Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for Covid-19.

The 35-year-old Juventus striker will miss tomorrow's UEFA Nations League game against Sweden but is "well, has no symptoms and is in isolation", the Portugese federation said.

The federation added that the rest of the Portugal squad had undergone tests as a result of Ronaldo's positive, but that they had all tested negative and would be available for the Sweden match.

Five-times world player of the year Ronaldo appeared in his side's 0-0 draw away to France in the Nations League on Sunday and last Wednesday's 0-0 draw in a friendly at home to Spain.

He will now be doubtful for Juve's Serie A trip to Crotone this weekend and their Champions League group stage opening game away to Dynamo Kiev next Tuesday.

-Reuters

Johnson tests positive

World golf number one Dustin Johnson has pulled out of this week's PGA event in Nevada after testing positive for Covid-19.

The 36-year-old American, who last competed at September's U.S. Open, notified Tour officials he was experiencing symptoms and was administered a test, leading to his withdrawal from the Las Vegas event as he begins to self-isolate, the Tour said.

Johnson has had a sensational year, winning three times and taking home his first FedExCup championship at East Lake last month. He was also named PGA Tour Player of the Year for the second time.

The news comes one week after American Tony Finau was forced to withdraw from the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open after testing positive for the virus, which has killed more than 215,000 people in the United States.

A handful of professional golfers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the PGA Tour returned in June, including Briton Sam Horsfield and American Scottie Scheffler, who were unable to compete at the U.S. Open due to positive COVID-19 tests.

-Reuters

England Roses name co-captains

Serena Guthrie and Laura Malcolm have been named as England's co-captains for the upcoming netball series against the Silver Ferns.

Guthrie is the most experienced member of their squad having debuted in 2008 and winning Commonwealth Games gold in 2018.

She took a short break after last year's World Cup but is back and is set to gain her 100th cap during the series.

Malcolm, who was a part of the Manchester Thunder team that won their domestic competition last year, was vice-captain in 2019.

England play the Silver Ferns in a three test series starting on October 28th.

The tourists are currently in isolation in Christchurch.

Alonso ready to go in F1 again

Double world champion Fernando Alonso says he's ready for a fresh start as he tested the latest Renault Formula One car in Barcelona.

The Spaniard, a two-times Le Mans 24 Hours winner, has not competed in a grand prix since he left McLaren at the end of 2018 but is returning next year as replacement for departing Australian Daniel Ricciardo.

"It's going to be like a new beginning, getting surprised about the speed of the car, the braking performance, the corner speed, a lot of things that will surprise me once again," the 39-year-old said before the limited-mileage filming day.

The test in the RS20 car came 20 years after Alonso first tested with Benetton -- the team that then became Renault -- at the same circuit.

It will also be one of his last opportunities to drive a Renault F1 car, with the team changing name to its Alpine sportscar brand in 2021.

The Spaniard, who won his titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, has competed in the Dakar Rally and Indianapolis 500 since he was last in Formula One.

-Reuters

Sagan wins latest Giro stage

Triple world champion Peter Sagan of Bora-Hansgrohe earned his first stage victory in the Giro d'Italia after he claimed the 10th stage in wet conditions, hours after two teams pulled out due to positive COVID-19 cases.

Slovak Sagan won the 177km mountain trek between Lanciano and Tortoreto in a time of just over four hours with UAE Team Emirates' American rider Brandon McNulty finishing second, 19 seconds behind.

Portuguese Joao Almeida of Deceuninck-Quickstep extended his lead at the top of the general classification as he finished third.

Earlier, the Mitchelton-Scott team withdrew after four staff members tested positive following top rider Simon Yates pulling out last week while Jumbo-Visma, whose leader Steven Kruisjwijk tested positive, said they would not start the 10th stage.

Tonight's 11th stage is a 182km route from Porto Sant'Elpidio to Rimini.

-Reuters

FA chairman says he walked away from breakaway talk

England's Football Association chairman Greg Clarke says he was involved in discussions over the proposals to make changes to the English football pyramid but walked away when the big clubs threatened to form a breakaway league.

'Project Big Picture', a series of proposals put together by the owners of Liverpool and Manchester United along with Football League chairman Rick Parry, has been likened to a power grab which has been met with opposition.

The proposal involves reducing the number of teams in the Premier League to 18 while giving the 'big six' clubs more power in how the league is run, to the point where they could even veto any new club owner approved by the Premier League board.

The Football Supporters' Association says the long-term challenges far outweigh the short-term financial benefits of the plan.

Clarke warned that any potential breakaway competition would have to be approved by the country's governing body as it had the final say.

-Reuters

WTC final still on track

The final of the inaugural World cricket Test Championship remains on course to be held in June next year despite the disruption caused to the qualifying process by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The pandemic played havoc with the game's international calendar, prompting cancellation of a number of test series and complicating the process of allocating WTC points from those matches in the process.

"The planning is still in progress," a spokesman of the International Cricket Council said of the WTC final, without elaborating how the point system would be reworked.

"There is likely to be more clarity in the coming days once all stakeholders are aligned. There will be an announcement on this soon."

This year's Twenty20 World Cup in Australia had to be postponed because of the pandemic and the restrictions it forced.

The ICC launched the WTC last year to lend context to bilateral test series, giving the format its standalone showpiece like the World Cup in other formats.

Originally, nine top-ranked sides were scheduled to play six series over two years with the top two making the final at Lord's.

India currently top the WTC points table, having played four series, followed by Australia who have played one fewer.

-Reuters