Today's sports news: What you need to know

Latest - The Wellington Phoenix have confirmed that centre back Luke DeVere has been ruled out of action for 10-12 weeks with a knee injury.

The 31-year-old sustained the injury during the Phoenix 2-0 loss to the Central Coast Mariners match last weekend and is due for surgery today.

He is one of several injured players who will miss Sunday's A-League clash with Western Sydney.

This is DeVere's second season with the club, having played 30 matches in total for the Phoenix - all starts - during his time at Wellington.

Wellington Phoenix coach Ufuk Talay says that the club will fully support DeVere during this recovery, and will continue to rely on his defensive leadership from the side lines.

"Luke is an important part of our team, not just for what he brings on the field but for his voice and mentoring of the younger players - and we expect the latter to continue even while he recovers from his injury.

"We wish Luke all the best with his surgery and ongoing recovery and hope to see him back on the field again later this season."

Drysdale and Twigg chasing 10th single sculls titles at rowing nationals

Mahe Drysdale faces stiff competition in his attempt to win a 10th national title in the men's single sculls.

The two-time defending Olympic champion has only managed the fifth best time in the heats at the New Zealand rowing championships in Twizel.

Drysdale finished third in his heat, five seconds behind Jordan Parry and two and a half seconds behind Tom Murray.

Parry was part of the men's quad which finished ninth at the 2019 world championships, while Murray claimed silver in the men's pair.

Up and comer Jack Lopas won the second heat in a time more than four seconds faster than Drysdale and was followed home by past men's double sculls world champions Chris Harris and John Storey.

The final is tomorrow (Friday).

Emma Twigg is also chasing her 10th national title in the women's single sculls.

Twigg narrowly won the only heat, finishing less than a second ahead of double sculls world champion Brook Donoghue.

Taylor to make return to domestic one-day cricket

The Central Stags are able to call on the fourth ranked batsman in one-day international cricket for the resumption of the domestic competition.

Prolific Black Caps batsman Ross Taylor has been named in the Stags squad for two matches against the Auckland Aces at Eden Park Outer Oval tomorrow (Friday) and Sunday.

Taylor last played in the domestic one-day competition in February 2017.

Fellow Black Caps Will Young and Ajaz Patel will also turn out for Central, while former New Zealand international Ben Wheeler is back in the Stags squad for the first time this season.

The left-armer has been sidelined with injury.

Central have lost all-rounder Doug Bracewell, who sustained a side strain in the practice nets.

In contrast the Auckland Aces are without Mark Chapman Martin Guptill, Kyle Jamieson and Glenn Phillips, who are all in the Black Caps' T20 squad to play Australia.

Porto down Juve in Champ League as Man City extend Premier League advantage

In football's European Champions League underdogs FC Porto won against Juventus 2-1 in the first-leg of their Round of 16 tie in Portugal.

While Borussia Dortmund took a 3-2 away win in their tie against Spanish side Sevilla.

Dortmund's star striker Erling Braut Haaland scored a brace to become the youngest player in history to score 10 Champions League goals for a team.

In the English Premier League, Manchester City won 3-1 against Everton at Goodison Park to extend their lead at the top of the table to 10 points.

The win gave City their seventeenth successive win in all competitions.

Burnley drew 1-1 with Fulham in the other league fixture of the day, All Whites striker Chris Wood once again missed out as he recovers from injury.

France rugby team home for isolation, players negative for Covid

The French rugby federation (FFR) said players from the national team have been allowed to return home during the Six Nations break but will still need to isolate after another staff member tested positive for COVID-19.

All players tested negative for the second day in a row on Tuesday but forwards coach William Servat had returned a positive test, the FFR said.

Head coach Fabien Galthie has already tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

There could be concern for halfback Antoine Dupont who spent time in close contact with Galthie at an awards ceremony organised by French rugby paper Midi Olympique on Tuesday.

The entire squad had been isolating at the National Rugby Centre on the outskirts of Paris. Players will leave on Wednesday and are due to return on Sunday.

"Complementary PCR tests will be carried out at home on Friday 19 February, as well as on the evening of Sunday 20 February, as soon as the players and coaching staff return to the National Rugby Centre. They will then isolate until the results are back," the FFR said in a statement.

France beat Ireland 15-13 in Dublin on Sunday and host Scotland on Feb. 28.

They are top of the Six Nations standings with two wins from two matches, bidding for a first title since 2010, the year of their last Grand Slam.

- Reuters

South Africa's Du Plessis retires from tests to focus on T20 World Cups

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has announced his retirement from tests to make Twenty20 International cricket his priority with successive World Cups in the next two years.

Middle-order batsman Du Plessis, 36, was the most senior member of the South Africa test squad that lost the recent series 2-0 in Pakistan, and finishes with an average a shade over 40 after 69 matches, with 10 centuries and 21 fifties.

"My heart is clear and the time is right to walk into a new chapter," Du Plessis said in a statement on Wednesday. "It has been an honour to play for my country in all the formats of the game, but the time has come for me to retire from test cricket.

"The next two years are T20 World Cup years. Because of this, my focus is shifting to this format and I want to play as much of it as possible around the world so that I can be the best player I can possibly be.

"This does not mean that ODI (One-Day International) cricket is no longer in my plans. I am just making T20 cricket the priority in the short term."

Du Plessis made his test debut against Australia in Adelaide in 2012, scoring 78 and a memorable 110 in the second innings, in which he faced 376 deliveries on a wearing wicket to help South Africa secure a draw in a series they won 1-0.

He captained the side in 36 tests but gave up the armband in February 2020 after a string of poor results.

- Reuters