Arne Slot offers Florian Wirtz injury update as he addresses Liverpoo… — and more

Liverpool manager Arne Slot claimed that Florian Wirtz “could be available for a few minutes” during the FA Cup tie against Wolves on Friday, while suggesting that the Germany international is key to the team’s overall “balance”.

Wirtz has been out of the squad since picking up an injury in the warm-up ahead of the win over Nottingham Forest on 22 February, and the 22-year-old has missed three games in that time, including the 2-1 loss to Wolves in the league earlier this week.

However, he could feature against Wolves in the FA Cup fifth-round tie this week, in what would be a welcome boost to Liverpool’s attacking options.

“He trained half and half with the team yesterday. He made the next step in rehab. Let's see where he is today. He could be available for a few minutes tomorrow in the best scenario,” explained Slot, before adding that “everyone else [is] fine”.

The absence of Wirtz has coincided with Liverpool struggling in attack at times, and while the Reds did beat West Ham 5-2 over that spell, there are still questions over the attacking output and chance creation, with Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah coming under criticism for not offering enough from the wings.

And while Slot highlighted that “attacking isn't just down to Cody [Gakpo] and Mo [Salah],” the Dutchman did seem to admit that Wirtz is a key cog in his side’s attack.

“One of the players who creates is Florian Wirtz. He got injured three games ago. Before that the team had a certain balance and we've had to adjust again. That's happened a lot this season,” explained the Liverpool boss.

“Not all the games have improved in terms of creating chances. But we're not the only team that finds it hard to create from open play. It's the qualify of the league that makes it more complicated.

“We are not in terms of chance creation last in the league. We're not doing that bad. We're also the team with most ball possession so you'd expect us to create more.

“Cody and Mo we expect and they expect from themselves to score more. But attacking isn't just down to Cody and Mo,” he added.

Liverpool will book a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with a win at Molineux, in what is the first of an important string of games that includes a Champions League last-16 tie against Galatasaray and a Premier League match against Tottenham at Anfield on 15 March.

British number one Emma Raducanu says she wants to "bring my instincts back out" as she prepares for Indian Wells in California.

Matthieu Jalibert has been passed fit to steer France from fly half as they target the Six Nations title against Scotland.

A bonus-point victory in Edinburgh would be enough for Les Bleus to secure the defence of their title with a round to spare, with Jalibert’s return a significant boost.

The Bordeaux Begles playmaker had been a late withdrawal from the side that beat Italy in round three, suffering a minor injury that forced a backline reshuffle after Thomas Ramos stepped in at No 10.

With Jalibert back, Ramos returns to full-back and Theo Attissogbe to the right wing, while the fly half’s club colleagues Yoram Moefana and Nicolas Depoortere are reunited in the centres after injury.

Mickael Guillard and Charles Ollivon are preferred to Emmanuel Meafou and Thibaud Flament in the second row, and Anthony Jelonch overcomes an injury scare to continue at No 8.

On the bench, scrum half Baptiste Serin is poised to earn a 50th cap as cover to captain Antoine Dupont.

France XV to face Scotland in Edinburgh (Saturday 7 March, 2.10pm GMT): 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 2 Julien Marchand, 3 Dorian Aldegheri; 4 Charles Ollivon, 5 Mickael Guillard; 6 Francois Cros, 7 Oscar Jegou, 8 Anthony Jelonch; 9 Antoine Dupont (capt.), 10 Matthieu Jalibert; 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 12 Yoram Moefana, 13 Nicolas Depoortere, 14 Theo Attissogbe; 15 Thomas Ramos.

Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Rodrigue Neti, 18 Demba Bamba, 19 Thibaud Flament, 20 Emmanuel Meafou, 21 Lenni Nouchi; 22 Baptiste Serin, 23 Pierre-Louis Barassi.

Some NFL teams have made some early moves to adjust their roster before the 2026 season. But we’re still in the quirky window between last season, and the start of the next season’s NFL calendar.

After the scouting combine, the NFL turns attention to free agency, then the NFL draft in late April.

And before you know it, we’ll have another NFL season on our hands.

Here are some important dates to know heading into the next season:

NFL offseason calendar 2026

Franchise tag window closes: March 3

Teams have until 4 p.m. ET to franchise or transition tag a pending free agent.

NFL legal tampering begins: March 9-11

The negotiation process begins between NFL teams and agents on players hitting the open market.

NFL free agency, new league year: March 11

The new league year begins at 3 p.m. ET, signaled by the first wave of free agent deals agreed to during the tampering window.

NFL league meetings: March 29 to April 1

NFL owners, lead executives and coaches will meet in Phoenix for the annual league meetings to discuss rule changes and other matters.