Manchester United are waiting to discover the extent of the injury that forced midfielder Manuel Ugarte to be taken off the pitch on a stretcher during Uruguay’s 1-0 World Cup defeat by Spain in Guadalajara.

Ugarte twisted awkwardly as he tried to make a tackle in the build-up to Spain’s winning goal, sparking fears the 25-year-old, who was distraught as he left the field, has suffered a major problem.

United will wait for Uruguay’s medical staff to give them an update before deciding the best course of action.

Ugarte had gone into the World Cup knowing he was likely to be in the shop window this summer, given United have prioritised revamping their midfield.

The £50.8m arrival from Paris St-Germain in 2024 has not reached the heights anticipated during his time at Old Trafford and did not feature for a single minute after starting the home Premier League defeat by Leeds on 13 April.

It was widely anticipated he would move on this summer, either permanently or on loan.

Now those plans are in doubt, with thoughts at United focused on the wellbeing of a player it was hoped would enjoy some good fortune to kick-start his career.

United have prioritised strengthening the midfield positions this summer and have already agreed a deal with Brazil midfielder Ederson to join the club from Serie A outfit Atalanta when the World Cup comes to an end.

BOSTON — Payton Tolle woke up Friday morning with body aches and a fever, but there was little doubt in his mind whether he’d make his start that night for the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees.

“I was like, I don’t feel great, but I’m gonna pitch today,” he said, noting he wasn’t sure whether he should even tell the medical staff. But he relented and was given cold medicine and a booster of vitamins, a cocktail that seemed to do the trick — and then some.

The 23-year-old rookie was perfect for 16 straight batters, inducing swings-and-misses, recording quick outs and dazzling on the mound against a tough Yankees lineup. It wasn’t until one out in the sixth inning that Spencer Jones’ bloop single to left broke up Tolle’s bid at a perfect game. By that point, the Red Sox were in cruise control en route to a 6-1 victory.

“He was awesome, just awesome,” interim manager Chad Tracy said. “Pounded the strike zone, was ahead in the count all night, struck out seven, had his secondaries working, landing curveballs, used the cutter very effectively. Just really good.”

By the seventh, Tolle started to run out of steam, adding two walks to his line. But on a night he wasn’t feeling great, he pitched perhaps the best start of his career, with seven scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and two walks, striking out seven. He threw 88 pitches, 61 for strikes, and registered 11 swings-and-misses. Tolle roared with emotion after a deep flyout ended the seventh, walking off the mound to a standing ovation.

“It was really cool,” he said. “I figured it was my last batter, too, so I took a moment. It was a slow walk in just because I wanted to look up and take it in again.”

Tolle’s performance marked the ninth straight quality start for the Red Sox, a feat the club hadn’t achieved since 2013.

It also marked Tolle’s second dominant start against the Yankees this season, after an 11-strikeout performance in April.

That is the frustration with this Red Sox team. Glimpses of potential, rookies coming into their own, but a team that hasn’t been able to gain any momentum all year. Even taking the first two games against the Yankees in this four-game series doesn’t move the needle much for the Red Sox in a disappointing season.

And yet, there can still be appreciation for brilliant performances such as Tolle’s.

He needed just nine pitches in the first inning and 10 in the second, striking out the side on two curveballs and a four-seamer. Because he was under the weather, his velocity was down a bit, forcing him to home in on each inning even more.

“I’m definitely trying to get to spots better because you can’t just blow guys away,” he said of his mid-90s velocity.

After a 10-pitch third, he needed just five pitches in the fifth and sat at 51 pitches through five perfect frames.

Without hard four-seamers, he relied more on his curveball, keeping the Yankees off balance.

“I think that can be a large part of what helps out throughout the course of the game, because it puts that in a hitter’s head now that they have to think about it,” he said.

With Tolle rolling, the Red Sox offense did its part for the second night in a row. Wilyer Abreu tripled in the first and scored on a Willson Contreras single. In the second, with the bases loaded, Tsung-Che Cheng grounded out to score another run. Cheng had been called up for his big-league debut earlier in the day with Marcelo Mayer landing on the injured list. Mickey Gasper made it 3-0 with another groundout. Contreras hit a solo homer in the third.

In the fifth, when Tolle was still flirting with perfection, a return to Red Sox-Yankees days of old surfaced when benches cleared over a brushback pitch. Contreras drew a walk off starter Will Warren but had words for Warren as he headed to first because Warren’s inside offering was too close for Contreras’ comfort.

“Part of the game, that’s it,” Contreras said afterward.

“I think we need a little more of that saltiness or rivalry, I’ll say that,” he added. “It makes baseball fun. I think it engages more people around, too.”

As he spoke about Tolle’s brilliant performance and his own 2-for-3 night, Contreras also spoke at length about his home country, Venezuela, which is reeling from two earthquakes in recent days. Contreras has been posting on his social media accounts ways to help back home, and the Red Sox are gathering donations to help through the end of this homestand.

“It’s really hard to separate or fake that we are good just because we have to work,” he said. “I mean, we’re professional. We have to show up and work. But it’s really tough when you know what’s going on in Venezuela, you’re here playing for your team, trying to win the game, trying to perform, and at the same time trying to seek ways to help.”

