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The nature of the injury wasn't immediately clear, with Curtis Jones taking the German star's place in the lineup.

Wirtz was seen on the pitch at City Ground in discussions with Liverpool staff prior to kickoff before walking away down the tunnel.

After Wirtz was ruled out, longtime Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports: "It's a big blow. He's been the one knitting everything together."

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Wirtz has been excellent for Liverpool in recent weeks after initially struggling following a record-breaking summer move from Bayer Leverkusen.

The 22-year-old has scored five of his six total goals since the turn of the year.

Liverpool still managed to secure a 1-0 win at the City Ground thanks to a late goal from Alexis Mac Allister.

West Ham United's Valentin Castellanos shoots against Chelsea.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> James Milner celebrates Brighton's win against Brentford.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Manchester United's Patrick Dorgu celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's second goal in a 2-0 win over Manchester City at Old Trafford on Jan. 17.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Manchester City's Rayan Cherki celebrates after scoring his team's second goal against Nottingham Forest on Dec. 27.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Manchester United's Patrick Dorgu celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Newcastle on Dec. 26.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch celebrates scoring his team's second goal in a 2-0 win over Aston Villa at Anfield on Nov. 1. The victory ended a four-game losing streak in Premier League games for the defending champions.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Arsenal's Ethan Nwaneri (right) and Burnley's Florentino Luis battle for possession of the ball at Turf Moor. Arsenal won the Nov. 1 match, 2-0, to stay six points above Manchester City atop the Premier League table.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Erling Haaland of Manchester City competes for a header whilst under pressure from Sepp van den Berg and Kristoffer Ajer of Brentford at Gtech Community Stadium on Oct. 5, 2025. Man City won the match, 1-0.

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

Best Premier League action, scenes and drama from 2025-26 season

West Ham United's Valentin Castellanos shoots against Chelsea.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Florian Wirtz injury: Liverpool star ruled out vs. Nottingham Forest

North Carolina Syracuse Basketball

"It feels great, it feels much better than it did before," the 7-footer said after posting 19 points and three blocksin Saturday's 77-64 road win.

The16th-rankedTar Heels desperately need things to stay that way, too.

The junior had missed two straight games alongside freshman star Caleb Wilson, who isout indefinitely with a hand fractureand due to be re-evaluated next week. The uncertainty surrounding both had threatened to throw a season coming off the high ofa last-second win against rival Duketwo weeks ago into disarray.

Veesaar's return was a stabilizing step with No. 21 Louisville set to visit Chapel Hill on Monday night.

"It's easier because he's a guy that can consistently score in the paint," UNC coach Hubert Davis said. "He can shoot from 3. He can pass. And there's a lot of (defensive) attention on him.

Veesaar saw 25:58 of game action, "a little bit more than I wanted to play him," Davis added. "But he kept saying he felt good. It was nice to have him back in the lineup."

Veesaar entered as the team's No. 2 scorer (16.4) and rebounder (9.0), forming a potent frontcourt tandem with Wilson as the leader in both categories and a high-end NBA prospect. But things had gone awry for the Tar Heels since the Duke thriller, first with Wilson suffering his injury in the first half of a Feb. 10 loss at Miami.

Then Veesaar suddenly popped up with an illness as well as what was described only as an injury to a "lower extremity." He missed last weekend's home win against a Pittsburgh team near the bottom of the Atlantic Coast Conference standings.

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He recovered from the illness but was still outfor Tuesday's loss at N.C. State, with UNC falling by 24 for its most lopsided loss in the longtime rivalry since 1962.

"I feel like it was just kind of something that was kind of nagging, and then just building on that," Veesaar said. "After Miami, it kind of flared up in that game and I was able to get through that game. But then it felt like we needed to take a little bit of time off for me to get back to the form I need to play at, and just be able to go 100%."

His first running drills came Wednesday. He did more individual work Thursday. Then Davis said Friday that Veesaar would go through a limited team practice, though he called him questionable for the Orange.

Davis wanted to see how Veesaar responded overnight, then again during warmups. Veesaar ultimately started as he had for his previous 24 games, finishing 9 for 13 from the field with a 3-pointer and three rebounds while being within range of his typical 31-minute average.

"I felt good, it didn't hurt at all," he said. "So just being able to do that kind of gave me confidence to play today."

AP freelancer Mark Frank in Syracuse, New York, contributed to this report.

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Forty-six years to the day after a bunch of unheralded amateurs stunned the heavily favored Soviet Union en route to winning Olympic gold, the U.S. men's hockey team engineered another epic victory. The Americans won a battle of the sport's superpowers on Sunday, toppling longtime nemesis Canada 2-1 in overtime to win their country's first Olympic gold in men's hockey since the famed 1980 "Miracle on Ice."

Jack Hughes scored the decisive goal, ripping a shot past Jordan Binnington less than three minutes into 3-versus-3 overtime.

The Americans forced overtime only because Connor Hellebuyck withstood target practice from Canada's all-world forward corps. Hellebuyck made incredible save after incredible save against constant Canadian pressure, turning away 41 of the 42 shots he faced.

