injury

Kylian Mbappe scores the only goal of France’s win in Turkiye, but Real Madrid striker immediately forced off by injury.

Kylian Mbappe scored the only goal of the game before having to come off grimacing with a knee injury, as France won 1-0 in Turkiye in the UEFA Nations League in new coach Zinedine Zidane’s first game in charge on Friday.

The Real Madrid star was moved out to the left wing by his new coach after being used through the middle of the France attack under former coach Didier Deschamps at the recent World Cup, which he ended as the top scorer with 10 goals.

It was from the left that Mbappe, France’s all-time top scorer, notched his 67th international goal, controlling and firing into the net low at the near post after being set up by Michael Olise.

He winced in pain as his teammates came across to celebrate the goal at the Kocaeli Stadium in Izmit, about 100km outside Istanbul.

Mbappe tried to carry on after receiving treatment, but eventually slumped to the ground and looked concerned as he prodded the outside of his left knee, before walking off to be replaced by Desire Doue.

France and Real will now nervously wait to discover the extent of the injury, with Les Bleus playing three more games over the next 10 days before the club season resumes.

The sight of his star player and skipper coming off overshadowed Zidane’s first match since being appointed coach in late July on a deal to 2030.

The France legend and 1998 World Cup winner is making his return to elite coaching for the first time since his second stint in charge of Madrid ended in 2021.

France, beaten in the semifinals at the World Cup by eventual winners Spain, are in Group A1 of this edition of the Nations League and will now go to Brussels to face Belgium on Monday. Belgium won 2-0 away to Italy on Friday.

Zidane, whose last match as a player came for France against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final, will then make his home debut as coach against the Italians at the Stade de France next Friday.

His first team selection was not dramatically different from the side that regularly played at the World Cup, although Bournemouth’s Adrien Truffert was in at left-back while Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki came into the starting XI.

Olise, the Bayern Munich star who lit up the World Cup, was unlucky not to open the scoring late in the first half when his superb strike was tipped over by home goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir.

France goalkeeper Mike Maignan responded at the start of the second half as he tipped over an attempt by Abdulkerim Bardakci for Turkiye, who finished bottom of their group at the World Cup, despite a 3-2 win over cohosts the United States.

Mbappe’s goal came shortly after, and the visitors later saw Jules Kounde hit the post before Turkiye were reduced to 10 men late on.

Cakir came flying out of his area to halt Bradley Barcola as the France substitute raced through on goal. German referee Felix Zwayer initially waved play on before undertaking a VAR review, after which he decided the goalkeeper had handled the ball, which meant a red card.

Turkiye, coached by former Italian international Vincenzo Montella, will host Italy next on Monday.

Sept. 25, 2026 10:41 AM PT

CHICAGO — A U.S. citizen was left bloodied and injured on the side of the road in a Chicago suburb after a confrontation with immigration enforcement agents who mistook him for a fugitive, according to local police and a resident who tried to help the man.

The man, whose identity was not disclosed, was taken away in an ambulance after the encounter on Sunday in Evanston, a city around 12 miles north of downtown Chicago. He told police his head, neck and teeth were injured, according to a news release from the Evanston Police Department.

A federal agent told officers who responded to calls reporting an altercation at just before 10 a.m. that morning that five agents in separate vehicles were looking for a fugitive with a Chicago address and a warrant for his arrest, according to the release. The agents mistook the man for the fugitive, the agent told police.

When the man refused to give his identification, the agents tried to handcuff him, the agent said. After realizing he was a U.S. citizen and not the person they were seeking, they released him.

One police officer saw blood on the agent’s hands, according to the release. The agent told police he was injured while trying to handcuff the man, and that they left the area immediately after because they feared protesters who had gathered would attack them, it noted.

Police have visited the man at the hospital and photographed his injuries, and are investigating the encounter.

Local authorities investigating

Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss said in a post on X that the man was treated at St. Francis Hospital for minor injuries. The police department “continues to investigate the situation, and we will remain vigilant about federal activities,” he wrote.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had “encountered an individual who resembled the target” of a “targeted enforcement operation,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement. “The individual was given lawful commands but was not cooperative and refused to identify himself.”

The officers “left the scene without further incident” after the man identified himself, according to the statement. “When ICE officers offered the individual assistance, he refused.”

