton Keynes, just four seconds up on Amy Griffiths, Bronwen Owen and National champion Emily Hosker-Thornhill, who impressed in the National cross-country relays.

World Championships 5000m representative and former National winner Jess Judd is entered and clearly in good form judging by her 10km PB in Leeds.

Some athletes will be focusing on under-23 selection and these include Amelia Quirk, who though she dropped out at Milton Keynes, will be keen to make the team, having led home the under-20 squad in the Europeans last year.

Last year’s junior women’s race was won by Cari Hughes, who like all bar Grace Brock have moved up into the under-23s.

In Cardiff, Saskia Millard won from fellow Herne Hill Harrier Charlotte Alexander and Beatrice Wood and Eloise Walker was victorious at Milton Keynes from fellow World Cross team-mate Olivia Mason and they should be among the contenders, although Alexander is not among the entries.

Men’s events

The favourite for the men’s race, should he run, is 2016 winner Andy Butchart but he was not among the listed entries on Monday.

Last year’s men’s race saw Ross Millington lead home Nick Goolab, Marc Scott, Charlie Hulson and Dewi Griffiths – and Millington will again be one of the favourites.

Former National champion and 2017 winner Ben Connor is coming off running the 5000m in Doha and is bound to be a major factor.

In earlier Cross Challenge action in Cardiff, Scott won from Mahamed Mahamed with Michael Ward third. Mahamed went one better in Milton Keynes ahead of Sam Stabler and Tom Evans, Jack Gray and Alex Teuten, who will all be in contention.

Last year Emile Cairess led home the under-23 age group narrowly ahead of Mahamed and Paulos Surafel and all three are young enough to make the team for Lisbon.

However, the athlete that stands out as favourite among entries in this age group is 2018 British 10,000m champion Alex Yee.

Because of triathlon commitments, the Kent AC athlete has not run on the country for a year but at his best, he could win the overall title and not just take the under-23s.

In the under-20s last year, Jake Heyward won from Isaac Akers and Mortimer, who are all now too old.

Matthew Willis was fourth and he was followed by Jack Meijer and Zak Mahamed and that trio are entered and should be to the fore again.

Race timetable

Race 1   10.45    U11 boys’ 2km
Race 2   10.55    U11 girls’ 2km
Race 3   11.05    U13 girls’ 3km
Race 4   11.20    U13 boys’ 2km
Race 5   11.35    U15 boys’ 3km
Race 6   11.50    U15 girls’ 3km
Race 7   12.05    U17 girls & IAAF junior women 4.4km
Race 8   12.25    U17 boys’ 5.5km
Race 9   12.45    IAAF junior men’s 6.7km
Race 10 13.05    Senior women’s 8.1km
Race 11 14.05    Senior men’s 9.8km

Paul Coll to meet Joel Makin in quarter-final blockbuster
By ELLIE MAWSON – Squash Mad Correspondent

Egypt’s former World No.1 Karim Abdel Gawad led the top seeds into the next round of the Channel VAS Championships at St. George’s Hill as the quarter final places were confirmed at the PSA World Tour Gold tournament taking place in Weybridge, England.

Gawad survived a comeback charge from England’s World No.42 George Parker in an entertaining four-game battle at the St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club as he claimed a hard fought 13-11, 11-3, 4-11, 11-7 victory in 51 minutes.

The World No.4 took an important first game on the tiebreak before doubling his lead comfortably in the second. However, Parker made life difficult for Gawad with an impressive performance to take the third, but unfortunately for the feisty Englishman it was not enough with Gawad utilising his experience in the fourth to see out the victory.

“Over these past years, I’ve managed to work on my fitness and on my squash, but the thing I still need to improve vastly is my concentration and my mental consistency,” said Gawad afterwards.

“I used to lose the first game, now I win it most of the time and I’m trying to be in strong from the word go. I feel that I’m still in and out during matches and that’s what I really need to improve in the coming weeks and months.”

Gawad will take on compatriot and World No.10 Marwan ElShorbagy in the quarter finals tomorrow after he battled past Malaysia’s World No.32 Eain Yow Ng.

The 21-year-old Malaysian gave a good account of himself to cause some problems for the younger ElShorbagy brother, but ultimately, he took control to close out in four games.

“I knew how tough this match was going to be,” said 26-year-old ElShorbagy. “I have played with him once or twice in practice and I know how much he has improved and how well he has done this season.

