It had been 504 days since Daniel James last scored for Leeds United before Tuesday night’s opener at Nottingham Forest.

It is a barren wait nobody could have anticipated when he slid the ball home inside two minutes at Middlesbrough in April 2025. Leeds were in the Championship and bearing down on a 100-point tally, which clinched the 2024-25 title. James was involved in 21 league goals that year, which saw him named on the three-player shortlist for Championship Player of the Season and crowned United’s Player of the Year.

His stock had never been higher at Elland Road. James was finally adding end product to his electric speed. He signed a new four-year contract that July, and it was hoped he would carry that momentum into last season’s Premier League return.

The Wales international would ultimately play just 559 league minutes. As Daniel Farke pointed out after the 2-0 Carabao Cup win in Nottingham on Tuesday night, Leeds failed to score at any point he was on the field in the league. That is not a statistic which has seen much airtime, but the manager’s comments indicated it had become a talking point inside the club.

“I’m so unbelievably happy for Daniel James because he’s a brilliant player and an even better human being,” he told his post-match press conference. “It was such a tough last season with many injuries (for him).

“We had the topic (that) we have not scored one goal once he was on the pitch last season (in the league), and it’s like he knew this. And he himself has not scored a goal in ages.

“How important it is for him to stay fit and sharp, and also his confidence, he has proven today because he had a really good pre-season and looked sharp in the games, no injuries, could work hard, could bring his body in a really good position.

“Of course, after such a year when you know the team has never scored a goal when you are on the pitch, it’s realistic to say the chances don’t come around that often. If they come around, you have to grab them with both hands. This is what he did today.”

James strikes against Forest (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Injuries effectively wiped out any chance James had of making a mark last season. He went from being one of the star men, one of the first names on Farke’s teamsheet in 2024-25, to a non-entity in 2025-26. He was even clearly conscious of how blunt the team was with him on the field.

There were shorter absences for core, ankle and adductor issues over the course of the year, but a hamstring problem, which wiped out December and January, was the killer blow. He picked up that injury in the visit to Manchester City, when Farke memorably switched formation and transformed the club’s season.

James watched on as the manager used 5-3-2, 3-5-2 and 3-4-2-1 formations to push the club away from danger. He returned to the bench in February and made do with cameos, but did not start again until May 11’s dead rubber at Tottenham Hotspur, after Leeds had guaranteed their top-flight status.

The winger has had the chance to rebuild himself at Leeds this summer. Wales failed to qualify for the World Cup, which gave him a full break and meant he returned for pre-season on day one.

The first step was avoiding injury and playing a key part in the summer friendlies. He did that and has at least put himself in a position to consider where he plays in this system.

James has built his career as a winger with rapid pace. Last season, only 11 players recorded higher speeds than his top recording of 36.13 kilometres per hour in the Premier League. And yet, Farke has not regularly used conventional wingers since November 2025.

This summer, James was used as the left-sided attacking midfielder behind a striker in the 3-4-2-1. Then, last night, he was stationed as the right wing-back in the same formation, but Farke said they created a unique role for him.

“He was excellent,” he said. “We tried to create a bit of a role for him today, which was probably not invented in football so far, because he was not a winger, he was not a wing-back, he was something in between.

“Against the ball and also in possession, excellent, a very all-round game and I’m so happy. This will be a big boost for his confidence, for his rhythm.

“(This was) one of the most important things (from) today, next to going through into the next round.”

How does James make himself a fixture for Leeds in this system? Jayden Bogle has cemented his role as the right-sided wing-back. James can offer an attacking outlet, but he will always struggle defensively.

Perhaps his best bet will be in that left-sided attacking role, where he can cut in and be the attacker he naturally wants to be. Brenden Aaronson started there on Saturday, but has struggled for consistency over his time at Leeds.

