UR MAG

His club, La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid, said in a statement on Tuesday that the 25-year-old winger tore his ACL and meniscus in his right leg. Should Rodrygo have surgery, he would likely be sidelined for up to a year.

Rodrygo featured for Real Madrid on Monday, playing about 43 minutes as a second half substitution in the club's 1-0 loss to Getafe. Since the summer of 2023, he's the fifth Real Madrid player to suffer an ACL injury.

A native of Osasco, Brazil, Rodrygo came up in Santos FC's youth system, and would eventually net nine goals and five assists in 41 matches for its senior team in Brazil's top professional league. In 2019, he was sold to Real Madrid for a transfer fee that was reported to be in the ballpark of $40 million.

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Brazil – 23rd appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> United States of America – 12th appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Mexico – 18th appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> England – 17th appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Portugal – ninth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> France – 17th appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Spain – 17th appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Iran – seventh appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Switzerland – 13th appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Croatia – seventh appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Australia – seventh appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Morocco – seventh appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Austria – eighth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Ecuador – fifth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Senegal – fourth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> South Korea – 12th appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Japan – eighth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Colombia – seventh appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Netherlands – 12th appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Germany – 21st appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Belgium – 15th appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Canada – third appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Saudi Arabia – seventh appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Uzbekistan – first appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Jordan – first appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Tunisia – seventh appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> South Africa – fourth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Ivory Coast – fourth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Scotland – ninth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Algeria – fifth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> New Zealand – third appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Paraguay – ninth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Egypt – fourth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Cape Verde – first appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Qatar – second appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Norway – fourth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Panama – second appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Curacao – first appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Ghana – fifth appearance

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Haiti – second appearance

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Who qualified for 2026 World Cup? See every country in the field so far

Brazil– 23rd appearance

Rodrygo began his career with Real Madrid with a bang, notching a hat trick in a 6-0 Champions League win over Galatasaray. He set the record in the match for the quickest brace scored in Champions League play — just 14 minutes — and also became the youngest player in the history of the competition to notch a hat trick, doing so at the age of 18 years and 301 days.

Across all competitions in seven seasons with Real Madrid, Rodrygo has tallied 72 goals and 51 assists. Real Madrid is 19-3-4 this season, second in the La Liga table.

He has 37 appearances with the Brazilian national team — including featuring in all five games for them at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar — and has recorded nine goals and three assists for his country.

Brazil is set to open World Cup play on June 13 against Morocco at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Rodrygo injury update: Real Madrid star to miss World Cup with ACL tear

LIV Golf

Rahm, competing this week in LIV Golf Hong Kong, spoke publicly for the first timesince the European tour announced a dealthat would require LIV players to pay previous fines for not getting releases and to compete in additional events designated by the tour.

Eight players from LIV, including Tyrrell Hatton, accepted the deal. Rahm did not.

"I don't know what game they're trying to play right now," Rahm said. "But it just seems like in a way they're using our impact in tournaments and fining us and trying to benefit both ways from what we have to offer. In a way, they're extorting players like myself and young players that have nothing to do with the politics of the game.

"So I don't like the situation and I'm not going to agree to that."

Players are required to play four tournaments, not including the majors, to keep membership on the European tour. Rahm said the deal would have required LIV members to play six tournaments.

"And they dictate where two of those have to be, among other things that I don't agree with," Rahm said. "I've been a dual member my whole career — PGA Tour and DP World Tour. ... Never once have I been asked for a release to play either one of those tours. So why is it now that we need to be offering this and there's all these penalties?

"I just don't like the situation," he said. "I think we should be able to freely play where we want and have the choice to play where we want and not be dictated what we do."

The fines stem from playing LIV Golf events opposite European tour events without getting a conflicting-event release. Rahm was able to use the "home tour" policy on the PGA Tour to play in European tour events.

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Rahm said he told the European tour — known as the DP World Tour commercially — that if it lowered the minimum requirement to four tournaments, he would sign the deal.

"They haven't agreed to that," he said. "I just refuse to play six events. I don't want to, and that's not what the rules say."

Rahm and Hatton were among those who appealed their fines for playing LIV. That case has not been heard, but the appeal allowed them to play in the Ryder Cup last year at Bethpage Black.

Now the Spaniard's participation in the 2027 matches in Ireland are in question.

An arbitrational panel in Britain, Sports Resolution, ruled in April 2023 the tour had the right to penalize players as a membership organization. If the panel rules in favor of the tour again, Rahm would be required to settle his fines or lose his membership, which would keep him off the Ryder Cup team next year.