“He did well in the Malaysian Open in September and moved to Bristol a few weeks back – we’re really happy to have him there and think he will add a lot to the city. He’s a former World Junior Champion and I’m pretty sure he will have a great career in the PSA.”

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New Zealand’s World No.5 Paul Coll and Wales’ World No.12 Joel Makin will go head-to-head in the other quarter final in the bottom half of the draw.

Coll, who lifted the title back in 2016, showed no signs of a hangover from the PSA Men’s World Championship last week in Qatar where he reached the final for the first time in his career as he swept aside England’s former World No.9 Daryl Selby in straight-games in a confident performance.

“It was a perfect match for me really, I had a little bit of a niggle in Qatar, but I didn’t feel it at all today,” said Coll afterwards. “I took a couple of days off after Qatar and went to Birmingham to see my coach, Rob Owen. We just had a light week and did some really good hitting just to get me sharp, but nothing too physical. I’ve had a lot of physio and rehab so I’m feeling really good.

“I love this court and I’ve got some good memories here. When you’ve got good memories somewhere it’s always good to come back and play, so I’m looking forward to this week.”

Makin and Coll will face each other for the sixth time in their careers after the 25-year-old Welshman prevailed against a resilient Mathieu Castagnet of France in four games.

World No.12 Makin continued his fine run of form that has served him well during the first half of the season as he was clinical to open up a 2-0 lead. Castagnet, who looked down and out at the end of the second game, rallied back to take the third but Makin was able to get back to basics in the fourth to cut out the errors and break away to take an 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6 win in 61 minutes.

“I’ve tried to add a bit more variation to my game and be a bit more severe on the short balls,” said 25-year-old Makin. “Like Mathieu started to do to me today, he slowed the pace down and really got control of the game to get me stuck behind, so I had to get back in front and inject a bit more pace and be a bit more severe going short.

“I played and lost against Paul a couple of times, in the British Open in the first round – that was a long hard match. We have played a fair amount recently and if I want to reach the top eight, that’s the kind of matches I will need to start winning.”

The quarter finals of the Channel VAS Championships take place tomorrow (Friday November 22) at 17:30 local time (GMT) with the action shown live on SquashTV (rest of world), Eurosport Player (Europe only) and the official Facebook page of the PSA World Tour (excluding Europe and Japan). 

2019 Channel VAS Championships at St George’s Hill, Weybridge, Surrey, England.

Second Round (Bottom half):
[3] Paul Coll (NZL) bt Daryl Selby (ENG) 3-0: 11-4, 11-8, 11-8 (43m)
[8] Joel Makin (WAL) bt Mathieu Castagnet (FRA) 3-1: 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-6 (61m)
[6] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) bt Eain Yow Ng (MAS) 3-1: 11-9, 11-6, 5-11, 11-6 (49m)
[2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY) bt George Parker (ENG) 3-1: 13-11, 11-3, 4-11, 11-7 (51m)

 Quarter Finals:

[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [7] Saurav Ghosal (IND)
[5] Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY) v Mazen Hesham (EGY)
[3] Paul Coll (NZL) v [8] Joel Makin (WAL)
[6] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) v [2] Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)  

Report by ELLIE MAWSON (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of PSA and PATRICK LAUSON (www.patricklausonphotography.co.uk) 

World Squash Day teams up with the PSA Foundation to support its squash community initiatives
By JAMES ROBERTS – Squash Mad Reporter

Want the chance to own some unique and highly collectable pieces of squash history, whilst raising funds for a great squash charitable cause? If so, then read on …

Following a highly successful World Squash Day on 12th October, final preparations are in hand to launch the next World Squash Day Auction over the weekend, on Sunday 1st December.

These auctions of signed squash collectables have been held for the past 3 years and raised thousands of pounds for specific good causes, starting with Unicef in 2016 when it was the World Squash Day official charitable partner.

Last year, the Auction was held in conjunction with the inaugural John Batty Squash Tournament, held to raise funds for the legendary squash coach’s chosen good cause, the Chemotherapy Unit at Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth. Sadly John lost his battle with cancer early this year but he was proud to be able to hand over a cheque for nearly £4,000 to the unit towards the end of 2018, which included all the funds raised via the tournament, the auction and his own fundraising activities.

