By Tim Stannard

Neymar faces fitness battle for rumble in Russia

With the World Cup now just three weeks away, ideally most footballers involved would be able to train properly and have a modicum of match fitness. Neymar is missing all of these basic requirements.

Neymar has not played a competitive game of football since the end of February – nor have most of his PSG teammates, to be fair – but they didn’t have the excuse of a broken foot.

Neymar is not yet at full training speed with the tackling and ball-kicking and what-not. But Neymar is expected to be leading his Brazil team to World Cup glory in Russia.

The latest update from the Brazil camp says that Neymar’s development is coming along “better than expected.” However, there is no guarantee that the fancy forward is going to be in tip-top shape for Brazil’s opener against Switzerland on the 17th June. “Nobody can guarantee that a footballer can be at 100%” claimed Brazil trainer, Fábio Mahseredjian.

Tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT for all the latest World Cup news.

Iniesta fixes future with Vissel Kobe

Andres Iniesta – remember him?

Left Barcelona last weekend in a fairly sneak-quietly-out-no-fuss please – affair. The Spanish international has already fixed his future ahead of joining up with his international colleagues for the World Cup. And that future is in Japan with the mighty midfielder being presented by J-League outfit Vissel Kobe. "I chose Vissel Kobe because it was an interesting project" – and the reported $30 million annual salary.

Iniesta’s new team is currently sixth in the J-League standings but will have at least one illustrious teammate in the form of German striker, Lucas Podolski.

Atletico land Rodri as Valencia seal deal for Kondogbia

TRANSFER TRACKER!

In a break with normal Sports Burst tradition, some actual done deals for today. Starting with an astute signing for Atletico Madrid, with the Rojiblancos picking up Villarreal midfielder, Rodri, on a five-year contract. Incidentally, the club has left Antoine Griezmann off its publicity material promoting the club’s new jersey. Could mean something…could mean nothing at all.

Valencia has also splashed some cash by taking up the option to properly buy French midfielder, Geoffrey Kondogbia. The now former Inter man was one of the key reasons why the Mestalla club reached the top four and a return to the Champions League this season.

Manchester United is set to splash some cash on Brazilian international midfielder, Fred, with the Shakhtar Donetsk man moving to Old Trafford for upwards of $80 million.

And to wrap things up, Wayne Rooney is expected to be in our fine American capital city on Thursday to have talks with the DC United suits over the possibility of a move to MLS.

The XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT is your one-stop shop for all the best – and most made-up – transfer tracker news.

Washington Capitals fight through to Stanley Cup finale

Over the pond now to some North American vibe-news and the Stanley Cup finalists have been sorted.

And it’s the frankly peculiar pair of the complete newbies to the sport Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals, who won through their play-off series against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 4-0 victory on Wednesday night and now have a whole new chance to disappoint their fans.

In the NBA, the Boston Celtics took a 3-2 lead in their conference play-off series against the Cleveland Cavaliers after a 96-83 win. The Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors tip-off on Thursday night with their series tied at 2-2.

And in a statement that has shocked observers, President Donald Trump has come out in favor of the NFL’s hardline on players who kneel during the national anthem. On a rare appearance on Fox and Friends, Trump went further by musing on what should happen to those who wanted to stay in the locker room for the anthem, an option offered up by the lovely folk at the NFL - “maybe you shouldn’t be in the country.”

WHAT IS SPORTS BURST?

The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. Sports Burst is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.