Nathan Cleary has responded to the horrific ankle injury that has ruled him out of the Rugby League World Cup by declaring “I’ll be back.”

The Australia great, 28, will miss the tournament in his home country after suffering a compound fracture and dislocation to his left ankle while playing for Penrith Panthers in their NRL play-off defeat by Newcastle Knights on Sunday.

Half-back Cleary – who helped Australia win the World Cup in Manchester four years ago – needed emergency surgery in hospital after being injured in a tackle by Phoenix Crossland.

Knights hooker Crossland was sent off for a ‘hip-drop’ tackle – which the NRL outlawed in 2020.

A hip-drop tackle is committed when a defender grabs the runner with both hands or wraps them with both arms, and then swivels or drops the hips or lower body, landing on and trapping the opponent’s leg below the knees.

“Surgery done… Thank you so much to everyone that has reached out, the support has been unbelievable,” Cleary posted on Instagram.

“Yesterday sucked but it’s all part of the journey and it’s made me even more grateful for the people I have around me. I’ll be back.”

Cleary had started Sunday’s match on the bench because he was already carrying an injury to his right foot, which had a broken bone.

His father Ivan, the Panthers’ head coach, said afterwards that his son would have surgery on both feet.

“I think that’s why I was even more emotional on what happened to him, how hard he worked and what he put himself through to get himself to play today,” the coach said.

Crossland was referred to the NRL Judiciary over the tackle, and is likely to receive a lengthy ban which would not only rule him out of Sunday’s NRL Grand Final, in which Newcastle face Sydney Roosters, but may also affect his availability for New Zealand during the World Cup.

Australia will face New Zealand in the opening match of the World Cup in Sydney on 15 October (10:05 BST). The two teams are also favourites to face each other in the final, in Brisbane on 15 November (08:35 GMT).

Lando Norris has apologised to Franco Colapinto for saying the Argentine should be banned for causing an accident at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Colapinto locked up at the restart after a safety-car period and slid into Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly, who then hit McLaren driver Norris, in an incident which resulted in all three retiring from the race.

Colapinto said he was “sorry” for his “big mistake” but Norris, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “Give him a ban. It’s quite simple.”

In a message on Instagram, world champion Norris said he was sorry for his comments on Saturday.

“Tough weekend overall in Baku and of course a disappointing and early end to the race,” he said.

“After the race, I sent Franco a message apologising for the comments I made that I simply should not have said.

“I know better and emotions were running high but that is not an excuse, it was wrong of me.

“I’ve made mistakes of my own over the years and I know this is very much a part of racing and fighting on the limit.

“Me and Franco came to a good understanding, are still good friends and are both excited to get back racing this weekend.”

Colapinto was given a 10-second penalty during the race, but as he was already retired this has been converted into a five-place grid drop, which he will serve at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia this weekend.

With hair that reaches his ankles, Aedan Scipio’s dreadlocks are certainly hard to miss.

In fact, the 36-year-old’s hair is so long that he has to wear a band around his waist to keep it tied to his body.

But while the forward’s lengthy locks may be his standout feature, they can be somewhat of an operational hazard.

Scipio emerged from the bench in the 69th minute with Anguilla already 5-0 down against Antigua and Barbuda in their Concacaf Nations League game at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

It took just three minutes for Scipio to inadvertently make an impact, when opponent Keon Greene was shown a straight red card for tugging his dreadlocks.

Incredibly, the hair-pulling didn’t end there.

Antigua and Barbuda were reduced to nine men in added time when Scipio was taken off his feet by Shalon Knight pulling his dreadlocks from behind.

Scipio’s Anguilla are 210th in Fifa’s international rankings, with San Marino the only nation below them.