Andy Murray is set to make his competitive return on Wednesday in the doubles at Queen's. In his regular BBC Sport column, the 32-year-old Scot talks about meeting the woman who performed his "life-changing" hip surgery and how operating on the Queen Mother and Prince Philip didn't necessarily mean she was right for him.

Five months ago, sitting in a news conference at the Australian Open, I thought I was seemingly on the verge of retiring from the sport that I love.

It was uncomfortable playing with my children at the soft play centre. I couldn't sleep properly. I couldn't do basic everyday tasks like putting on my shoes and socks. I was in pain all the time.

Now I'm getting ready to step back on to the court competitively in the doubles at Queen's.

I didn't expect to be in this position, I didn't know how it would feel if I had the hip resurfacing operation.

Even if I'd never tried to play tennis again, I would have had the operation because I couldn't walk properly.

A pivotal moment in my return has been meeting Sarah Muirhead-Allwood, the surgeon at the London Hip Unit who operated on me in January.

I knew she had operated on Prince Philip's hip last year, and before that the Queen Mother - but I didn't know how that would translate to working on an athlete.

I first met Sarah in late January, shortly after I got back to London from Melbourne, and we chatted for about an hour. During this I asked her: "How do I know you're good?"

I wasn't doing it to be rude, but in sport you can tell how good someone is by their ranking. But how do I know a surgeon is good?

She just said to me: "Well, you don't. You don't know."

I felt she was very honest with me and I admired that. She didn't promise I would get back to playing. She told me exactly what to expect and what my expectations should be.

If she didn't know something then she would say she didn't know the answer rather than trying to sell me something that might not be case. That was why I had surgery with her.

I didn't want to have someone telling me "you'll definitely be back and winning Wimbledon in five months", because it doesn't work like that and it wouldn't have been true.

I wasn't promised that. The reason for having the operation was not to come back and play tennis. The reason was to improve my quality of life and the operation has been life-changing.

'I don't believe in fate - but some odd things happened'

A few very strange things happened on the day I met Sarah for our first chat.

I went to have a scan after our meeting and the guy who operated on my back in 2013 messaged me out of the blue, asking how I was getting on with my hip.

I told him I was actually having a scan at the Lister Hospital in Chelsea - and it turned out he was in the room next door seeing patients.

So he came to see me and we chatted about Sarah. He said she had a fantastic reputation and that she was very good.

I also bumped into the guy who has read all of my scans over my whole career when I walked out of the lift.

He asked what I was doing there and I told him I'd just met Sarah. He also said only very positive things.

After speaking to Sarah for about an hour, and then hearing what these people in the medical industry said, I knew in my head I wanted her to operate on me.

I don't necessarily believe in fate but it was really odd. It feels like the only person I didn't bump into to ask for an opinion was Prince Philip!

I went home and chatted it through with my wife Kim and my team. Then a few days later I had the operation.

'It was harder to enjoy spending time with my children'

Long-term pain can be demoralising and it definitely affected my mental health, but at the time I didn't realise it as much because it became the norm.

Days just became trickier and I wasn't living life like I would want to. I'd finish practising and would just want to have my feet up all day because of the pain.

I was still able to play with my kids; it was just getting harder to enjoy the things we did together.

When we'd go to soft play places, it was so uncomfortable on my hands and knees crawling through tunnels. Now I'm the first one on the slides or taking part in mini gymnastics.

I'm doing all the things I used to really enjoy doing and which I wouldn't have been doing six months ago - playing golf, taking part in 'escape rooms', spending more time with friends. Added to that, I'm back on the court and enjoying playing and all the physical training.

Escape rooms are definitely something worth trying if you haven't yet. You get locked in a room with your friends and try to escape within your allotted time. It is all about the strategy and it gets competitive, which I love.

I also played golf with my brother in the club championship at Wentworth on Saturday. It's an amazing course, but it didn't go well - and I started with several shanked shots on the first hole. We both shot triple digits and I play off a handicap of six! It was windy though...

Before the operation I'd have never played golf the day before a tournament because my hip would hurt, whereas now I can do things like that and be pain free.

Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko.

ORRVILLE, Ohio – Monday’s Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions Cometic Gasket Ohio Sprint Speedweek event at Wayne County Speedway has been canceled because of rain.