This year, the World Squash Day Auction has partnered with the PSA Foundation, which serves as the philanthropic arm of the Professional Squash Association. The Foundation’s mission is to inspire the next generation of squash players and foster the growth of our sport by making a positive impact on the communities that it reaches and by supporting the wellbeing of the professional players that spearhead this effort.

This year, the auction yet again will offer some amazing lots, thanks to the enthusiastic contributions from the professional players. Star lot this time is likely to be a World Squash Day shirt which has been signed by many of the players who competed at the season-opening PSA tournaments, the Open de France in Nantes and the Netsuite Open in San Francisco. Other lots include an Allam British Open 2019 tournament poster, signed by a huge array of players who participated.

Other lots bound to attract a lot of interest are the match ball used in the British Nationals Final between James Willstrop and Daryl Selby, signed by both players. Talking of the latter, Daryl has also donated one of his signature 305 Squash playing shirts, used and signed by the man himself. There is also a Birmingham Lions Premier Squash League team shirt signed by the team and their opponents for the first match of the season, Pontefract.

The Auction will commence at 19:00 GMT on Sunday 1st December and will run for 7 days, therefore ending on Sunday 8th December at 19:00 GMT. Details of all the lots will be posted to the World Squash Day Facebook page and Twitter account, with bids being received via Facebook comment, reply tweets, private message or email.

Full bidding instructions will be posted to both the Facebook page and Twitter account. The Facebook page is available here: https://www.facebook.com/WSDAuction/. The Twitter account username is @WSDAuction or can be accessed via this link: https://twitter.com/WSDAuction

Please like and follow the above to see the auction’s progress and place your bids. This is a great opportunity to potentially own some amazing squash collectables, either for you or your club, all whilst raising funds for a great squash cause. These unique items could also make great gifts for a squash fanatic friend or member of your family. Happy bidding!

To find out more about the work of the PSA Foundation, visit their website.

Pictures by: James Roberts  

Former Wales captain Martyn Williams is to succeed long-serving Alan Phillips as national team manager in January.

Flanker Williams won 100 caps for his country and also toured three times with the British Irish and Lions.

Since retiring in 2012, the 44-year-old has become a popular BBC pundit and is a regular on the Scrum V podcast.

Phillips, who has been Wales team manager since 2001, has been appointed director of operations for the British and Irish Lions.

The 65-year-old will be in charge of logistics for the 2021 tour to South Africa when the Lions will again be led by Warren Gatland, who stood down as Wales head coach after the Rugby World Cup in Japan.

Williams is the latest former Wales captain to join the management team under new head coach Wayne Pivac.

Sam Warburton has been added as a technical advisor, while Stephen Jones and Jonathan Humphreys are amongst Pivac's assistant coaches.

Williams, who will take up his new role on 1 January, 2020, said: "I'm hugely delighted and honoured to be appointed team manager. It is an exciting role and I cannot wait to get started.

"Wayne has put together an experienced management team and we have an excellent crop of players here in Wales and I'm looking forward to working with them all.

"Alan has done a fantastic job as team manager and I thoroughly enjoyed the environment and playing under him and I wish him all the best with the new role with the Lions."

Phillips, who guided Wales through more than 220 Test matches and five World Cups, said: "I am hugely honoured to have been team manager for the past 18 years, it is a role I have thoroughly enjoyed and it will be an emotional day leaving.

"I have worked with some brilliant people and they have made the job what it is and I am proud to have helped support them and deliver for them.

"The British and Irish Lions has a very special place in my heart. It is a tremendous organisation and I cannot wait to start my new role and begin the preparations for the 2021 tour, a tour to the home of the world champions."

MANCHESTER, England -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has laughed off suggestions Mauricio Pochettino's availability has put extra pressure on his job by declaring: "It doesn't bother me."

The Argentine, sacked by Tottenham on Tuesday, was heavily linked with the role at Old Trafford before Solskjaer was handed the job permanently in March.

Pochettino, who has already been linked with Bayern Munich, is back on the market but Solskjaer insists it does not affect his position.

"It doesn't bother me at all," Solskjaer told a news conference on Friday.

"I've got the best job in the world and if you're in or out of a job you want this job, so it doesn't really matter whatever happens around it.

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"I've got to focus on my job at Manchester United and do it as well as we can. I speak with Ed [Woodward] and the owners all the time about how we move the club forward and that doesn't change if others change managers.