Rory McIlroy said in January about the fines Rahm and Hatton were facing, "We went really hard on the Americans about being paid to play the Ryder Cup, and we also said that we would pay to play in Ryder Cups. There's two guys that can prove it."

Rahm fired back by saying his comment would make more sense if all 12 players were asked to pay, not just him and Hatton.

"There's more intricacy that goes into this whole situation," Rahm said. "I'll gladly pay my way to go on the Ryder Cup, not have to pay to still be a member of the DP World Tour and fulfill a commitment that I'm fully willing to commit."

AP golf:https://apnews.com/hub/golf

China Congress

The next day, Foreign Minister Wang Yi condemned the strikes as unacceptable and again called for more talks.

There were no indications of direct intervention — but such an expectation wouldn't be realistic. As in other recent conflicts, includinglast year's attackon Iran, China has condemned the use of force while remaining on the sidelines, keeping in mind its long-term interests.

This time, those interests include a highly anticipated visit by U.S. President Donald Trump to Beijing, expected to take place around early April.

Why China is staying out of the fight

China's military has grown rapidly. It has conductedmilitary drillswith Iran and established a base in Djibouti in East Africa in 2017. But its overwhelming focus is defending its interests in Asia, from Taiwan to the South China Sea.

It has waded into Middle East diplomacy where it sees an opportunity, helping tobroker a rapprochementbetween Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2023. But it views the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as cautionary tales to be avoided, said William Yang, an analyst with the International Crisis Group.

"China is reluctant to project military power beyond its immediate periphery and it is also unwilling to play the role of security guarantor in unstable regions like the Middle East," he said.

Likewise, it has provided diplomatic and economicsupport to Russiaand Venezuela, but steered away from any military actionin Ukraineor Latin America.

China's position on the sidelines shows the limits to its influence in global geopolitics, said Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based research institute.

"Beijing's response has been predictably restrained, underscoring China's limited ability to shape events once hard power is in motion," he said. "Beijing can signal unease; however, it cannot meaningfully deter or influence U.S.-Israeli military action."

Ties with U.S. outweigh those with Iran

China's unhappiness with the strikes against Iran is unlikely to upendties with the U.S.or plans for Trump to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in about a month, analysts say.

For Chinese leaders, the relationship with the U.S. is much more crucial than with Iran on multiple fronts, from trade and the economy to Taiwan.

Beijing may have a war of words with Washington over Iran, but the downside to creating a new conflict with Trump outweighs the upside, said George Chen, a partner at The Asia Group.

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"U.S.-China relations are already complicated enough for President Trump and Xi to handle," he said. Adding Iran to the mix "won't be something that both sides are keen to do."

Still, it is possible that Beijing could postpone the Trump visit, he said.

Energy concerns go beyond Iran's oil

China is the top importer of oil from Iran, but the government is deeply concerned with energy security and has developed alternatives. What's most worrisome is rising prices and potentially losing access to oil and natural gas from the broader Middle East.

China imported about 1.4 million barrels a day — or 13% of China's total seaborne oil imports — from Iran last year, according to Kpler, a data and analytics company. But the firm estimates that enough oil is already in transit to last another four to five months. That would give China's independent refineries time to adjust and seek alternatives, with discounted Russian oil as their primary option, said Muyu Xu, a senior analyst with Kpler.

China has spent years diversifying its supplies and building up its reserves, Singleton said. "The loss of Iranian oil appears marginal, not material, at least in the short-term," he said.

Iran's attempts to shut down theStrait of Hormuz— the narrow mouth to the Persian Gulf — is of greater concern, as are any attacks on liquefied natural gas facilities in the Gulf states.

QatarEnergy, a major supplier,halted productionof liquefied natural gas Monday after its facilities were attacked.

Why China may not help arm Iran

China is unlikely to send arms to Iran to help it fight the U.S. for several reasons, analysts say.

"Tangible military aid, if any, would be limited to existing long-term defense trade arrangements rather than rapid battlefield support, and it would be constrained by Beijing's interest in avoiding direct confrontation with the U.S. and its allies," said Muhammad Zulfikar Rakhmat, a researcher at the Center of Economic and Law Studies in Indonesia.

China has criticized the U.S. for supplying arms to Ukraine, saying it prolongs the fighting.

Iran's missile program is based on Chinese technology, said James M. Dorsey, an adjunct senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. But he predicted that China would err on the side of caution rather than sell any missiles to the country's military.

"What China wants is this to end," he said.

Associated Press writers Kanis Leung in Hong Kong, Didi Tang in Washington, E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing and Simina Mistreanu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed.