MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn are beginning rehabilitation assignments with hopes of being activated from the injured list by Monday.
Both players are expected to fly to Nashville — the home of the Brewers' Triple-A affiliate — on Tuesday night as they recover from fractured left hands. Chourio hasn’t played at all this season, while Vaughn appeared in just one game before going on the injured list.
Chourio was hit by a pitch from Washington’s Clayton Beeter while playing for Venezuela’s World Baseball Classic team in a March 4 exhibition with the Nationals at West Palm Beach, Florida.
The 22-year-old outfielder missed Venezuela’s first two World Baseball Classic games but returned to the lineup and helped his home country win the title. When Chourio felt bothered while attempting a check swing in late March, an MRI revealed a small hairline fracture at the base of the third metacarpal.
Chourio batted .270 with a .308 on-base percentage, 21 homers, 78 RBIs and 21 steals in 131 games.
Vaughn, 28, hit .308 with a .375 on-base percentage, nine homers and 46 RBIs in 64 games with the Brewers after they acquired him from the Chicago White Sox last season. He had hit just .189 with a .218 on-base percentage, five homers ad 19 RBIs in 48 games with the White Sox.
The Brewers have struggled to produce much power with Chourio, Vaughn and Christian Yelich all on the injured list. Yelich has an adductor strain and is expected to return in mid to late May.
Milwaukee entered its Tuesday matchup with Arizona having not homered in its last seven games. That represents the Brewers’ longest stretch without a homer since 1999, when they went a franchise-record 13 straight games without going deep.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
FILE - Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras looks back as he runs home to score on an RBI single by Andrew Vaughn during the sixth inning of an opening-day baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf, File)
FILE - Milwaukee Brewers Jackson Chourio looks on from the dugout railing during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf, File)
MADRID (AP) — Atletico Madrid could be without striker Ademola Lookman when it takes on Arsenal looking to return to the Champions League final for the first time in a decade.
Arsenal, trying to get back to the final two decades later, is expected to have attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze available for Wednesday's match.
Atletico and Arsenal will meet at the Metropolitano stadium in the first leg of the semifinals, seeking their first Champions League title.
Lookman has been key for Atletico since arriving from Atalanta this year, but he missed the last two games because of a muscle issue from the Copa del Rey final on April 19.
He practiced with the rest of the squad in the last few days and seemed ready to make his return. But Atletico coach Diego Simeone said on Tuesday the Nigeria striker was still a doubt to start at Metropolitano.
“We'll see if he recovers well tomorrow,” said Simeone, who turned 56 on Tuesday. “He still has some discomfort.”
Lookman has seven goals for Atletico since arriving, one of them in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Barcelona, when Atletico advanced 3-2 on aggregate.
“His arrival has made a very positive impact on the team,” Simeone said. “He brings new things to our attack. He has been working much better in the defensive phase as well.”
The 28-year-old Lookman said it's been great to have the trust of Simeone and acknowledged he has improved in all areas under the coach.
“My all-around game has improved,” he said. “Definitely, my defensive side of the game has also improved, which has allowed me to be more of a complete player who can help the squad even more.”
Lookman, who was born in London, signed with Atletico in February. He played for Fulham and Leicester before joining Atalanta in 2022. He also previously played for Leipzig and Everton.
“Atleti is one of the biggest clubs in the world, with top players,” he said. “The team is amazing, the squad is amazing, so it's a blessing to be here. The work that we've shown together has been amazing, so its been great.”
Atletico is playing in its fourth Champions League semifinal since Simeone arrived in late 2011. It lost finals to Real Madrid in 2014 and 2016.
“It’s extraordinary that Atletico is in a semifinal again, the fourth in 14 years," Simeone said. "We’re playing against a great team, but we’ll go for it.”
He said winning the title was “not pressure, it’s responsibility.”
“It’s a huge objective, something the club has never achieved," Simeone said. "But it’s a soccer match and, ultimately, it’s the players who decide these games.”
Kai Havertz has been ruled out. The Germany international was substituted in the first half of Arsenal’s win over Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday because of a muscle problem. Jurrien Timber also won’t make it to Wednesday’s match.
Arsenal’s only previous final was in 2006 when it lost to Samuel Eto’o’s Barcelona. The London club was eliminated by eventual champion Paris Saint-Germain in last year’s semifinals.
“What an opportunity and we’re going to grab it with both hands,” Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said. “We have shown in Europe at any ground what we are capable of. We have to play with that confidence and that desire.”
Arteta called Simeone “an absolute role model.”
“A lot of the work he’s carried out, he has transformed the club in 15 years," said Arteta, a Spaniard. "The way he has done it, I have always had admiration for these kind of people. He is very connected to the club.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Arsenal's Eberechi Eze during a training session in London, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)
Arsenal's Martin Zubimendi during a training session in London, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)
Arsenal's Gabriel Martinelli during a training session in London, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (John Walton/PA via AP)
Atletico Madrid's head coach Diego Simeone reacts during the Copa del Rey final soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad in Seville, Spain, Saturday, April. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Real Sociedad's Jon Aramburu, left, and Mikel Oyarzabal, centre right, challenge for the ball with Atletico Madrid's Ademola Lookman during the Copa del Rey final soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Real Sociedad in Seville, Spain, Saturday, April. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