Solskjaer will go head-to-head with Pochettino's replacement and former United boss, Jose Mourinho, when Spurs travel to Old Trafford on Dec. 4.

The Norwegian used his news conference to welcome Mourinho back to the Premier League and hinted his return may help to take the spotlight off United.

"It's good to have Jose back," Solskjaer said.

"Especially for you guys [the media] and maybe for me, so you can talk and write about everything else. You like Jose coming back it's going to be a spectacle and a circus.

"For Mauricio, it's always sad when one of your colleagues, a good man, loses his job before Christmas. I wish him all the best."

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United have won five of their last six games and will try to extend their positive run against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday.

Scott McTominay is set to be out for "a couple of weeks" with an ankle injury while Marcos Rojo is struggling with a muscle problem. Paul Pogba is also out as he continues his recovery from a foot injury but Solskjaer is hopeful the Frenchman will return before the end of 2019.

"He had another test and scan just at the start of the international break and it's not healed yet," Solskjaer added.

"He's stepping up the recovery and he doesn't have to have the cast on. He's gradually now stepping up, walking on the treadmill, biking. It will still be a few weeks. We hope to see him in 2019."

Euro 2020 qualifying is almost over. Find out all you need to know for the playoffs draw.

JUMP TO: Format | Fixture dates | How the draw works | Playoff paths | Host conditions | How the semifinals look | Finals draw | Finals info

When is the Euro 2020 playoffs draw?

The draw will take place on on Friday, Nov. 22 (11 a.m. UK, 6 a.m. ET).

Which nations will take part in the Euro 2020 playoffs?

Path A will be completed with nations from League C by draw on Friday.

League A: Iceland

League B: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland

League C: Scotland, Norway, Serbia, Bulgaria, Israel, Romania, Hungary

League D: Georgia, Macedonia, Kosovo, Belarus

What is the format of the Euro 2020 playoffs?

Each League path will have two semifinals and a final. All games are one-off matches, and not two-legged.

In the semifinals, the best-ranked team from the Nations League path will be at home to face the fourth-ranked team, and the second-ranked team will host the third-best team.

We know for certain that:

League A: Iceland will have a home tie
League B: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Northern Ireland, Slovakia vs. Republic of Ireland
League C: Norway vs. Serbia; Scotland will have a home tie
League D: Georgia vs. Belarus, North Macedonia vs. Kosovo

When will the playoff games be played?

The semifinals will be played on Thursday, March 26, 2020.

The finals will take place on Tuesday, March 31, 2020.

The standard kickoff time, as with the group stage, is 7.45 p.m. CET

How will the playoff draw work?

Part 1) Composition of playoff paths

Taking into account the decisions of UEFA Emergency Panel (with regards to the route for host nations), there will be a draw to decide which teams from League C move into the League A path.

Part 2) Draw the home team in the final

The winners of one of the two semifinals in each path will be drawn at home. For instance, the winners of Semifinal 2 (North Macedonia vs. Kosovo) may be drawn at home to the winners of Semifinal 1 (Georgia vs. Belarus).

Part 3) Define hosts home matches

If both paired hosts in a group qualify automatically, there will be a draw to determine which gets the home game between the two. This will happen only for Group B (Denmark and Russia).

Part 4) Define playoff winners' group allocation

If a playoff path has one host nation, the path will automatically be assigned to the host group. For instance, League B path (Republic of Ireland) will automatically be allocated to Group E (Dublin).

However, if a path has more than one host, the UEFA administration will put measures in place to ensure whoever wins the playoff can play in their host city. This will happen in path A or C.

How will UEFA decide the playoff paths?

There are two over-riding principles of the playoffs:

1) UEFA Nations League group winners cannot play a team from a higher path

This means that:
- Iceland must be in League A
- Bosnia and Herzegovina were guaranteed to be in the League B path with three other League B teams
- Scotland, Norway and Serbia were guaranteed to be in League C with one other League C team
- The League D path is complete with four UEFA Nations League winners

2) Where possible, a playoff path will be formed with four teams from the League

This means that:
- The League B path would always be formed of four League B teams and could not have League C teams drawn into it

What are the special conditions for host nations?

A key condition is set out in UEFA's playoff draw procedure, and a meeting of the UEFA Emergency Panel will this week determine how and where this condition needs to be applied.