Illinois authorities condemn bloody encounter

The incident drew condemnation from Illinois officials as backlash grows against ICE’s presence in communities around the country. ICE announced a record number of arrests last month, with nearly 51,000 people arrested.

“I am disgusted and outraged by reports of what happened in my hometown of Evanston on Sunday,” Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky said in a statement.

Eyewitnesses tell AP what they saw

Ryan Garton, 56, told the Associated Press that he saw the agents pinning down the man, who was Black, on the side of the road as he was driving home. He pulled over to document what was happening on video.

One agent had his knee on the man’s back and was “beating up on him,” Garton told the AP. “I’m a citizen, leave me alone,” Garton said the man screamed as the agent pinned him down. Around five people stood nearby and yelled at the agent to stop.

Garton said he urged the agent to get off the man so he could inspect his injuries, and that the agent acknowledged that he was already aware the man was a U.S. citizen. When the agent stepped away, Garton saw bloodstains in the shape of handprints on the man’s shirt.

“His upper right eye socket and temple were swollen as if he had been punched” and his face was scraped “as if it had been ground into the sidewalk,” he said.

The man told Garton that he had been walking to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription when the agents stopped him.

Michael Lipson, the owner of a store across the street from where the incident occurred, said he saw the agents wrestle the man to the ground as he repeatedly yelled that he is a U.S. citizen. The man’s face looked “badly messed up,” Lipson told the AP.

Lipson said the agents checked cards and papers from the man’s wallet before leaving them scattered on the road. Lipson laid out his sweatshirt for the man to rest on while Garton inspected his injuries.

The same day, ICE agents shot and wounded a man in Austin, Texas, the latest in a string of shootings by federal immigration agents that have prompted growing backlash against the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration tactics.

At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration agents in President Trump’s second term, including a Colombian man shot dead in Maine in July by an agent with a history of violent behavior, and a Mexican man hit by a tractor trailer as he fled agents in Florida the same month. ICE agents fatally shot Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both U.S. citizens, during the Trump administration’s siege of Minneapolis, named “Operation Metro Surge,” earlier this year.

Mayes-Osterman writes for the Associated Press.

Rams star receiver Puka Nacua remains sidelined because of groin soreness and his status for Sunday’s game against the Denver Broncos is unclear, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.

Nacua was not scheduled to participate in a light team jog-through. Asked if he expected Nacua to play against the Broncos, McVay said, “I’m not sure.”

Will Nacua practice this week?

“I would say it’s more likely than not, but we’ll see,” McVay said.

Nacua, the NFL’s receptions leader in 2025, sat out the Rams’ victory over the New York Giants on Monday night.

Are the Rams concerned that Nacua’s injury could be a longer-term issue?

“I don’t think so,” McVay said, adding. “When you’re a skill player and you’re really trying to hit high-speed yards and really open up… it’s like some of the things that can almost be pre-hernia is kind of what he’s feeling.

“You err on the side of caution. Usually time is the best thing that allows that thing to heal.”

McVay said Nacua does not have a hernia, and that the team’s training and medical staff did not feel the issue was “any type of long term threat.”

“I just know that he’s frustrated,” McVay said, “and we all want him to be able to be out there. But we want him to be able to return to performance, not just be able to just kind of gut through it.”

Quarterback Matthew Stafford said Nacua is an “unbelievable” player and loves having him on the field. But he trusts in all Rams receivers.

“Certain things that he does at a high level that maybe move down the list a little bit on things that we might run,” Stafford said. “But once the play’s called and things that we do, I trust all those guys to go out there and execute at a high level.”

Etc.

Running back Ronnie Rivers, who is also a key special teams player, was placed on injured reserve because of a “freak” calf injury suffered when he jumped to loosen up during the game against the Giants, McVay said. Running backs Dean Connors or Jordan Waters could be promoted to the roster for the game against the Broncos. The Rams signed safety Maximus Pulley to the roster.

New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart appears to have avoided a “devastating outcome” after leaving Monday night’s game against the Rams with a left knee injury, coach John Harbaugh told reporters following his team’s 28-6 loss at SoFi Stadium.

Harbaugh stopped short of confirming the multiple media reports that Dart suffered a sprained MCL when his leg bent in an unnatural manner after he was hit hard by Rams linebackers Byron Young and Josaiah Stewart early in the first quarter.

“That’s in the neighborhood of it, I would say,” Harbaugh said of those reports after the his team’s 28-6 loss. “We’ll get an MRI tomorrow and have a real good feel for it, and give you more information from there.”

SNY Giants reports that Dart could miss two to four weeks with the injury. Still, it could have been much worse. A torn ACL could have ended the season for the second-year quarterback who missed two games last year after sustaining a concussion.

“Never play to hurt anybody,” Young, a fourth-year player and 2025 Pro Bowl selection for the Rams, posted in an Instagram Story after the game. “I pray for a healthy recovery.”

Former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning seemed to fear the worst while watching the situation unfold live on their alternative broadcast of the game on ESPN2.

“Oh no. Oh no. No, no, no, no, no,” Peyton Manning said as he watched Dart writhe on the ground while holding his knee. “That is not what we want to see. Gosh!”

“Tough to watch,” Eli Manning said as a replay aired. “Hate to see that. Hope he’s OK.”

Dart was able walk off the field and into the locker room gingerly but under his own power. ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported that the former USC and Mississippi quarterback actually wanted to return to the game but was not allowed to do so by his team.

Instead, Dart watched the second half from the sideline in street clothes, with video appearing to show him telling someone, “They wouldn’t let me come back out.”

Veteran quarterback Jameis Winston filled in for Dart and completed 11 of 27 passes for 111 yards with one interception.

Dart was one of several key Giants (1-1) players to suffer injuries during the loss. Top pass rusher Brian Burns sprained his left ankle and left tackle Andrew Thomas sustained an apparent lower-body injury, with neither player returning to the game.

Wide receiver Malik Nabers had to pop his right shoulder into place after dislocating it during the first quarter. He stayed in the game but indicated afterward he would undergo X-rays the next day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Aaron Donald said Friday that he planned to make his season debut for the Rams against the New York Giants on Monday night, but star receiver Puka Nacua’s status is more hazy because of a hip injury.

Donald, 35, rejoined the Rams after ending a two-year retirement. The three-time NFL defensive player of the year did not travel to Australia for the season-opening defeat by the San Francisco 49ers, but he has participated in several 11-on-11 drills this week.

Asked if he would play on Monday, Donald said, “That’s the plan.”

Donald’s plan? Or the Rams’?

“I think that’s all of our plan,” he said. “We have a conversation, we figure it out.”

Donald said he felt as if he had never been away.

“Kind of getting in the groove of things, understanding everything a lot better out there playing a lot more free, a lot more loose and looking more like myself to me,” he said.

Nacua, who was sidelined for a few weeks during the preseason because of a psoas injury, caught five passes for 74 yards against the 49ers and practiced on Thursday. The psoas is involved in hip movement, so it is not clear whether Nacua’s absence was caused by the same injury or a new one.

Nacua was scheduled to speak with reporters on Friday, but did not do so because he did not practice. Coach Sean McVay is scheduled to speak with reporters on Saturday.

Regardless, the Rams are expected to get a boost from Donald, an eight-time All-Pro.

Edge rusher Byron Young played with Donald as a rookie in 2023. Now he will be playing alongside him again.

“He hasn’t missed a beat,” Young said.

New York Mets first baseman Jared Young was carted off the field Thursday night after he took a knee to the head during a collision with pitcher Nolan McLean while both players were trying to make a play on a ground ball hit by Philadelphia’s Justin Crawford.

Young, who landed face-first in the dirt, reportedly was briefly knocked unconscious during the sixth-inning incident at Citi Field.

“It was scary to sit there and just know that he wasn’t with us in that moment,” Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor said after the game. “He was just somewhere else.”

Young was able to give a thumbs-up to the crowd, however, as he was driven off. Mets interim manager Andy Green told reporters after the game that it “feels at this point in time like we’ve avoided the scariest outcomes.”

A CT scan at a hospital was negative, said Green, who added that Young had concussion symptoms but also had full use of his extremities.

Still, Green said after his team’s 3-0 loss, “it was a terrifying moment on a baseball field. Took him a while to come to. It was a really scary collision.”

McLean remained in the game and struck out Philadelphia’s Garrett Stubbs to end the inning. He was replaced by reliever Tobias Myers in the seventh.

Young, 31, has been a bright spot for the Mets (69-84) during his first full season, hitting .266 with nine homers and 39 RBIs in 103 games. A left knee injury caused him to miss six weeks early in the season.

“He’s somebody we all respect and appreciate and have love for,” Lindor said. “He’s been a big part of our team this whole year.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

CINCINNATI — Dodgers left-hander Blake Snell left his start against the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday after one inning, with what the team identified as left groin tightness.

Snell gave up one hit, a single to Sal Stewart, which he quickly erased with a successful pick-off that caught Stewart in an inning-ending run-down.

Snell threw 19 pitches. Blake Treinen replaced him in the second inning.

Wednesday marked Snell’s eighth start of the season. His 2026 debut was delayed by shoulder fatigue. After one start, he landed back on the injured list to undergo arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow.

Since returning, he hasn’t given up more than one run in a start. Through Wednesday’s abbreviated outing, Snell has a 1.86 ERA.

Snell has a history of left groin and adductor strains. He spent time on the IL in 2021, 2022 and 2024 for such injuries.

Britain’s Tom Aspinall has vacated his UFC heavyweight title because of complications in his recovery from an eye injury, but says he has no plans to retire.

The 33-year-old has not fought since October 2025, when the first defence of his title against Ciryl Gane ended in a no-contest following several eye pokes.

Aspinall was diagnosed with a rare eye condition, and has had persistent double vision and several operations.

“I am absolutely gutted. I have chased this dream since I was 10 years old,” he said in a statement.

“I know what it’s like to have your career put on hold and I want the other fighters to have the opportunity to compete for the title.”

In June Aspinall said he had returned to full training for a rematch with France’s Gane and suggested they could fight in September.

In August Aspinall rejected reports that he would leave the UFC.

“I am not done. Stepping away from the title is not stepping away from the sport or the dream,” he said on Monday.

“I will continue doing everything I can to get healthy, get cleared and get back to competing as soon as possible.”

UFC president Dana White hinted over the weekend that Aspinall could be stripped of the title.

This month Valentina Shevchenko vacated the women’s flyweight title because of persistent injuries.

Gane beat Alex Pereira to win the interim heavyweight title in June before calling for a rematch with Aspinall.

When it comes to Shohei Ohtani‘s injury management, it’s tempting to dwell on the what-ifs.

What if the Dodgers forced him to give up pitching duties in July, when he needed a lubricant injection to alleviate irritation in his left knee?

It was clear by then that Ohtani was playing through multiple injuries. A right biceps problem popped up for the second time on July 3 — the last time he pitched in a game. The Dodgers said his knee inflammation was only aggravated by pitching and the biceps tightness was tied to hitting. And yet, they were confident that the MLB All-Star break would give Ohtani enough time to bounce back.

If the Dodgers had been more proactive, instead of starting and stopping Ohtani’s throwing program until his injuries forced a shutdown, would he be in the lineup Friday against the Miami Marlins instead of the 15-day injured list?

Maybe.

Or maybe one or both injuries were far enough along by then that they would have affected him down the stretch regardless. Maybe seeing if he could return to the mound was worth the risk.

Maybe not.

“Anyone can do that, and say, ‘What could you have done better or different?’” manager Dave Roberts said earlier this week when asked if he had any regrets about Ohtani’s injury management. “That’s something going forward we’re going to look at, absolutely. But, it’s certainly not a blame-game thing. It’s learning from what happened and getting better.”

Parsing through the alternative outcomes from decisions made months ago could take time. But the fallout from this past week is clearer.

What if instead of resting Ohtani four days, and bringing him back Monday, the Dodgers had put him on the IL right away?

“I think if we look right now, here today, I would love to go back and put him on the IL,” Roberts said. “But at that moment in time, we all felt that giving him four days was sufficient. He was agreeable. Getting him out there on Monday with the hope that he would be able to play [again Wednesday]. But where we’re at right now, sure.”

Two weeks without Ohtani is hard to swallow. As a two-way player, he’s eligible for the 15-day IL instead of the 10-day for position players.

The Dodgers tried to avoid it. But when he returned to the lineup Monday, he “didn’t feel great” on a swing, Roberts revealed.

So now the Dodgers can only backdate Ohtani’s IL stint to Tuesday, rather than Sept. 3. At minimum, Ohtani will be out until the final five games of the regular season.

“The most important thing is him being as healthy as possible, not compromising his swing, and kind of bet on that,” Roberts said.

He acknowledged that Ohtani wouldn’t be back to “100%” even with the two weeks off.

But plenty of players push through injuries in the playoffs. October becomes a test of pain tolerance before addressing ailments in the offseason.

“I want to make sure that when I look back [on] this season,” Ohtani said Monday through interpreter Will Ireton, “that I used this as an experience, a learning experience and make sure that I use that as something to improve upon for next season.”

So, does that mean Ohtani feels like he could be more up-front with the team about his physical well-being, regardless of whether he thinks he can play through aches and pains?

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani celebrates with teammates after a win over the Reds at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“It’s hard to say now with the season still going on,” Ohtani said. “It’s something that I’m going to reflect back on during the offseason. I’m just making sure that I’m focusing on the now and finishing strong.”

The Dodgers, for the first time navigating what was expected to be a full season of two-way play from Ohtani, leaned on his expertise while managing his workload. In retrospect, they might have put too much stock in his self-evaluations.

Baseball has a long tradition of players downplaying injuries, out of a desire to play and a belief in their own perseverance.

“What can I learn?” Roberts said this week. “I think that sometimes, potentially trying to get ahead of managing his workload — it always feels good to run him out there offensively as a DH. Always feels good when you pencil him in as a starter — for me, it’s just really trying to be mindful of the long season.

“And I guess it’s under the thing of, ‘you don’t know until you know,’ and it’s important to learn from experiences. And I think it’s good for all of us to kind of appreciate that he’s not supernatural, as much as we think he might be at times.”

Roberts said he didn’t learn until Tuesday night, after giving Ohtani a day off for the fifth time in six games, that a swing on Monday had bothered him.

So, Ohtani didn’t return to the lineup Wednesday as planned. And the team arranged for No. 1 prospect Josue De Paula to meet the team in Miami, called up straight from double-A for his MLB debut on Friday.

“It was more just really huddling up and saying, ‘Hey, how are you going to feel on Friday? How are you going to feel on Saturday, talking to the doctors and training staff?’” Roberts said. “There was not much certainty that he’d be in a much better place. With that, just taking it off the table seemed like the best course of action.”

De Paula wasn’t otherwise guaranteed to debut this season, although the Dodgers would have needed to eventually put him on the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft.

The Dodgers see him as a major-league ready hitter, but he still has work to do on the defensive side for the team to feel comfortable playing him in the outfield regularly. An early taste of the big leagues, even with his playing time expected to come mostly in the DH spot, could be beneficial for the 21-year-old’s development.

For Ohtani, the ramp from the IL to postseason play will be short. But his recent offensive struggles emphasized the importance of having a healthier version of him in the lineup come October.

If anyone can make it work, it’s Ohtani. He may not be supernatural, but he also isn’t just any player. And if he performs in the postseason, that will drown out any lingering what-ifs.

Times staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.

It was more than three minutes outside her best time for the course and well outside her British record for the distance of 1:05:43.

Britain’s Jack Rowe missed out on a record fourth consecutive victory in the men’s race, finishing in second place, 14 seconds behind Birchfield Harriers’ Kadar Omar Abdullahi, who won in a time of 1:01:51.

Britain’s David Weir defended his title in the men’s wheelchair event, winning the race for the fifth time in its nine-year history in a new record time.

The 47-year-old, who retired from Paralympic competition in 2024, knocked 45 seconds off his own record for the course, which he set last year, winning in 46:13.

Eden Rainbow Cooper won the women’s event in 52:47 to defend her title.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sent a text message to Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday night informing him that he wasn’t going to be in the lineup Thursday in the series finale against the Cardinals.

Ohtani responded with a salute emoji, Roberts said.

“At the end of the day, he wants to be in there,” Roberts said. “But I’m not going to just put him in there because of the name on the back of his jersey.”

That could be a push-and-pull situation for the rest of the season, as Ohtani continues to manage lingering pain in his right biceps and left knee.

The uncertainty surrounding Ohtani’s health — even though Roberts called an injured list stint “unlikely” — raises questions about the team’s plans.

