Britain's Cameron Norrie beat Luca van Assche at the Moselle Open to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final since April.

Norrie, who spent almost three months out with a forearm injury, beat the Frenchman 6-3 3-6 6-1.

It is the first time the 29-year-old has registered back-to-back wins on the main ATP Tour since Wimbledon in July.

World number 57 Norrie has not won an ATP title this season, having struggled for rhythm before the injury that led to him pulling out of the Olympics and the US Open.

His last quarter-final showing was on the Barcelona Open clay courts, where he lost to Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

"I'm just trying to enjoy the last week of the year for me competing," Norrie told Sky Sports.

"I'm here another day, which is great, but I'll have to improve my level to keep going further in the tournament."

He will face Belgium's Zizou Bergs for a place in the semi-finals.

New Zealand have made two changes for Friday night's encounter against Ireland in Dublin.

Both are enforced, with Damian McKenzie replacing Beauden Barrett at fly-half, while hooker Asafo Aumua comes in for Codie Taylor.

Beauden Barrett and hooker Taylor were ruled out of the Aviva Stadium game following injuries sustained in last Saturday's dramatic 24-22 victory over England.

Both players failed head injury assessments [HIAs] in the match at Twickenham. McKenzie and Aumua are replaced on the bench by George Bell and Stephen Perofeta.

Ireland also named their team on Wednesday, with prop Tadhg Furlong ruled out with a "slight hamstring strain".

It is the first meeting between the sides since the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter- final, when the All-Blacks edged a thrilling encounter 28-24.

"This is a highly anticipated match that promises to bring all the intensity and passion that we have come to expect from these two rugby-mad nations, both on and off the field," said New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson.

"We are really pleased with how the squad has come through this week and our focus has turned quickly to this encounter post-England. We have trained well, and the players are fresh and ready to face a fierce challenge from the Ireland team."

New Zealand: Will Jordan; Mark Tele'a, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Caleb Clarke; Damian McKenzie, Cortez Ratima; Tamaita Williams, Asafo Aumua, Tyrel Lomax, Scott Barrett (capt), Tupou Vaa'i, Wallace Sititi, Sam Cane, Ardie Savea.

Replacements: George Bell, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Pasilo Tosi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Samipeni Finau, Cam Roigard, Anton Leinert-Brown, Stephen Perofeta.

Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid is ready to return to the lineup Wednesday against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights.

McDavid initially was expected to miss two to three weeks after injuring his ankle during his first shift against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 28. The three-time Hart Trophy recipient, however, sat out his team's next three games before participating in Wednesday's morning skate on a line with Zach Hyman and Jeff Skinner.

"I feel good," McDavid said after the morning session. "Looking forward to going and getting back in there."

McDavid, 27, has recorded a team-high-tying seven assists to go along with three goals in 10 games this season.

He is one season removed from posting 132 points and guiding the Oilers to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Florida Panthers. McDavid was named the Conn Smythe Trophy recipient as the playoff MVP.

A five-time Art Ross Trophy winner as the league's point leader, McDavid has 992 points (338 goals, 654 assists) in 655 career games since being selected by the Oilers with the No. 1 pick of the 2015 NHL draft.

Neymar is expected to undergo treatment and rehabilitation lasting four to six weeks after suffering a hamstring injury, Al Hilal confirmed on Wednesday, intensifying speculation over the Brazilian's future with Saudi Arabian club.

Neymar made his second club appearance following a 12-month injury layoff by coming on as a substitute in the 58th minute of Al Hilal's 3-0 win over Esteghlal of Iran in the AFC Champions League Elite on Monday.

The former Barcelona star then pulled up after stretching for the ball with three minutes remaining and had to be replaced.

"Unfortunately, it is not a simple injury and he seems to be suffering from muscle pain and it is not a knee issue," Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus said Wednesday in a news conference in Riyadh.

Neymar took to social media to update his fans.

"Hopefully nothing too much" he wrote. "It's normal that after one year [out] this happens, the doctors had already warned me, so I have to be careful and play more minutes."

Saudi Arabian media speculated that Al Hilal may not register Neymar, whose contract ends in June 2025, for the second-half of the Saudi Pro League season.

