[attach id=546193 size="medium"]Jonathan Sexton... hamstring problem.[/attach]

Rugby Union: Ireland’s injured flyhalf Jonathan Sexton and centre Robbie Henshaw will miss this weekend’s test with Australia at the Aviva Stadium, team manager Michael Kearney said. Sexton and Henshaw suffered a hamstring problem and concussion respectively in the 21-9 loss to New Zealand, who the Irish beat for the first time in 111 years two weeks’ before in the US. Ireland full-back Rob Kearney and back rower CJ Stander were also concussed and are doubtful for Saturday’s match.

Equestrian: World equestrian chiefs have voted in favour of proposed format changes for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Under the new proposals – which now go forward to IOC executive board members for approval next year – team numbers in the Olympic equestrian disciplines of dressage, eventing and showjumping will be reduced from four to three per nation, with no discard score. Eleven national equestrian federations out of 107 represented at the general assembly of the FEI in Tokyo voted against the changes, including Germany, France, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Basket, NBA: Golden State Warriors stretched their winning streak to eight games as they bulldozed Indiana Pacers 120-83 in the NBA. Klay Thompson led the way with 25 points – coming in just 26 minutes –  with Stephen Curry also adding 22 points in a comfortable success. Elsewhere, Los Angeles Clippers continue to impress, improving their championship record to 13-2 following a 123-115 win over Toronto Raptors, Blake Griffin scoring 26 points.

Cricket: England are set to recall Jos Buttler as a specialist batsman in their team for the third test against India in Mohali with Ben Duckett facing the axe after his struggles against off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the first two matches. The left-handed Duckett scored 56 in the second innings against Bangladesh in Dhaka but has accumulated just 54 runs in six innings since. Ashwin, the world’s top-ranked bowler, dismissed him three times in Rajkot and Visakhapatnam and the 22-year-old appears to have technical flaws in his defence against spinners.

Athletics: Charges against Italian sports agent Federico Rosa over the alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs have been dropped, a Kenyan magistrate announced yesterday. Rosa, who had denied the charges made against him in July, runs Italy-based company Rosa & Associati. Kenya, renowned for its long distance runners, has faced frequent allegations of doping with some 40 cases reported in the past four years.

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