Robert Helenius failed a pre-fight drugs test prior to his recent heavyweight fight with former world champion Anthony Joshua, it has been revealed. The 39-year-old Finn, knocked out by Joshua in the seventh round at London’s O2 Arena on 12 August, had stepped in as a late replacement for Dillian Whyte, who had failed a drugs test himself. Fight promoter Matchroom Boxing confirmed in a statement on Twitter that Helenius had “returned an adverse analytical finding” after being voluntarily tested on 11 August. Matchroom Boxing said: “Today, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (Vada) has informed Matchroom and the British Boxing Board of Control that Robert Helenius has returned an adverse analytical finding as part of a random anti-doping protocol. “Helenius was voluntarily tested on Friday, 11 August before the heavyweight fighter’s defeat by Anthony Joshua in London on Saturday, 12 August. The result was made known to Matchroom today. “Matchroom defers to the relevant regulatory authorities on next steps. We vehemently continue to support voluntary anti-doping testing. We are committed to promoting a clean and fair sport for all athletes.” Joshua had been scheduled to fight British rival Whyte at the O2 Arena on 12 August before the latter returned an adverse finding from a doping test. Whyte later said he was “shocked and devastated” to learn of Vada’s findings and intended to prove his innocence. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Jurgen Klopp insists Mohamed Salah is 100 per cent committed to Liverpool as speculation over a big-money move to Saudi Arabia dominates the gossip columns.

Juanma Lillo will introduce himself to the Premier League at large on Sunday as he takes charge of champions Manchester City in Pep Guardiola’s absence. Guardiola’s little-known number two will call the shots from the dugout as the treble winners travel to Sheffield United without their influential manager. Guardiola is recuperating in Spain after undergoing back surgery earlier this week and so Lillo, who only rejoined the club this summer after a year away, finds himself in the spotlight. The experienced 57-year-old has had a varied and interesting coaching career, working in countries including Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Japan and China as well as his native Spain. He first joined Guardiola’s backroom staff after the departure of Mikel Arteta in 2020 and spent two years at the Etihad Stadium before leaving to take up a post in Qatar. City swept to Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup glory without him but Guardiola sought to bring him back after the exits of Enzo Maresca and Rodolfo Borrell at the end of the campaign. The pair have been friends since Guardiola played under Lillo at Mexican side Dorados de Sinaloa and were keen to work together again. “When I left was more of a ‘see you later’,” said Lillo at a press conference. “He’s someone very special to me, not only in footballing terms. “I am here to be with someone who’s been very important in my life.” Lillo recognises he has returned to a very strong set-up and is determined to do his best to ensure it remains that way. He said: “A good team without good players is impossible, but at the moment we have good players and a really good coach. It’s very well managed. “The way we train has a lot to do towards the way we play. That’s how we do it. “Things might not always go our way, but I can assure you that we’re going to continue doing things the right way.” Bernardo Silva, who signed a new contract at City this week, is available again for the trip to Bramall Lane after illness. New signing Jeremy Doku could come into the reckoning but John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne are sidelined. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Eddie Howe admits last season’s battles with Liverpool remain vivid memories On this day in 2014: Man Utd break British record to sign Angel Di Maria Daniel Dubois aiming to ‘bully and shake up’ Oleksandr Usyk in title showdown

Eddie Howe will send his Newcastle side into battle with Liverpool still haunted by the memories of their encounters last season. The Reds were the only club to complete a Premier League double over the Magpies, although they gained a measure of revenge when they went on to finish fourth – one place and four points better off than Jurgen Klopp’s men. However, Howe admits it does not take much to stoke memories of the Fabio Carvalho winner in the eighth minute of stoppage time which handed Liverpool victory at Anfield last August, or the red card in a 2-0 defeat in the reverse fixture which cost goalkeeper Nick Pope his place in the Carabao Cup final. Howe said: “I move on quickly from the game in the sense that then you have to prepare the next one, but I think the emotion of the game and the feeling and the memories of the game, they stay with you for some time. “The memories of last year’s games, they’re with me. I can visualise certain moments, but then you have to detach yourself from that and go, ‘right, how do we prepare this one?’, because whether it’s tactical or whatever the thing is that you think you can do better, it’s about then delivering that to the best of your ability. “There’s a lot of defeats in my management career that are still there and they just need probably the emotions stoking and they’ll come back to the forefront of my brain.” Newcastle’s resurgence, fuelled in large part by the wealth of their Saudi-backed owners, has seen them re-establish a rivalry with Liverpool which sparked a series of memorable encounters in the 1990s. Klopp has on more than one occasion taken aim at the Magpies, and the two coaching teams have at times enjoyed a frosty relationship on the touchline. However, Howe expressed surprise at the perception there is added needle between the two camps when they go head-to-head. Asked why he believed the rivalry had become so intense in recent seasons, he replied: “I don’t know. Has it? There will be moments and flash-points because they are two iconic clubs going against each other. Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe “Genuinely, I think the rivalry between Newcastle and Liverpool has always been there, historically. I don’t think it’s been ramped up particularly any more than it’s always been. “When the game’s been on historically over a number of years, it’s a game everyone will go, ‘I want to watch that, I want to see what’s going to happen’. “There will be moments and flashpoints because they are two iconic clubs going against each other. I don’t think it’s necessarily ramped up in the last two years.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Juanma Lillo says Man City ‘well managed’ as he fills in for Pep Guardiola On this day in 2014: Man Utd break British record to sign Angel Di Maria Daniel Dubois aiming to ‘bully and shake up’ Oleksandr Usyk in title showdown

Saturday's football transfer rumours include surprise interest from Man Utd in Ryan Bertrand, Joao Cancelo, Sofyan Amrabat, Romelu Lukaku, Trevoh Chalobah, Piero Hincapie, Joao Felix & more.

Amane Beriso Shankule led an Ethiopian 1-2 as she won the women's marathon at the World Athletics Championships...

The WWE community is mourning the loss of Bray Wyatt, who has passed away 'suddenly' aged 36. A health issue meant he hadn't been involved in wrestling much in 2023, however, his family have confirmed his death was unexpected. Wyatt was a three-time world champion. "Very unique, cool and rare character, which is hard to create in our crazy world of pro wrestling", Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson commented on X, formerly known as Twitter. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Outlawed in the 1960s for being "inhumane" the current president wants to bring it back.

The Seattle Mariners tied Texas for the AL West lead, beating the Kansas City Royals 7-5 behind Eugenio Suárez’s three hits and three RBIs that included go-ahead, two-run single in the fourth inning

Tommy Pham lost a homer due to a bizarre fan interference after stretching his hitting streak to 15 games, and the surging Arizona Diamondbacks held off the Cincinnati Reds 10-4

Spencer Strider became the major leagues’ first 15-game winner, pitching three-hit ball over seven inning in leading the the Atlanta Braves over the slumping San Francisco Giants 5-1

Bryce Young completed 7 of 12 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown in his final tuneup before the regular season, and the Carolina Panthers lost 26-17 to the Detroit Lions