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Mark Wood, an England fast bowler, will miss the crucial second Ashes Test in Brisbane due to concerns about his left knee.

Wood only just returned from a nine-month absence following England’s Perth defeat last week in the first-test match.

The 35-year-old’s innings counted 11 overs as England lost to Australia in their first two-day Ashes Test in 104 years.

Wood was the only player among the 13 players in Queensland who was not at Allan Border Field who did not play at England’s first training session on Saturday morning in Brisbane.

The most likely replacement for Wood would be Josh Tongue for the second Test, which will start on Thursday and will be a day-night fixture at the Gabba.

Wood’s additional setback to Durham and England is a huge blow. Even so, it might dissent from his perspective on the world.

Wood has a turbulent injury history, having been one of the fastest bowlers to ever score for England. He had an elbow issue, then had surgery on his left knee, and he had not played a test since then for 15 months.

Wood managed eight overs in his first Test match against the England Lions before suffering tightness in his left hamstring when he made his on-field comeback before the first Test.

He was cleared of any hamstring issues and given a pass for fitness to play in Perth, where he had match scores of 0-44.

Wood’s availability enabled England to carry out a long-awaited strategy to start beating Australia at the Ashes.

England’s opening day of Test cricket was their fastest overall bowling day thanks to a five-man pace attack at Perth Stadium.

Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie expressed concern for the robustness of England’s attack before learning about Wood’s injury.

Do they have enough work to be physically fit and powerful to bowl consistently high pace throughout the duration of a match before resuming it in other matches? Gillespie appeared on BBC World Service’s “Stumped.”

“That leaves me with a big question mark,” I thought.

England would be concerned about Wood’s absence at the Gabba, which hasn’t won there since 1986.

England have lost three of their previous seven tests in Australia, but they have a poor record in floodlit matches.

Australia has the best pink-ball player in the world in Mitchell Starc’s bowling position, winning 13 of their 14 day-night matches.

Under lights, the pink ball can be harder to see, but it does not behave differently from the red one.

When Starc played a day-night Test against Australia in Hobart in 2022, he last took nine wickets when he bowled over 87mph.

Former England seamer Stuart Broad said: “There’s something about the pink ball, you just can’t pick it up quite as well.” You also don’t see anything, so the seam is black against the pink background, but Mitchell Starc’s in-swinger might come back into the stumps or run around.

It’s just that the pink ball’s lights are reflecting off, making it almost seem like a large planet is coming your way.

Hugo Keenan, a full-back, has a hip injury that has prevented him from playing for Ireland in the Six Nations.

Keenan hasn’t played since the British and Irish Lions won the summer tournament in Australia.

The 29-year-old had preplanned hip surgery shortly after returning home, but the decisive try was the decisive try in the second Test to win the series.

He was excluded from Ireland’s autumn internationals because of that, but he will make a return to Leinster in the new year before Andy Farrell’s side face France in their opening match of the year on February 5.

When you’ve been using crutches for four or five weeks, you’re quickly brought back to life,” Keenen said on the BBC Sounds podcast’s Rugby Union Weekly.

You must “get it right,” not rush it. I’m moving and running again in January, and I’m hoping to return.

Keenan said that the decisive try in Australia was “the stuff you dream of,” despite having been sidelined since the Lions.

“That entire Lions tour was insane,” he said. He cited his own injury, his illness, and his reputation as the luckiest player on the team because everyone got hurt.

“Sometimes, it’s funny how the world works.”

Leinster, reigning champions, have had a difficult start to the United Rugby Championship, winning three of their six matches.

Ireland lost to New Zealand and South Africa in November after winning back-to-back Six Nations titles.

Keenan claims that the current state of affairs with both the province and the nation is unrequited.

“The past few years haven’t been perfect,” I say. You can’t win all of Leinster and Ireland, he said, despite the fact that we’ve had good years.

Can anyone stop Brazilian dominance, we asked when the Copa Libertadores this year began?

The answer was a clear “no.”

Because the final, like four of the others, is a Brazilian affair, this will be the seventh time the country has won in a row.

On Saturday, the big guns of Flamengo and Palmeiras will square off against one another in Lima, Peru. The game will be broadcast live on BBC Three starting at 21:00 GMT.

Whoever wins will become the first Brazilian team to win the trophy four times, and almost all of them have come during this era of dominance.

They each had one title going into 2019, which means that either Flamengo or Palmeiras have won the Libertadores five of the previous seven seasons, including this one.

In the domestic league, it is similar. In the last few days, Flamengo pulled away from the Brazilian title race, which the pair have been fighting head-to-head.

They are now five points clear of Palmeiras with two rounds left. The pair will now have won the league title in seven of the previous ten years, regardless of whether they cross the line or if they fall short and become overtaken.

It is predictable that this unprecedented period of one nation’s dominance of the Libertadores has roots in finance.

It was almost certain that Flamengo would emerge once the money started pouring into the Brazilian game and after they had resolved their historically chaotic off-field situation.

Rio de Janeiro is home to a sizable club, one of the biggest clubs outside of Europe, with a sizable fan base in a sizable nation.

This is a result of a successful rebranding in the 1930s, which included signing the three most influential black players of the time and gaining the popular touch.

They won hearts and minds on a national level when the new, glamorous medium of radio invaded Brazil and played their matches there.

Palmeiras’ inclusion in the big two is slightly surprising. That area would appear to be home to Sao Paulo’s largest city, Corinthians, than its biggest rival.

Palmeiras have profited enormously from Corinthians’ financial difficulties, which they have exposed. They are a well-run outfit that has the best of Brazil’s new stadiums for the least amount of money.

Prior to the Second World War, the club was known as “Palestra Italia,” which made them known in Sao Paulo’s vibrant Italian community.

The clubs’ models are similar: they produce and sell young stars and use the proceeds to finance a squad with depth and quality.

In the 2021 final, Palmeiras defeated them 2-1, with Andreas Pereira, a former Premier League midfielder who is currently a Palmeiras player, scoring the winning goal.

Both teams are stronger than they were four years ago, and they can now buy players from Europe and cherry-pick players from the other South American leagues with their swollen funds.

Six foreigners made up the Flamengo starting lineup that reached the final, along with Italy’s Jorginho, an ex-Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder. Four non-Brazilians were the first to start the game for Palmeiras, who added two more as they came off the bench.

They became more wealthy as a result of winning the Club World Cup.

Jorginho, Danilo, Emerson Royal, a former Tottenham right-back, and Saul and Samuel Lino, two other players, have been signed by Flamengo this year.

The Palmeiras have acquired Barcelona’s most expensive player ever, the goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, Paraguayan winger Ramon Sosa from Nottingham Forest, Andreas Pereira from Fulham, and striker Vitor Roque from Barcelona, who is also the most expensive player ever acquired by a Brazilian club.

Few well-known Brazilian players have recently entered the coaching industry.

Filipe Luis is a positive and positive development.

After Losing in the quarter-finals of the previous year’s Libertadores, the left-back from Atletico Madrid (and Chelsea) left-back retired from Flamengo two years ago, took over the youth teams, and stepped up to the seniors.

He looks for a bright future with intelligence and intelligence.

And that includes Palmeiras’ Abel Ferreira, the opposite number.

Five years of Portuguese football has been the club’s manager, which is an eternity.

The young Jose Mourinho has a lot of personality, as evidenced by some of his touchline tics and, more importantly, by how easily he can change his team between and during matches.

His players were fascinated by him right away.

After the disappointing Club World Cup and the defeat of Estevao to Chelsea, Palmeiras had to reevaluate.

Ferreira made a change after Vitor Roque had an unimpressive start.

The coach moved Vitor Roque to the left channel and signed Argentine center-forward Juan Manuel “Flaco” Lopez to play alongside him, acknowledging that the striker prefers space and was not working well when he was squeezed between the center-backs.

Although having a strike duo can strain the rest of the side, they both clicked.

When they last met Flamengo, which happened more than a month ago, that was the case.

Palmeiras high despite being away from home. adapted by Flamengo. They went direct instead of working the ball through Jorginho’s midfield. Although they had less possession and less shots, they won 3-2, perhaps more convincingly than the scoreline would suggest.

There are many reasons to think Saturday’s game will be different. Pedro, a top-scoring player that day, is injured and will miss the final.

A like-for-like replacement is lacking for Filipe Luis. Gonzalo Plata, an Ecuadorian winger who has occasionally played that role but has been suspended, might have been a candidate.

Thus, Palmeiras will almost certainly try to do something different from what they did in October, and Flamengo will not be able to replicate what they did.

Brazilian football’s calendar is insane, and the number of games become endurance tests as a result. Abel Ferreira may have to take a cautious approach because players are now on their last legs, which is frequently his preferred method for big games.

Could he choose five in the back instead? It is a possibility. Flamengo enjoys teasing their opponents, drawing them in, and then switching to Guillermo Varela’s surprise appearance at the far post.

With a back five, Palmeiras could follow the Argentine teams’ lead from the previous rounds.

Ferreira could use his excellent playmaker, the Uruguayan Giorgian de Arrascaeta, and spring Vitor Roque to hold off Flamengo’s exhausted attacking resources.

When this year’s version of the Copa Libertadores got under way, we posed a question: can anyone stop the Brazilian domination?

The answer has been an emphatic “no”.

This will be the seventh Brazilian win in a row, because the final, like four of the others in that time, is an all-Brazilian affair.

The big hitters of Flamengo and Palmeiras will contest the title in the Peruvian capital of Lima on Saturday, a game you can watch live on BBC Three from 21:00 GMT.

Whoever comes out on top will become the first Brazilian team to lift the trophy four times – and almost all of these triumphs have come in this recent period of domination.

Going into 2019 they had one title apiece – meaning that, including this year, either Flamengo or Palmeiras have claimed the Libertadores in five of the past seven seasons.

