Birmingham City are set to host European giants Barcelona this summer as part of the Spanish club’s pre-season schedule.

Hansi Flick’s side will be based at St George’s Park, England’s national training centre, for approximately two weeks, with their arrival scheduled for 27 July.

They are also expected to play two additional friendlies, one in the Kenyan capital Nairobi and another in Morocco, after departing England.

The exact date of the fixture against Championship side Birmingham has yet to be confirmed.

With many Spanish internationals likely to remain on holiday following the World Cup, depending on Spain’s progress in the tournament, Barca’s squad in England may be limited.

However, these fixtures will help offset the absence of a traditional pre-season tour.

The World Cup is taking place across the US, Mexico and Canada from 11 June to 19 July with some clubs opting for European tours rather than long-haul flights.

Barcelona, who are closing in on successive La Liga titles, say that because of the World Cup it was not “technically and commercially feasible to organise a proper overseas tour.”

Emma Raducanu is targeting a return to the WTA Tour in Strasbourg in two weeks’ time following her withdrawal from the Italian Open on health grounds.

The British number one is, however, reliant on a wildcard having missed the entry deadline.

Raducanu, 23, was granted a wildcard for last year’s WTA 500 event and beat top 20 player Daria Kasatkina, before losing to American Danielle Collins.

The tournament, which starts on 17 May, has not yet confirmed whether a wildcard will be forthcoming.

Rory McIlroy says he is “more motivated than I’ve ever been” as he returns to action for the first time since successfully defending the Masters.

The world number two became just the fourth player to win successive Green Jackets when he held off Scottie Scheffler at Augusta National last month.

Last year, Northern Ireland’s McIlroy became just the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam with his play-off victory over Justin Rose, and he admits the aftermath of his second Augusta triumph “feels a lot different”.

“Even winning felt different,” McIlroy said before his PGA Tour return at this week’s Truist Championship.

“I guess, you know, and I’ve spoke about this a lot, I felt like winning the Grand Slam was going to be this life-changing thing and in some ways it was, but in other ways I had to remember like, no, I still have a lot of my career left and I want to keep playing and keep competing.

“So this year was, I think, validation for all the work that I’ve put in over the last few years to get myself back to this place where I’m winning majors.”