Irish system set for acid test; World football’s biggest winner-takes-all prize match

Leinster and Ireland could be without James Ryan for up to 12 weeks leaving him in a race against time to be fit for Ireland's re-arranged 2020 Six Nations games against Italy at the Aviva Stadium on October 24th and France in Stade de France a week later. The young lock is almost certain to miss the remainder of Leinster's season, which is liable to mean more game time for yet another St Michael's secondrow, Ryan Baird. In his column this morning, Gerry Thornley explains how the Irish system will face its acid test with the front-loaded return to action over the coming months: "it's not so much the length of this 50-week campaign nor even, perhaps, the number of games players are exposed to. More, it's potentially the unrelenting high stakes and additional demands which will be placed on players this season, and that it is so uniquely front-loaded."

Manchester United are in advanced negotiations with Borussia Dortmund to sign Jadon Sancho for an initial €100m, which would break the record fee for an English player they set last summer when signing Harry Maguire for £85m (€94m). All eyes will be on Wembley tonight as Brentford and Fulham clash in the Championship playoff final, in what still remains world football's biggest financial, winner-takes-all prize match. That kicks off at 7.45pm. Last night in the Airtricity League, Derry City got back up and running at Richmond Park with a 2-0 win over St Patrick's. They bounced back from Friday's defeat to Sligo Rovers and showed more energy and desire than St Patrick's who were a shadow of the side that earned a point at champions Dundalk the same night. Tonight, Finn Harps host Shelbourne and Sligo Rovers are at home against Waterford.

Ireland take on England in the final match of their ODI series this afternoon, after losing the first two despite the emergence of some impressive young players such as new all-rounder, Curtis Campher. Sure, this series is gone – the visitors comfortably accounted for in the first two one-day internationals on Thursday and Saturday – but when veteran Kevin O'Brien speaks, it is about "individual pride" and trying to set straight their top-order batting woes. The action gets underway at 2pm at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

Meanwhile Shane Lowry goes into this week's US PGA Championship at Harding Park as golf's most recent Major winner, and now the Offalyman looks to have found some form heading into the first Major of the 2020 season. Irish cyclist Dan Martin is looking forward to hitting the road with new team-mate Chris Froome, and Sean Moran talks to former Waterford hurling boss Derek McGrath about the extent to which county panels will be revisited in this strange year, where managers are in the unusual situation of having the evidence of a whole county championship to help with decision making.