Noah Okafor is, arguably, the club’s best player there, but his pre-season started late after Switzerland’s World Cup run and his own injury record is patchy. The club’s ongoing interest in Mykhailo Mudryk, among others in that mould, underlines Farke’s appetite for something better there.

It’s a big ask for James, but he has to aim for something in this team. He won’t want to wave another season past from the sidelines. He took what felt like his first step forward in a long time on Tuesday night.

St Helens legend Jonny Lomax is to retire at the end of the 2026 Super League season, he announced on Tuesday.

Lomax, who has not featured since fracturing his jaw in Saints’ defeat by Warrington Wolves in June, has made 388 appearances for the club, winning five Grand Finals, one Challenge Cup and a World Club Challenge.

He won four caps for Great Britain and 11 for England, which included a World Cup final appearance against Australia in 2017.

Lomax confirmed the move with a post on his Instagram that read: “At the end of 2026, I will call time on my playing career. This was something I always planned, and those closest to me have always been aware of.

“Over the last 20 years [18 professionally], I have been able to live out a boyhood dream. Achieving far more than I could ever have imagined. Representing and captaining my hometown club and, of course, the pinnacle, representing England and Great Britain.

“I will retire at the age of 36, grateful for the life the game has given me, knowing I have given it everything I could, with the scars to prove it [19 operations, including 12 knee ops by the age of 26]. Despite this, I still feel lucky.

“For those that have supported me throughout it all… I hope I have been able to do you proud.”

Saints are currently on 28 points and seventh in the Super League standings, one place outside of the play-off positions with three games to go.

They need to leapfrog one of Hull KR (sixth, 30 points), Leigh Leopards (fifth, 32 points) or Wakefield Trinity (fourth, 32 points) down the stretch.

Current Super League leaders Leeds Rhinos, as well as Wigan Warriors – tied on 38 points but with an inferior point differential – and Warrington Wolves, two back in third, have already qualified for the play-offs.

Sky Sports will show every game of the Super League live this season, including two matches each round exclusively live. The remaining five matches will be broadcast on Sky Sports+.

It is not just Smith who has invested in football since a young age. Her dad, Sean, was tracking her statistics to monitor her progress.

“That is his favourite thing in the world to do. When I was younger, he would literally film all my games,” said Smith.

“After games, we would go back and watch everything, see what I could have done better and what I did well.

“He kept a diary of the goals that I scored, what minute it was in and things like that. He still has it to this day. He loves it!”

Beyond football, Smith loves to cook and watch TV series – Law and Order: SVU is a current favourite – and she says she is “dying to get a puppy”.

The young forward has learned to become independent, having left home as a teenager in order to chase a professional career.

But it hasn’t been easy. When Smith moved to Michigan aged 15 on her own, she didn’t know where she would be living when she boarded the plane.

“Moving around a lot, you’re sacrificing relationships because you make good friends in one place, then you have to move,” said Smith.

“That makes it quite tough, especially when you’re young. I struggled a lot with that. I had to leave to get training elsewhere.

“It helped me get used to what was to come, so I think it was a very important sacrifice in my journey.

“I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to make so many connections in different places, so even though I’m away from home I feel like I have family.”

For the first time in her career, Smith is about to begin a second season at the same club having settled into life at Arsenal.

“When I stepped into the building for my second pre-season it just felt surreal. It feels like home. It feels like Arsenal’s the place that’s meant to be,” said Smith.

“It’s an honour to be here. I’m just super excited to see where it takes me. I’ve always wanted to be somewhere for more than a year; I’ve moved around so much.

“I also knew there was so much more for me and I wanted to be the best that I could be. All those moves led me here.”

Smith’s ambitions have not changed.

At the age of six or seven, she wrote down in a journal what she wanted to achieve.

“I had a journal with everything in it that I wanted to accomplish and what I wanted to do: I want to win the Ballon d’Or. I want to win the World Cup,” she added.

“That’s still the case today. I want to win trophies with [Arsenal]. I’ve had this mentality since I was young. It is what has driven me this far.”