Neymar has played just seven games for the 19-time Saudi champion since signing in August 2023 for a reported fee of $90 million. He is not currently registered to play domestic league games as the club has a full contingent of 10 foreign players, but is allowed to play in continental competitions.

A new registration window opens in January.

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Rutgers star freshman Ace Bailey is out for Wednesday's game against Wagner after suffering an injury in practice on Monday, the school announced, delaying the debut of the projected top-five pick.

Bailey, whose injury was not specified by the school, will be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

A 6-foot-10 wing from McEachern High School (Georgia), Bailey is expected to be the focal point for a Rutgers team entering the season with the highest expectations in program history. Bailey, ranked No. 2 in the ESPN 100 for the 2024 class, became the program's highest-ranked recruit in history when he committed to the Scarlet Knights in January 2023.

He's a contender to be the No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft, ranking No. 2 in ESPN's 2025 draft rankings behind Duke's Cooper Flagg. Bailey, who turned 18 years old in August, already showed flashes of his immense talent, scoring 25 points and making four 3-pointers in an exhibition game loss to St. John's last month.

Rutgers was ranked No. 25 in the preseason AP poll, marking just the second time since 1978 that the Scarlet Knights were ranked entering the season.

Wednesday's game against Wagner will still feature the debut of fellow freshman and top-five recruit Dylan Harper, who is No. 3 in ESPN's draft rankings.

Rutgers' second game is at home against Saint Peter's on Nov. 11.

BEREA, Ohio -- Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry was noncommittal when asked Wednesday about Deshaun Watson's standing with the franchise, as the quarterback's struggles in Cleveland continued before he sustained a season-ending right Achilles tendon tear in Week 7.

"Really our focus with Deshaun, I would say for any player with a season-ending injury and a major injury, is first and foremost and to make sure that he gets healthy from the Achilles injury," Berry said during a news conference with reporters during the team's bye week. "Everything else, we'll deal with at a later moment."

Before the injury, Watson posted the lowest Total QBR of any qualified passer in the NFL. The Browns were 1-5 in Watson's six starts before the Achilles injury and didn't reach 20 points in any of those games.

Berry, though, said the offense's issues were not limited to Watson.

"We haven't played well as a team and we haven't played well as a unit on offense," Berry said. "I think oftentimes when you don't play well on offense, obviously your starting quarterback and your playcaller will get the most criticism. But the reality of it is, offenses, it comes down to organization and synchronization. There's just a lot of shared ownership across the different position groups in terms of why we didn't perform."

Since trading three first-round picks and giving Watson a fully guaranteed $230 million contract before the 2022 season, Watson has started 19 games, with each of his last two seasons ending because of injury. He missed the final eight games of the 2023 season after undergoing surgery to his throwing shoulder. He served an 11-game suspension to start the 2022 season after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions.

Since making his debut in Cleveland, Watson's 33.8 Total QBR ranks 32nd of 33 qualifying passers, higher than only that of the Carolina Panthers' Bryce Young.

Berry said he was in "full support" of coach Kevin Stefanski's decision to keep starting Watson before his latest injury. When asked whether the decision to trade for Watson was his or a mandate from ownership, Berry said: "All of us were on board."

The Browns still owe Watson $46 million in each of the next two seasons. Watson has cap hits of $72.9 million in the 2025 and 2026 seasons, both slated to be the second highest in the NFL. Cleveland would take on dead cap hits of $172 million and $99 million in 2025 and 2026 if the team were to part ways with Watson after the season.

One year after finishing with an 11-6 record and making the playoffs, the Browns are 2-7, tied for the worst record in the league.

Jameis Winston has taken over for the injured Watson and Stefanski relinquished playcalling duties to offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey in Week 8. A disappointing first half of the season has seen the team trade two veteran leaders: wide receiver Amari Cooper, who was traded to the Buffalo Bills, and defensive end Za'Darius Smith, who was dealt to the Detroit Lions before Tuesday's trade deadline.

When later asked whether it is still possible for Watson to return as the Browns' starting quarterback, Berry said, "Yeah, I think that's always possible."

Berry declined to assess the deal for Watson and whether it was a good trade.

"I'm really not in reflection mode," he said.

WHEN THE BOSTON CELTICS convened for training camp in September, it began yet another NBA champion's quest to repeat for the first time since the 2017-18 season.