In the midst of a rough season, the Red Sox have watched two of their rookie starters dominate the Yankees on back-to-back nights and will send another, Jake Bennett, to the mound Saturday for a chance to win three straight at home for the first time this season.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen made it clear to all 31 general managers in the NHL that he was open for business heading into the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft. He was willing to trade pick No. 4 or pick No. 20 if there was a player available who matched the value of the pick.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman opened the network’s broadcast with a report linking the Sabres to Winnipeg Jets star goalie Connor Hellebuyck and even added Hellebuyck would be willing to waive his no-movement clause to come to Buffalo if the Jets and Sabres agreed on a trade. Throughout the week, it felt like the Sabres were linked to almost every player on the trade market.

Anticipation built at the KeyBank Center as the first round approached. Kekäläinen had spent the week making decisive and aggressive trades. Sabres fans in attendance at the draft wondered whether a whopper of a move was coming. But Kekäläinen had a pretty good idea after the morning was quiet that he was going to make the pick at No. 4.

“There were a ton of calls early on about pick No. 4, but we weren’t going to move it for something that wasn’t significant,” Kekäläinen said. “It would have taken a significant offer for us to move from four. We had some offers where we could have moved back a little bit and gotten something in return. All kind of different options that we were kind of taking notes for a couple of ideas for what might be out there with Pick 4. But to outright trade pick No. 4, it would have needed to be an impact player who could have played with our team for a good period of time, not just helped us next year or the year after. Somebody with either term or good age that we have control of for many, many years. That’s what you get with pick No. 4. You get a guy that can be in your system for the next 10-15 years.”

Nobody offered that type of player, so the Sabres drafted a player they hope can be just that. They used the No. 4 pick to take right-handed defenseman Daxon Rudolph, who spent last season playing for Prince Albert in the WHL. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Rudolph was the first defenseman off the board, starting a run of four straight defensemen drafted.

Of course, the Sabres had pick No. 20 as a trade chip, too. In the middle of the first round, the St. Louis Blues traded a pair of first-round picks to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Mason McTavish. Again, intrigue built around the Sabres’ pick at No. 20. But they had a target in mind and no strong offers for the pick. So when they were on the clock, they drafted Russian center Ilia Morozov, who spent last season playing at Miami of Ohio as a 17-year-old. He’s been in the United States since just before his 15th birthday with an eye toward being an NHL player. His two-way game at such a young age in college makes it easy to see his NHL potential.

But neither Rudolph nor Morozov will be making an impact on the 2026-27 Buffalo Sabres. Rudolph is heading to the University of Denver, hoping that after one season, he will be ready to make the jump to the NHL. Morozov will be going back to Miami for his sophomore season.

The Sabres are fresh off a playoff appearance and look ready to open a competitive window. There is understandable angst from fans wanting to see impactful additions who can help right now. That’s why Kekäläinen was open for business.

But as he’s shown this week, Kekäläinen is not going to panic with the short term in mind. When Bowen Byram said he wasn’t going to sign, Kekäläinen found a way to get the best possible package, getting pick No. 4, pick No. 45 and defenseman Louis Crevier. He then flipped pick No. 45 and prospect Anton Wahlberg to Anaheim for 22-year-old defenseman Olen Zellweger, who brings a similar skillset to Byram’s.

When contract talks broke down with Alex Tuch, Kekäläinen found a sign-and-trade partner and recouped a third-round pick. He wasn’t going to hand out the eight-year contract worth $10.5 million per year that the Washington Capitals gave Tuch.

Are the Sabres worse on paper now than they were at the end of the playoffs? Possibly. But this time last year, we were wondering how the Sabres would replace JJ Peterka’s production. Peterka was just traded for a second time in two years, and the Sabres got more than enough out of Josh Doan.

Two years ago, a few days after free agency, the Sabres swung a trade for Ryan McLeod, who has been a solid middle-six center for them. There’s still time for Kekäläinen to improve this roster, and he undoubtedly will between now and September.

In the meantime, he now has even more assets to work with. The prospect pool got deeper on defense, making it easier for Buffalo to consider moving one of these prospects in a trade. Adding another center to the pool helps the Sabres backfill their young forwards who have advanced to the NHL.

Between the NHL roster and the prospects and draft capital at his disposal, Kekäläinen has more than enough to add to this roster. Now we see what the rest of the weekend brings.

Why Rudolph?

The Sabres went away from consensus by making Rudolph the first defenseman off the board. His offensive ability stands out, as his 1.15 points per game were the fourth-best age-17 season in the WHL since Scott Niedermayer. But the Sabres saw more than just offense.

“He’s got some jam to him too, plays hard,” Kekäläinen said. “But his instincts are great. I think that’s the biggest thing that we like about him is it’s not just his physical ability, it’s his hockey IQ. His instincts are great.”

With Jerry Forton running amateur scouting, the Sabres have placed a premium on hockey sense, and Rudolph might have the best among the top defensemen in this class.

Where does Zellweger fit?

Zellweger is a fascinating addition for the Sabres. He’s one of the fastest defensemen in the NHL. Only four defensemen in the league clocked more 20-22 miles per hour skating bursts than Zellweger did last season. He has back-to-back 20-point seasons and seems to just be scratching the surface of his offensive potential. The biggest issue is size and strength in battles, but the Sabres have some defensemen to pair him with to potentially mitigate that issue. Kekäläinen expects Zellweger and newly acquired Crevier to compete for the right to play on a pair with Owen Power next season.

“Trading Bo Byram obviously created a hole,” Kekäläinen said. “This is a young player that has a lot of the same qualities, really good skater, speed, puck play, the ability to move up the ice, whether to pass or carry the puck out of the zone. We see a lot of potential in him.”

Other notes

Kekäläinen said after the first round that the Sabres acquired David Kämpf to help the Capitals move a contract. It didn’t sound like the Sabres have an intention to sign him. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent July 1.