Cristiano Ronaldo‘s hamstring injury is “more serious” than first anticipated, Al Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said Friday, with the Portugal captain traveling to Madrid to undergo treatment.

Ronald limped off the pitch in Al Nassr’s 3-1 league win over Al Fayha last weekend.

Al Nassr did not provide an exact timeline for the 41-year-old’s recovery.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s home league game against Neom SC, Jesus said: “In the last game, Cristiano left with a muscle injury.

“After the tests he underwent, it became clear that it is a more serious injury than we were expecting. He will need rest and recovery. Cristiano will travel to Spain for treatment, as will other players who were injured.

“He will need treatment from his personal physiotherapist. We hope he will return soon to help the team.”

Ronaldo will be hoping to recover in time for Portugal’s international friendlies later this month.

Portugal take on Mexico at the renovated Azteca stadium on March 28 before facing the United States on March 31 in Atlanta in preparation for the World Cup.

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Ronaldo is third in the Saudi Pro League top scorers’ table. The Portugal captain has scored 21 times, while English forward Ivan Toney is top of the scoring charts with 23 goals from 23 games for Al Ahli.

Al Nassr are two points clear of Al Ahli at the top of the Saudi Pro League.

Ball State has fired men’s basketball coach Michael Lewis after four seasons, the school announced Saturday.

The Cardinals ended their season with an 85-69 win over Central Michigan in the regular-season finale Friday to finish on a four-game winning streak but still missed the Mid-American Conference tournament after posting a 12-19 (7-11 MAC) record.

“We are grateful to Coach Lewis for the passion and commitment he brought to our program the past four years,” athletic director Jeff Mitchell said in a statement. “We appreciate the time and effort he invested in our student-athletes.”

Lewis went 61-64 in his four seasons at the helm of the Cardinals. He won 20 games in Year 1, finishing fourth in the MAC, but was unable to replicate his early success. Ball State has finished 7-11 in conference play in each of the past three seasons, going 41-52 during that time.

Lewis was a longtime power conference assistant before being tapped to take over at Ball State in 2022. He spent time on staffs at UCLA, Nebraska and Butler, working under three different coaches during his time with the Bulldogs. He was an assistant coach at Eastern Illinois and Stephen F. Austin prior to Brad Stevens hiring him at Butler.

His coaching career began as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech under Bob Knight, whom he played for in college at Indiana. Lewis was the Hoosiers’ team captain and an all-conference performer as a senior in 1999-00.

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav said on Saturday there would be “butterflies in the stomach” when he walks out for the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand, with expectations sky-high for the hosts.

The blockbuster final in Ahmedabad on Sunday is expected to attract over 100,000 fans at the Narendra Modi Stadium and hundreds of millions more watching on TV.

Defending champions India are targeting a record third title and looking to become the first team to win back-to-back trophies. No country has previously won the T20 World Cup on home soil.

Suryakumar played a key part when Rohit Sharma’s India lifted the World Cup in Barbados in 2024, taking over the captaincy later that year after Rohit retired from international T20s.

“Leading such a wonderful side into a final that (is also on) home soil, it’s always a special feeling,” Suryakumar told reporters at a packed news conference.

“Of course there are nerves, there will be butterflies in the stomach but as I always say, ‘if there is no pressure, there is no fun’. All the boys and the support staff and I am sure the whole of India is excited for tomorrow.”

Top-ranked India have been the team to beat in the tournament and lost just one game en route to the final, when South Africa ended their 12-match unbeaten streak in the Super Eights stage.

India have since won three straight matches, holding off England in a tense semi-final as the bowlers, led by Jasprit Bumrah, held their nerve to win by seven runs in a high-scoring thriller.

Bumrah, who was India’s hero in their win against South Africa in the 2024 final, bowled a near-perfect 18th over at the Wankhede Stadium to deny England and Jacob Bethell, who hit a valiant 105.

The 35-year-old Suryakumar said having players with experience of major international tournaments adds to their armoury.

“There’s a lot of benefit because there are a lot of players in this team who have played a lot of ICC events right from our coach (two-time World Cup winner Gautam Gambhir),” said Suryakumar.

“So their experience is also important. And there are a lot of players, like Bumrah, Hardik (Pandya), Axar (Patel), there are a lot of players who have played in ICC events, in pressure situations.”

Suryakumar said he learned a lot from Rohit, who was joined by Virat Kohli in retirement after the 2024 T20 World Cup.

“The way, where he left, I got to learn a lot of things from him when I was playing under him,” said Suryakumar.

“I tried to implement the same things with a few thoughts of mine as well. And it’s worked really well.”