Affecting an already saturated facility, a downpour just before the 2 o’clock hour, followed by a second downpour just before the 3 o’clock hour, left series and track officials with no choice but to cancel the program.

The Ollie’s Bargain Outlet All Star Circuit of Champions presented by Mobil 1 will continue Ohio Sprint Speedweek on Tuesday  at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.

With unfavorable conditions a factor over the next 12 hours, All Star Circuit of Champions and Sharon Speedway officials will monitor the situation closely. If additional precipitation falls on the already-saturated Sharon Speedway facility, track officials will be forced to cancel the event. A final decision will be made by 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

In the event that Sharon Speedway should cancel their Ohio Sprint Speedweek program by 9 a.m., Wayne County Speedway will then step in and proceed with a Tuesday night program. Track and series officials will make a coordinated effort in spreading word of the venue change in a timely and efficient manner.

“We certainly appreciate everyone’s patience as we continue to work around Mother Nature. I think we can all agree that we are hungry to race. We are doing everything in our power to make those efforts a reality,” Eric Walls explained, All Star Circuit of Champions Race Director. “With Mother Nature impacting much of our schedule, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to do whatever it takes to give our teams an opportunity to compete. I greatly appreciate the cooperation put forth by the tracks, especially in helping us organize a potential last minute change in Tuesday’s schedule.”

The New York Rangers acquired defenseman Jacob Trouba from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Neal Pionk and the 20th overall pick in Thursday's NHL draft, the teams said.

Trouba, 25, had eight goals and 42 assists for the Jets in 2018-19, his most productive season since the former No. 9 overall draft pick debuted with Winnipeg six years ago. He averaged 22:52 a night, second-most on the team.

Trouba has long been trade bait for the Jets; despite his talent as a puck-moving blueliner, he has been far apart in contract talks with the Jets for some time.

Rangers general manager Jeff Gorton said the Rangers "jumped on" the opportunity to trade for Trouba.

"He's a big defenseman," Gorton said. "He's 25 years old, he can play against the best players, he has offense, he can kill penalties, he's in the prime of his career."

In 2016, Trouba requested a trade from Winnipeg, which he later rescinded. The Jets are also facing a cap crunch this summer, as several players -- including Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor -- are in need of new contracts.

Trouba was awarded a one-year, $5.5 million contract in arbitration last summer and will be a restricted free agent as of July 1. If the Rangers don't sign him to a multiyear deal, he'll be an unrestricted free agent after next season.

The Rangers aggressively pursued Trouba over the past few weeks, though the in-division rival Islanders also expressed interest.

Pionk, a Minnesota native, signed with the Rangers in 2017 as an undrafted college free agent after his sophomore season at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Pionk is a restricted free agent this summer who is arbitration-eligible.

Meanwhile the No. 20 first-round pick in the 2019 draft returns to Winnipeg, which had dealt it to the Rangers at the trade deadline for rental right wing Kevin Hayes.

The New York Rangers are back to swinging for the fences, and they made a statement by trading for 25-year-old blueliner Jacob Trouba on Monday.

The deal:

Rangers get: D Jacob Trouba
Jets get: D Neal Pionk, 2019 first-round pick (Winnipeg's own, No. 20 overall, previously acquired by New York in Kevin Hayes trade)

New York Rangers: A-

Belgium boss Roberto Martinez has urged Romelu Lukaku to leave Manchester United this summer, and said the forward was "targeted" due to the club's underwhelming performances last season.

Lukaku is a transfer target for new Inter Milan chief Antonio Conte -- with the ex-Everton man having recently labelled the Italian the "best manager in the world."

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And Lukaku's international boss has said it would be better for both the player and United to part ways this summer.

"I think it is clear he [Lukaku] is ready for a new challenge," Martinez told HLN. "In his case, a transfer would be good for both the player and the club.

"And if two parties benefit from it, a move away usually happens. Serie A seems to be a good choice for him, although I think he can handle any league.

"I certainly don't think his transfer to Manchester United is a failure. The team did not perform to its capabilities and important players -- such as Romelu, but also Paul Pogba -- were targeted."

Speaking after Belgium's 3-0 Euro 2020 qualifying victory over Scotland, Lukaku said he had "always dreamed" of playing in Italy.