1) To give a fair chance to all hosts to qualify to the Final tournament, the host teams may be allocated to different paths

The League C path would have three hosts Scotland, Romania and Hungary. It means that it is unavoidable that either the League A or League C path would have two hosts (determined by random draw). If Hungary had qualified automatically, UEFA could have ensured that paths A, B and C each had one host.

How do the fixtures look at the moment?

A draw will be needed to complete league paths, but the fixture possibilities are set. Leagues B and D are finalised.

League A
Iceland vs. Hungary/Romania
Bulgaria/Israel vs. Israel/Hungary

League B
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Northern Ireland
Slovakia vs. Republic of Ireland

League C
Scotland vs. Bulgaria/Israel/Hungary/Romania
Norway vs. Serbia

League D
Georgia vs. Belarus
North Macedonia vs. Kosovo

When will the venues be known?

Nations have until Dec. 20 to announce their chosen stadia for the semifinals and final.

How will the playoffs affect the finals draw?

Hosts Scotland (Group D), Romania (Group C) and Hungary (Group F) all require a playoff, and there are only two paths available, so it means one path is guaranteed to have two hosts.

Scenario 1: Scotland and Hungary in Path C
Scenario 2: Scotland and Romania in Path C
Scenario 3: Hungary and Romania in Path A

Let's say, for example, that Scotland and Romania are both in Path C. This path must be paired with Path D, which has no host, so either Scotland or Romania can play in their host city, should they win the Path C playoff.

- UEFA draws a "priority group" from Group D (Scotland) and Group C (Romania). This is effectively the same as being drawn into the group unless the other hosts qualifies
- Let's say the drawn priority group is Group D (Scotland). That means the Path C winners go into Group D, and Path D winners into Group C
- If Scotland win the playoff, the draw is unaltered as they are already drawn into the Glasgow group
- If Romania win the playoff, they will swap places with the League D playoff winners in Group C to be in their Bucharest host group
- If a team other other than Romania or Scotland wins the playoff, the draw is unaltered

If the "priority group" is Group C, then England (the other hosts of Group D) would get the winners of Path D unless Scotland won Path C.

When is the finals draw?

The draw will be held on Saturday, Nov. 30 in Bucharest, Romania. The draw ceremony will begin at midday ET (6 p.m. CET) and is expected to last 50 minutes in total (with 20 minutes for the draw itself).

- Click here to find out how the finals draw will work

Pot 1: Belgium, Italy, England, Germany, Spain, Ukraine
Pot 2: France, Poland, Switzerland, Croatia, Netherlands, Russia
Pot 3: Portugal, Turkey, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Czech Republic
Pot 4: Wales, Finland, Playoff A, Playoff B, Playoff C, Playoff D

One team from each pot would be drawn into the six groups.

When is Euro 2020 and where is it played?

The finals will be hosted across Europe for this edition of the European Championship, running June 12 to July 12.

Group A: Stadio Olimpico, Rome (Italy) and Olympic Stadium, Baku (Azerbaijan)
Group B: Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg (Russia) and Parken Stadium, Copenhagen (Denmark)
Group C: Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Arena Naționala, Bucharest (Romania)
Group D: Wembley Stadium, London (England) and Hampden Park, Glasgow (Scotland)
Group E: San Mames, Bilbao (Spain) and Aviva Stadium, Dublin (Republic of Ireland)
Group F: Allianz Arena, Munich (Germany) and Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest (Hungary)

Round of 16: Wembley Stadium, London (England), Parken Stadium, Copenhagen (Denmark), Arena Naționala, Bucharest (Romania), Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam (Netherlands), Aviva Stadium, Dublin (Republic of Ireland), San Mames, Bilbao (Spain), Ferenc Puskas Stadium, Budapest (Hungary), Hampden Park, Glasgow (Scotland)

Quarterfinals: Allianz Arena, Munich (Germany), Olympic Stadium, Baku (Azerbaijan), Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stadio Olimpico, Rome (Italy)
Semifinals and final: Wembley Stadium, London (England)

David Warner and Joe Burns believe their commanding 222 opening stand against Pakistan at the Gabba will be the resumption of a beautiful friendship, after a previously promising union was effectively broken up by the wiles of Sri Lanka's spinners as far back as 2016.

Always comfortable in each other's batting company, Warner and Burns were strong partners in 2015-16, including another major stand against New Zealand in Brisbane, before they were split up and left with plenty of challenges, culminating in Burns' extended time out of the team and Warner's ban in 2018. They were almost reunited for this year's Ashes series, but the belated union at the Gabba instantly showed why they had so enjoyed providing starts for Australia in the past.