Now, just two weeks into the 2024-25 campaign, the Celtics will face the franchise whose record-shattering success they are trying to emulate: the Golden State Warriors (7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, ESPN).

The matchup in Boston has even more buzz after Celtics star Jayson Tatum's time with Team USA this summer, which included Warriors coach Steve Kerr benching him twice. It's the annual visit to TD Garden for Stephen Curry -- and a rematch of the NBA Finals from 2022, when the Warriors claimed their fourth title in eight seasons. It's also a reminder of the heights the Celtics are striving to reach.

"I believed we were going to win at some point," Tatum said on media day in September of the Celtics' run to the 2024 title. "It was never just about trying to just win one.

"All the guys I looked up to growing up won at least one championship. Now it's just a conversation of, 'How great are you trying to be?'"

While the league is boasting a six-year run of parity, the path Tatum and the Celtics seek looks eerily similar to the 2015-16 Warriors -- the winningest team of all time -- from their style of play to their roster construction to the skeptics who question the veracity of their championship.

MORE: Warriors counting on a 'different level' for Wiggins

AFTER BREAKING THROUGH for the 2015 title, the Warriors weren't yet viewed as the NBA's next dominant franchise. Despite starting the 2014-15 season 21-2, finishing with a record of 67-15 and winning the Western Conference by 11 games, they were derided as a "jump-shooting team" by pundits who didn't believe Golden State's style had staying power.

And Curry, who that season won the first of his back-to-back MVP awards, lost a narrow vote for Finals MVP to teammate Andre Iguodala, exacerbating criticism surrounding the guard's ability to be the best player on a championship team.

After beating a LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers team that was without both Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving in the NBA Finals, there were attempts to downplay Golden State's championship because it came at the hands of a diminished opponent. Some even dismissed the six-game series win as lucky.

Boston was similarly billed as a team too reliant on jump shooting -- and similarly critiqued for the relative ease of their title run. (The Celtics broke the NBA record for 3-pointers made in 2023 and 2024). The Celtics' playoff run was dominated by injuries to star opponents; Miami's Jimmy Butler, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell and Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton all missed multiple games against Boston. And Tatum narrowly missed out on Finals MVP, with Jaylen Brown claiming the award and Eastern Conference finals MVP.

"Joe [Mazzulla] was probably the happiest person in the world that I didn't win Finals MVP," Tatum said. "That was odd, but if you know Joe, it makes sense."

The Celtics coach spent the summer making sure his team didn't suffer a championship hangover.

"So many times, people are focused on trying to win. I think it's just as important as keeping yourself from losing," Mazzulla said on media day. "As hard as it is to win, it's very easy to lose."

"STRENGTH IN NUMBERS" defined those Warriors championship teams, as Kerr relied on a deep rotation, including a committee approach at center. The Celtics play with a similar ethos. Payton Pritchard already has had two 20-point games off the bench this season. Reserve centers Luke Kornet, Xavier Tillman and Neemias Queta have all helped fill in for center Kristaps Porzingis, who is out at least another month after offseason ankle surgery. (Kornet scored 19 points in 30 minutes Saturday at the Charlotte Hornets.)

Iguodala, a dynamic two-way wing, was brought to Golden State as the potential missing player in the Warriors' championship puzzle. For Boston, Jrue Holiday has delivered a similar impact after he was acquired last fall.

Golden State's "Death Lineup" featured five elite defenders, each of whom were credible 3-point threats. Boston's run to the 2024 title was powered by six core players -- Tatum, Brown, Holiday, Porzingis, Al Horford and guard Derrick White -- dominating in the same manner.

The Warriors were built around their trio of drafted stars -- Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. Boston has been constructed around the dynamic wing tandem of Tatum and Brown. And since Mazzulla became coach before the 2022-23 season, Boston has gone 128-44 -- 14 wins better than any other NBA team.

All of that has positioned the Celtics as well as any defending champion over the past six seasons to become the first repeat winner since those Warriors teams with Curry and Kevin Durant in 2017 and 2018.

Those Warriors squads came into existence, however, because Golden State's 73-win season in 2015-16 ended in heartbreak after blowing a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals. For all of the similarities between this Celtics team and the early years of the Golden State dynasty, that is the one result for which Boston hopes history doesn't repeat itself.