It’s difficult to fully map out the Dodgers’ rotation plans without knowing whether Ohtani will pitch again this season. And the offense won’t be at its best until he has shaken his slump — Ohtani has just two hits in his last six games after hitting just .241 in August.

“I think great players always feel that their X percentage is better than the next person and they want to be available,” Roberts said. “There is a kind of trusting the player versus taking it out of their hands.

“I’ve had a lot of practice with Clayton [Kershaw]. And Shohei, I think it’s just more of trying to weigh the downside and what potential harm that could do for him and the ballclub versus it’s something that is what it is. That’s just trying to get as much information as we can from the training staff and hear what Shohei has to say.”

Ohtani, who was not made available to speak to reporters before the game Thursday, has not given an interview in over two weeks. He declined requests for comment through a Dodgers spokesperson twice last weekend.

Though Ohtani’s left knee has been the biggest impediment in his return to pitching — his last pitching start was July 3, and his throwing program has stalled twice since receiving an injection to address swelling and soreness — his right biceps is now a problem.

Ohtani reported that the area from his biceps to his neck was bothering him Wednesday night, Roberts said. That was why he kept shaking out his arm.

“It feels like an ebb-and-flow type thing,” general manager Brandon Gomes said of Ohtani’s biceps issue, which has flared at least two other times this season. “It’s hard to recover in August and September, so it’s like just being mindful of if he needs a day here and there, and having those conversations. He’s just one of one, and you can’t say, ‘Well, this guy feels this, therefore Sho’s going to be the same.’ So we have to treat it as a unique case.”

Shohei Ohtani strikes out against the St. Louis Cardinals in the 10th inning Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.

(Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times)

Both the biceps and knee injuries have lingered for months. But Ohtani hasn’t missed two games in a row all season, let alone landed on the IL.

“I think it’s just really hard to say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna knock something out in X amount of days,’” Gomes said. “But l think not having Shohei in the lineup for 10 days, or whatever it would be, is something that we would prefer not to do, and it really hasn’t even been something that we’ve discussed.”

Gomes also pushed back on the assumption that Ohtani’s struggles at the plate are connected to his physical ailments, even though the two have coincided.

“I just think there’s also just ebbs and flows of the season, and what to attribute things to and what not to is just too hard to say,” Gomes said. “We haven’t had any indication that he’s not feeling good enough physically to go out and play.

“I also think he’s a victim of his own greatness, of … if Shohei struggles for a bit and then it’s up in arms. Like I said, I don’t think there’s anything overly concerning at this point. We’ll continue to monitor and have conversations and see how he feels.”

If the Dodgers don’t put Ohtani on the IL, giving him consecutive days off could make sense. Roberts said he’ll make that decision Friday, after discussions with Ohtani and the training staff.

The Dodgers also have put off a decision regarding whether Ohtani should pitch again this season. But Roberts said this latest development would be “part of the math.”

Said Gomes: “Once again, we’ve got to see how he continues to feel. At some point, if it’s a, ‘Hey, the upside outweighs the downside,’ then we shut it down. Doc has said this, we’ll continue to say it: We’re not going to … compromise [his offensive performance]. But right now, not feeling that that’s necessarily a thing. We just don’t have enough information to feel strongly on that.”

Though it’s not a huge sample size, Ohtani restarted his throwing progression with catch play on Aug. 8. In 23 games since then, he’s posted a .704 OPS during his worst offensive month of his season.

The addition of left-hander Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline also took some of the pressure off Ohtani to return to pitching.

“It was an opportunity that our guys saw, and grateful that a deal was worked out,” Roberts said. “You look at where Shohei’s at, and Roki [Sasaki is] throwing a bullpen tomorrow but on the IL with the blister, so having a [frontline] starter [in Skubal] is huge. And then also getting to know the player, and how he has already impacted our guys, we’re very fortunate.”

Aaron Donald watched closely.

After reaching the NFC championship game last season, the Rams traded for a star cornerback. Then they traded for a two-time defensive player of the year.

Donald, a future Hall of Famer two years into retirement, noticed.

His thought: “OK, I wish I was still out there playing right about now.”

On Sunday, there he was.

Hours after ending months of speculation that kept the NFL world at rapt attention, Donald, 35, agreed to terms with the Rams, donned his No. 99 jersey and practiced with the team for the first time since 2023.