"I was always a big fan of the Italian league," the 26-year-old had told Sport Mediaset. "I have two leagues which I always dreamed about which are the English league and the Serie A.

"So for me the Serie A is my favourite league as well -- I love Italy."

ST. PAUL, Minnesota -- United States manager Gregg Berhalter believes his team is "in a good spot" as it heads into its Gold Cup opener against Guyana.

The U.S. looked poor in both of its recent friendlies, a 1-0 loss to Jamaica and then a heavy 3-0 defeat to Venezuela. But a week's worth of training has allowed the U.S. to not only gain fitness, but sharpness in terms of Berhalter's tactical system.

"We've been working towards developing a starting XI for the last week, and we're pretty much there," he said at the U.S. team's pre-match news conference.

"I think the focus, not just from the guys who are projected to be starters, but from the whole group has been really good. I like the attitude of the players.

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"We talked about unity. We talked about the importance of everyone supporting each other whether you're on the field or not, and that goes a long way. I've been on teams where it wasn't right and the performance suffered, and I've been on teams where the team unity is really there and you get a real boost in performance. The group is in a good spot and now it's just about performing."

Berhalter's sentiments were echoed by midfielder Weston McKennie, who will likely make his first appearance Tuesday in a competitive international fixture.

"We definitely stepped up the intensity in training, we went back and looked over the things we could have done better and the things that we wanted to work on," he said.

"And we looked back at the game and we saw a lot of the positives that we've been working on in training and the stuff that we've been wanting to do and progress with. So as of right now, it was a friendly and it was leading up to Gold Cup, and we've been working on it in training. I think come the first game tomorrow, we'll be set and ready to go."

The U.S. will be playing a Guyana side that is making its first Gold Cup appearance, and on paper looks overmatched, with much of its squad playing in with non-league teams in England. But Berhalter insists his side won't look past the Golden Jaguars.

"I think any type of opponent can be dangerous. That's the game," he said. "I firmly believe that on any given day 11 players can beat another 11 players. We don't take this opponent for granted. We know they have strengths. We know some of their weaknesses and we want to look to exploit that."

The U.S. will be without midfielder Tyler Adams, who will miss the tournament due to a recurring groin injury that flared up recently. Berhalter admitted Adams' absence will force him to tweak some things tactically.

"We've been dealing with [Adams] in this last week being out and figuring out how we're going to set up both offensively and defensively and maybe change some things a little bit in terms of how we're going to attack and what we're going to be looking to emphasize with him not on the field," he said.

"When he went down, I said he was a great player, but we know he's not going to be available now and we have to move on without him. I think we're prepared to do that. The group is focused."

The Americans' creative hub remains Christian Pulisic, who will need to impress a new manager now that Maurizio Sarri has left Chelsea. Berhalter said how Pulisic will be used depends on the new manager, but that with the U.S. he was trying to use his playmaker in different ways.

"I think what we're trying to do is develop other skill-sets in Christian and bring other sides out of his game," said Berhalter.

"When he's inside we've been seeing -- he had one combination today we were talking about where the ball is traveling really fast, one-touch between the lines and he's on the end of it and able to combine and get away from players.

"We've been using him more centrally. I can see also that he can play wide because of his explosive pace and his ability to get by someone. So I think it's going to depend on the tactics of the team and what the manager is looking for in Chelsea.

"I think he has versatility and our job over this period of time is to continue to bring different things out of him because we know he's a top talent."

Berhalter added: "When you watch Christian, he's a player that plays on intuition a lot. We put him in a different position and then we get to see how he interprets it. That's what I'm talking about. It's really nice to see how he can open space, his movements to create space, his combination play when he's in those positions.

"We're used to seeing him on the ball isolated and going at players. When we move him into these positions, we get to see how he interprets it."

Michel Platini, the former UEFA president, was detained in Paris early on Tuesday morning as part of an investigation into alleged corruption in the Qatar 2022 World Cup bidding process.

The detention and questioning of the former French football star was first reported by French investigative website Mediapart and has since been confirmed to ESPN FC by judicial sources.