To win gold was a dream fulfilled for the American players. To do it at Canada's expense made it all the more satisfying and cathartic.

In the biggest moments, Canada had previously owned this rivalry since NHL players began participating in the Olympics in 1998. Canada won gold-medal matches against the U.S. at the 2002 and 2010 Olympics and shut out the Americans in the 2014 semifinals. The U.S. did beat Canada in round-robin play at last year's 4 Nations Face-Off, but when it mattered, the Americans lost again.

A winner-take-all showdown between the U.S. and Canada has long been the most enticing potential matchup at these Olympics, but neither hockey superpower had the luxury of just strolling to the gold-medal match. The U.S. needed an overtime game winner from Quinn Hughes to survive Sweden in the quarterfinals. Canada rallied to overcome third-period deficits against Czechia in the quarters and Finland in the semis.

That set up the gold-medal matchup that the hockey world has waited a dozen years to see on an Olympic stage. Bars opened before sunrise in New York, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and other hockey hotbeds. Fans across the U.S. watched "Miracle" on Saturday night to hype themselves up, set their alarm clocks for an early wakeup and then gathered over early-morning beers and bloody marys.

The scene was even more festive across the Atlantic. The Milan metro was awash with Canada and U.S. jerseys of every era, Eruzione, Gretzky, McDavid and Tkachuk. Chants of "U-S-A" and "Let's go Canada" rang out as the train hurtled toward Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. One particularly brazen fan in a USA cap playfully tried to start a chant of "51st state." Outnumbered by Canadians, he was quickly shouted down.

The combination of speed, skill and physicality on display lived up to pregame expectations once the puck dropped. There were ooohs and ahhhs every few seconds from fans on both sides as the Americans and Canadians generated scoring chances.

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It was American fans who had reason to cheer first. Six minutes into the first period, Matt Boldy scored a goal that was a product of both individual stickhandling brilliance and defensive negligence.

With Cale Makar and Devon Toews between him and the Canadian net, Boldy deftly flipped the puck over both their sticks and skated unencumbered right between two of the NHL's top defensemen. Then he deked a stunned Binnington and beat the Canadian goaltender with a backhand.

The Americans withstood unrelenting Canadian pressure for most of the second period, even killing off the 5-on-3 power play that lasted 93 seconds. Hellebuyck made a series of massive saves at close range, even stuffing the Olympics' leading points scorer Connor McDavid on a breakaway.

Then, just when it seemed like a period of squandered opportunities for Canada, Makar beat Hellebuyck with a wicked wrist shot from the right faceoff circle. It was an absolutely perfect shot from Makar, just over Hellebuyck's right pad but just under the blocker.

That set the stage for a pressure-packed third period with the Canadians pushing hard for a game winner and the Americans desperately trying to withstand it long enough to give themselves the chance for a moment of magic.

In the opening minutes of the third period, Hellebuyck robbed Toews at the last possible moment, reaching behind his back with his stick to keep the Canadian defenseman's point-blank shot from crossing the goal line. Minutes later, Macklin Celebrini had a clear breakaway, but Hellebuyck denied him with a pad save.

Hellebuyck withstood the onslaught.

Hughes delivered an overtime goal for the ages.

And now the U.S. gold-medal drought is over.

Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest updates from the Olympics men's ice hockey final, featuring Team USA against Team Canada:

On February 21, 1975, the released "Young Americans," a single that signaled a dramaticdeparture from the glittering glam personathat had defined his early '70ssuccess. The man who had soared into pop culture as Ziggy Stardust pivoted sharply into what he famously called "plastic soul," embracing American R&B with aconfidencethat both surprised and divided fans.

The track—later featured on theYoung Americansalbum released a month later in March 1975—wasn't just an experiment. It was a reinvention. Bowie traveled to Philadelphia to record at Sigma Sound Studios, immersing himself in the rich textures of the city's soul movement. ProducerTony Visconti, who had worked with Bowie since 1968, recalled the initial resistance they faced. "We were going to the birthplace of so many hits," Visconti toldThe Postin March 2025."But [Kenny] Gamble and [Leon] Huff, they didn't want to work with us." He added, "They actually said, 'We don't want no white boy stealing ourmusic' or something like that."

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Undeterred, Bowie built his own soul-infused band, bringing in musicians likeAndy Newmark,Willie Weeks,David Sanborn, and a risingLuther Vandrosson backing vocals. And that reinvention also led to an unexpected chart milestone later that year.

During theYoung Americanssessions in New York,John Lennonstopped by the studio—and what began as a loose jam sessionturned into something much bigger. Bowie and guitaristCarlos Alomarhad been working on a groove when Lennon started improvising over it, playfully repeating a word that caught Bowie's attention: "Fame."

The song went on to become Bowie's first No. 1 hit in the United States, topping the Billboard Hot 100, proving his reinvention paid off at the highest level.

Bowie died in 2016 at 69 from liver cancer.

This story was originally published byParadeon Feb 21, 2026, where it first appeared in theNewssection. Add Parade as aPreferred Source by clicking here.