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Future Hall of Fame defensive lineman Aaron Donald officially came out of retirement Sunday to rejoin the Rams for their Super Bowl title push.

“Do I feel like I can play at a high level? Yes,” Donald said after the workout. “Do I feel like I can still be myself? 100%.

“If I didn’t feel like that I wouldn’t be here.”

Rams coach Sean McVay is happy to have him. Since the Rams traded for star defensive end Myles Garrett in June, McVay had said he would welcome Donald’s return — and subsequently stressed that any decision would be Donald’s and on the eight-time All-Pro’s timeline.

Donald said that he and McVay communicated “damn near every day” as he worked out and pondered his decision.

Sunday was the deadline for NFL teams to trim their rosters to 53 players.

“He and I both had kind of an unspoken understanding, like, ‘All right, once we get the roster down, where are you at with it?’” McVay said. “We wanted to make sure he felt good about doing that.

“When he does something, he does it all-in. And that’s kind of what led to getting it done.”

When he retired, Donald had $30 million left on his contract. Under the new agreement, he can earn $20 million during the regular season on a one-year deal that could be worth as much as $30 million, a person with knowledge of the situation said. The person requested anonymity because the contract had not yet posted.

On Sunday, Donald went through individual drills with defensive linemen, and then headed to the training room. McVay indicated the Rams would handle Donald’s ramp-up conservatively as they prepare for their Sept. 10 opener against the San Francisco 49ers in Melbourne, Australia.

“Whether or not he’s available and whether or not we think it’s best to be able to play him in Australia, I think the best way to do it is to take it one day at a time,” McVay said.

That is how Donald approached it during what he said was a 13-week decision process. He worked out in the gym, did speed and agility workouts on the field and also did sessions of football drills.

Donald recorded every workout. Every movement and every cut, to see how he stacked up against his earlier self, the one who won three NFL defensive player of the year awards.

“In my opinion, I don’t see no difference,” he said. “If not, it looked a little cleaner to me.”

Still, Donald said “it really wasn’t an easy decision.” That it was “on and off for a while.” But after many conversations with his wife, Erica, and others, he said he knew for the last two weeks that he wanted to return.

Aaron Donald reacts after tackling Cleveland running back Jerome Ford during a game at SoFi Stadium in December 2023.

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

It initially felt “weird” to arrive at the Rams’ Woodland Hills facility as a player rather than a visitor, he said, but he quickly acclimated after sitting through an 80-minute team meeting, getting to know new teammates and walking onto the field for practice.

Before the Rams went through stretching exercises, Donald sat on a red exercise ball, taking in the scene and focusing his thoughts for the workout ahead.

Though teammates insisted that he go first, he put himself at the back of the lines.

“Whatever my role is, I’m going to earn it,” he said.

Donald, who helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium at the end of the 2021 season, aims to help the Rams win another championship at SoFi Stadium this season.

The Rams piqued his interest when they traded for All-Pro cornerback Trent McDuffie, and then dealt edge rusher Jared Verse to the Cleveland Browns for Garrett.

Now he is part of a defensive front that also includes linemen Kobie Turner and Braden Fiske and edge rusher Byron Young.

“I already thought it was a stacked D-line with Verse,” Donald said. “Obviously, things transpired and happened, and then you bring in a guy like Myles Garrett, a generational talent, and it’s like, ‘That could be fun.’”

Donald said that before seeing him on Sunday, he had texted several times with Garrett.

“Hopefully,” Donald said, “we can do some special things together.”

For a player who has been so improbable, the Dodgers must now do the impossible.

When it comes to pitching, they must shut Shohei Ohtani down.

Despite suffering a knee ailment and biceps soreness this season, Ohtani is slowly trying to take the mound for the first time in more than two months.

Stop. Just stop.

The Dodgers have no business sticking Ohtani back on the mound. He belongs out there no more than Kiké Hernandez does.

There’s no two ways about it — the Dodgers should not plan on jamming Ohtani back into the starting rotation.

The Dodgers should thank him for his passion, applaud him for his 1.79 ERA in his first 14 starts, promise to return his resin bag next season, and ask him to go to work on that bat.

As much as the fans want to see all Ohtani, all of the time, the next couple of months are not about celebrating a novelty, they’re about winning a championship, and Ohtani can best get that done by avoiding another injury to himself on the mound and directing all of his efforts at the plate.