Platini, UEFA president from 2007-15, is being held in a cell of the Anti-Corruption Office of the Judicial Police (OCLCIFF), in the west suburbs of Paris. The former Juventus and France No.10 faces an investigation into his role and influence over the attribution of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar. Claude Gueant, the former general secretary of the Elysee Palace under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, will be questioned as a free suspect. It is the first time Platini, 63, has been arrested regarding the attribution of the 2022 World Cup.

At the time of the vote in December 2010, Platini was UEFA president and publicly backed the Qatar bid. Many stories linking Platini and the Gulf emirate have emerged since 2010, including a meeting with Mohamed Bin Hammam, the former Asian Football Confederation president who lobbied for Qatar and has since been banned from football for life on corruption charges. Platini also had lunch at the Elysee Palace with Sarkozy, Gueant, Bin Hammam and Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, the Qatar Prime Minister at the time.

Qatar beat the United States, Australia, South Korea and Japan to the right to host the 2022 tournament but the vote was mired in controversy. Platini, who has always denied any wrongdoing, was banned over a £1.3 million "disloyal payment" from then FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who has also denied wrongdoing. Blatter resigned in 2015 and at time of his resignation, he said: "FIFA needs profound restructuring."

Platini fought to reduce an eight-year ban from football activities imposed by FIFA in the wake of the corruption scandal in 2015 and eventually saw his suspension reduced to four years, meaning he can return to the game in October. He said last year that he wanted to return to football.

On June 5, FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who succeeded Blatter, was re-elected unopposed to serve a second term and said: "Today on an election day nobody talks about crisis. Nobody talks about rebuilding FIFA from scratch. Nobody talks about scandals. Nobody talks about corruption."

The tournament in Qatar will be the 22nd edition of the World Cup and is due to kick off on Nov. 21, 2022.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

Australia women's wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy has channelled Glenn McGrath in predicting Australia will not lose a game in the upcoming women's Ashes series against England.

Australia are the current women's Ashes holders but retained them only after a drawn series in Australia in 2017-18.

The women's Ashes are determined under a points system which includes matches across all three formats. Four points are awarded for a win in the sole Test match and two points each in the event of a draw. Two points are awarded for a win in each of the three ODIs and three T20Is.

Australia won the 2015 Ashes in England on the back of a thumping Test match win. But the 2017-18 series was drawn with Australia winning the ODI series 2-1 before losing the T20 series 1-2, with the Test at North Sydney ending in a draw.

No side has gone undefeated since the points system was introduced in 2013 but Healy boldly predicted the reigning Women's World T20 Champions might do something special.

"Australia not losing a game. That's very bold," Healy said.

Australia are currently in Brisbane playing practice matches against Australia A before heading the UK ahead of the first ODI on July 2. The sole Test will be played between July 18 and 21, with the T20I series starting from July 26.

Australia beat Australia A comfortably by 103 runs in a 50-over match on Monday. Vice-captain Rachel Haynes made 81 off 84 balls while Healy made 49 from 55, including nine boundaries. Legspinner Georgia Wareham claimed 4 for 21 with the ball.

Healy said the surface in Brisbane was quite difficult.

"Almost English conditions, the wicket was doing a little bit early," Healy said.

"For me to get out (against) the new ball and face some really top-class bowlers from around this country was a great opportunity to test what we've been working on over the last 8-12 weeks in preparation. It was nice to get out there and have a hit out and get the legs moving around the field."

Haynes said Healy just picked up where she left off at the end of last summer.

"(Healy) hasn't missed a beat, that's for sure, she batted beautifully early on against the new ball," Haynes said.

"It was tough actually, it was a bit wet and the pitch had a bit in it for the bowlers.

"It was nice to spend a bit of time in the middle. I didn't feel in the whole time to be honest, it was really tough and their bowlers bowled quite well into the wicket and it was just sort of holding."

After the best 12 months of her career, where she was named Player of the World T20 and won the Belinda Clark medal as Australia's best women's player in 2018, Healy said she wants to raise her game to another level.

"Doing that is going to be incredible difficult, I'd like to think I'm improving as a cricketer and I've still got a lot to learn," Healy said.

"I guess that's motivating me to keep pushing and to see how I can do things better. I've identified a few key things that I could have done better last year and I've been working on them over the last few months and hopefully we'll see them come to fruition in the Ashes."

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