It is a similar story in the domestic league. The pair have been going toe to toe in the quest to be Brazilian champions, with Flamengo pulling away in the last few days.

With two rounds to go they lead Palmeiras by five points. Whether they get over the line – or if they slip up and are overtaken – it will mean the pair will have shared the league title in seven of the past 10 years.

This unprecedented period of one country’s domination of the Libertadores predictably has its roots in finance.

Once the money started flowing into the Brazilian game, and once they had sorted out their historically chaotic off-field situation, it was all but inevitable that Flamengo would rise to the surface.

They are a giant club, very possibly the biggest outside Europe, based in Rio de Janeiro but with a national fanbase in a massive country.

Part of this dates from the 1930s, when a club associated with the Rio elite conducted a successful act of re-branding, signing the three leading black players of the day and acquiring the popular touch.

With the new glamorous medium of radio taking their matches all over Brazil, they won hearts and minds on a national basis.

The presence of Palmeiras in the big two is a bit more surprising. That space would seem more likely to belong to local rivals Corinthians, the biggest club of Sao Paulo, the biggest city in the country.

But Corinthians have proved unable to sort out their finances, and Palmeiras have taken full advantage. Doing a shrewd deal to have probably the best of Brazil’s new stadiums at minimum cost, they are a well-run outfit.

The club of Sao Paulo’s huge Italian community, they used to be called ‘Palestra Italia’ until the Second World War forced a change of name.

There is a similarity in the model of the clubs – produce and sell young stars and use the proceeds to finance a squad with both depth and quality.

These two met in the 2021 final – Palmeiras won 2-1, the winning goal presented to them by an error from former Premier League midfielder Andreas Pereira, who now plays for Palmeiras.

Both sides are stronger than they were four years ago, their bulging pockets able to buy players from Europe, and cherry-pick from the other South American leagues.

The Flamengo starting line-up that reached the final featured six foreigners plus Jorginho, the ex-Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder who represents Italy. Palmeiras started with four non-Brazilians and brought two more off the bench.

Participation in the Club World Cup made them richer.

This year, Flamengo have brought in Jorginho, Danilo, one-time Tottenham right-back Emerson Royal and the Atletico Madrid pair of Saul and Samuel Lino.

Palmeiras have acquired goalkeeper Carlos Miguel and Paraguayan winger Ramon Sosa from Nottingham Forest, Andreas Pereira from Fulham and striker Vitor Roque, the most expensive player ever bought by a Brazilian club, from Barcelona.

In recent times, very few high-profile Brazilian players have gone into coaching.

Filipe Luis is an exception, and a great hope.

The former Atletico Madrid (and Chelsea) left-back retired at Flamengo two years ago, took charge of the youth teams and stepped up to the seniors after they fell in the quarter-finals of last year’s Libertadores.

Intelligent and articulate, he looks to have a bright future.

And that also applies to opposite number Abel Ferreira of Palmeiras.

The Portuguese has been in charge of Palmeiras for five years – an eternity in Brazilian football.

There is much of the young Jose Mourinho about him – in the excesses of some of his touchline antics and, more importantly, in the clarity of his thought, in his capacity to change his team between and during matches.

Right from the start his players were fascinated with him.

Palmeiras had to rethink after the loss of Estevao to Chelsea and a disappointing Club World Cup.

Vitor Roque made an unconvincing start – until Ferreira made a change.

Recognising that the striker likes space, and was not working squeezed between the centre-backs, the coach moved Vitor Roque towards the left channel, and brought in Argentine centre-forward Juan Manuel ‘Flaco’ Lopez to play alongside him.

They clicked together, although having a strike duo can put a strain on the rest of the side.

That was the case when they last met Flamengo, just over a month ago.

Although they were away from home, Palmeiras pressed high. Flamengo adapted. Instead of their normal style, working the ball through Jorginho in midfield, they went direct. They had less possession and fewer shots, but won 3-2, and perhaps more convincingly than the scoreline would suggest.

There are plenty of reasons to believe Saturday’s game will be different. For a start, Flamengo centre-forward Pedro, outstanding that day, is injured and misses the final.

Filipe Luis lacks a like-for-like replacement. A possibility would have been Ecuadorian winger Gonzalo Plata, who has at times filled that role, but he is suspended.

Flamengo, then, cannot reproduce what they did in October, and, almost certainly, Palmeiras will look to do something different.

The calendar of Brazilian football is insane, the quantity of travel and the number of games transforming the season into an endurance test. Players are now on their last legs, and this could force Abel Ferreira into a cautious approach, often his natural inclination for big games.

Might he go with five at the back? It is a possibility. Flamengo love stretching their opponents, reeling them in and then switching for ex-Manchester United right-back Guillermo Varela to appear as an element of surprise at the far post.

Palmeiras could follow the lead of the Argentine teams in the previous rounds and block that with a back five.

Ferreira could set up to hold off Flamengo’s depleted attacking resources, seek to contain their outstanding playmaker, the Uruguayan Giorgian de Arrascaeta and spring Vitor Roque on the break.