Recently, his hitting needs all the help it can get. After Saturday’s loss in Detroit, it had been a startling nine games since Ohtani homered or collected an RBI. During that span he had more than twice as many strikeouts as hits (13-5).

In this final month he needs to concentrate on getting his swing right and not worry about bullpens or openers or piggy-backs or any of the numerous machinations involved in getting him back on the mound.

Bottom line, the Dodgers need him more at the top of the order than in the middle of the diamond, and for now, he shouldn’t be in two places at once.

Bottom, bottom line, there is a sense that the Dodgers agree.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani follows through on a pitch during a game last month at Dodger Stadium.

(Harry How / Getty Images)

Ohtani threw about 20 pitches in a bullpen session Friday and wasn’t 100%, and that set off alarm bells with the Dodgers’ bosses.

While guessing that Ohtani’s balky left knee would not allow him to be 100% by October, manager Dave Roberts openly wondered Saturday whether a pitching comeback is worth the effort.

“Obviously, where we’re at right now with the pitching, the starting pitching certainly being a strength, his value offensively is hugely important, and so we can’t compromise that in any fashion,” Roberts told reporters in Detroit. “So, if throwing potentially cuts into that, that’s not worth the squeeze. So that’s something for me. Very, very bullish on making sure we don’t compromise the hitting.”

Did you hear that? Not worth the squeeze? Exactly.

Are you listening, Ohtani? He’s always been the ultimate team player, so if the Dodgers asked his permission to shut him down, he would agree, right? Right?

Keeping Ohtani off the mound for the rest of the season is a radical view, certainly — c’mon, you’re paying the dude $700 million to hit and pitch! — but it’s a view backed by common sense.

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani prepares to bat during a game earlier this month as Dodger Stadium.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Point One: The Dodgers won a World Series in 2024 with Ohtani strictly hitting, so it can be done.

Point Two: Last postseason, even with his three-homer, 10-strikeout gem in the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, Ohtani had a playoff ERA of 4.43.

Playing in the postseason is hard. Pitching and hitting in the postseason is nearly impossible. That magical Brewers clincher was his only shining moment.

Point Three: They recently acquired Tarik Skubal specifically to reduce the need for Ohtani, and they now have a nearly unbeatable rotation without Ohtani.

With Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow having returned strong from injuries, they have four starters who easily can dominate a series.

Check out the current seven-game span of games started by Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Skubal, Snell and Tyler Glasnow.

They gave up as many as three runs only twice. They pitched less than six innings only once. Their ERA was 2.38.

Point Four: The struggling Dodgers offense desperately needs Ohtani to get right at the top. Who is going to get the big hit if he doesn’t? Entering the last month, the candidates are few.

Not a slowing Mookie Betts. Not psyched-out Kyle Tucker. Not aging Teoscar Hernández. Maybe Freddie Freeman, but he hasn’t hit a home run since July 4. And maybe Max Muncy, if they pitch to him.

Will Smith will be returning this week after a prolonged absence, and that will help, but not enough.

If anything happens to sideline Ohtani the hitter, the Dodgers are sunk, period.

And if he pitches, lots could happen to him.

The knee. The elbow. Whatever it was that has kept him off the mound since July 3. So much can go wrong if he’s pitching, and any pitching injury could have the double whammy of sidelining him as a hitter.

“I think 100% for me as far as an offensive player, that’s very important,” Roberts said. “As a pitcher, for me, given the strength of our staff, our team, I don’t think that’s as important. I think it’s important for us not to compromise his health in any capacity. But for me, it’s just his presence in the batter’s box is hugely important to him.”

Yes, Ohtani wants to pitch. Yes, the Dodgers promised him he could pitch. But that was before the injuries and the acquisitions and the slump.

Everything is different now. The landscape has changed.

The Dodgers no longer need the arm so badly that they can risk the bat.

Barely 20 bullpen pitches at the end of August? He’s clearly not going to be 100% by October, so shut him down and let him swing.

Shohei Ohtani is 32 and finishing his ninth season. He’s not a kid anymore.

He’s not infallible anymore.

Having him pitch and hit for a second consecutive October indeed would be a great story.

But having him use his bat to lead the Dodgers to a three-peat would be a better one.