Warner was hopeful that this time around he and Burns would be given an extended run as partners, both for this home summer and the challenges beyond it.

"Yes is the answer. I reckon I threw the toys out of the cot a lot there as well, that was a challenging series for a lot of us," Warner said of Sri Lanka in 2016 when Burns was dropped. "But look the success we've had together, especially here at home has been fantastic, and as Joe said before, we just have this energy about us when we're out there, we communicate a lot, we're always talking about cricket, even though we probably wouldn't want to talk about it but we do.

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"But the most important thing is rotating strike. When we do that well, it's hard for bowlers to put it on the spot all the time when you're doing that. I know I try to achieve that when we're out there, if I can't get the ball away or it's got to be respected, I try and tuck it in on the leg side or we drop and run. A lot of the fielders hang [back] a little bit, especially when I'm on strike, so I'm always looking around for that drop and run, and I know he looks to get off strike as well. Knowing each other's roles when we're out there, we do that very well. We did it the other day in the nets, we had a good half-hour session where we said we're going to run if we think there's a run and rotate it six balls."

For his part, Burns stated that the combination of a left-hand batsman and a right-hand batsman was always useful, in addition to a good feel for each other's batting tendencies. "I think the left-hand, right-hand certainly helps, and I've always said batting with Dave is really easy," Burns said. "You get down the non-striker's end, you look up and the scoreboards' ticking along, there's no pressure to score. I think the biggest thing for me is just the engagement we have, we're always talking about how the bowlers are trying to bowl, where we can score, where the threats are.

"When you have a combination like that with your partner, you lean on your partner during the tough times, and as the innings develops there'll be scoring opportunities for each of us. I think we saw that today, the Gabba can be a great place to bat once you get in, and if the bowlers are missing their areas, and left-hand, right-hand certainly helps with that.

"The way we prepare as well, having someone who's been there and done it, someone to talk to about how they're going to go about their preparation and walking out into battle with them makes it a lot easier. You'd be silly not to lean on guys in our team who have the experience and success that guys like Davey has had."

Reflecting on his time out of the team, Warner noted how it had given the likes of Burns, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne the start to gain a foothold in the team, while also granting him a physical and mental break from the treadmill of international cricket.

"It was obviously fantastic [to be back] - on the other hand it was a great opportunity for other guys to step up and show what depth Australian cricket has and I was chuffed for this guy next to me to get some runs and play the way he did," Warner said of Burns. "He was unlucky not to get selected in the Ashes touring group, but to come out here and put that on the board and have that time off to reflect, and just get away from the game.

"There's a lot more to life than just cricket and I really loved the time I spent at home with my family. You don't get that when we're travelling all the time. You come home, sometimes you're not in form and you can throw the toys out of the cot and that can hinder your relationships. But for me it was a level grounding and I really enjoyed that time off. Obviously I'm back now and I've got to keep working hard and keep being respectable of the game, because it can bite you in the backside very fast."

Burns, too, had faced time away from the national team, and had won respect from several key observers by responding to his omission from the Ashes squad by taking a European holiday and returning fresh and ready for the home season. His northern summer and a contract with Lancashire had been broken up by a case of post-viral fatigue.

"I don't think you really have much choice," he said of not sulking over his non-selection. "Selections come and go in this game, there's so many games you play these days that you've just got to make sure you're making runs. There's always a training session around the corner, always a game to play around the corner. I came home, got stuck into pre-season with the Queensland boys and wanted to hit the ground running with three Shield games at the Gabba, which I knew was going to be tough work and just wanted to be batting well.

"I knew if I was batting well there'd be opportunities there. It was great to watch the boys on TV playing in the Ashes, obviously you get left out and of course you want to be there trying to help out in any way you can, but I knew my job was to make sure if I was called upon in the home summer that I was ready to go. Tried to use that as my motivation and get stuck into it.

"It's a very bitter feeling getting bowled around your legs on 97 by a legspinner at the Gabba. But I was really satisfied with how I batted, felt like I did a lot of things right and I know if I bat more often than not, hopefully it equates to plenty more runs. I'll just try to be better in the 90s next time and go and bat all day and come out tomorrow and do it all again. Look at Davey, he finished 150 not out, those are the sorts of innings that win Test matches."

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