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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Cleveland Indians open a three-game series with the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals on Monday, but without starting catcher Yan Gomes.While the Indians arrived in Kansas City, Gomes was headed back to Cleveland to have his right shoulder checked by Dr. Mark Schickendantz.Gomes hurt the shoulder Sunday in the fifth inning of a 6-1 victory at Minnesota when he stepped awkwardly on the first base bag while attempting to avoid the tag of Kenny Vargas.Gomes fell on his right shoulder as he stumbled to the ground while running at full speed and had to be carted off the field.As far as I know it is kind of like a shoulder separation, Gomes told Cleveland media after the game. Im going to Cleveland to be checked out and we will know more later.Indians manager Terry Francona said Gomes, who has started 63 games behind the plate, would be placed on the disabled list Monday. He said in all likelihood the Indians would activate catcher Roberto Perez, who had right thumb surgery in May. He has caught nine innings in a minor league rehab assignment.Things like this happen, Francona said. Hopefully, you are prepared so it doesnt get in the way of what youre trying to do.What the Indians are trying to do is win the American League Central. They hold a commanding 6 1/2-game lead over the Detroit Tigers, who beat the Royals 4-2 Sunday with a walk-off home run. They have an eight-game bulge over the Royals, who are just a game above .500. The Indians have lost seven of 12 since a 14-game winning streak catapulted them into control of the division.The Indians will receive no sympathy from the Royals on the Gomes injury. Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas is out for the season after knee surgery and Lorenzo Cain is on the disabled list with a hamstring injury. Cain, however, could begin a minor league rehab assignment this week, but he wont return to the Royals in time to play in the Indians series.Alex Gordon, who missed 30 games with a wrist fracture, continues to struggle at the plate, hitting .207 with a puny .652 OPS.All I can say is, Ive played like crap, Gordon told the Kansas City Star.The Royals will need Gordon to turn it around quickly if they are to make it to postseason for the third straight year.Were going to need to get him going, thats for sure, Royals manager Ned Yost said. Hes going to be key.Corey Kluber, who is 9-8 with a 3.61 ERA, will start the series opener for the Indians. He threw six scoreless innings to beat the Royals in June at Progressive Field, but 10 days later he permitted eight runs, including three unearned, over five innings in a loss at Kauffman Stadium.Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer is 12-for-45 (.267), with three home runs and 13 RBI off Kluber. Gordon has a .188 average, 6-for-32, but two of his hits are home runs.Edinson Volquez, who is 8-8 with a 4.85 ERA, will be the Royals starter Monday. In 11 Volquez starts that theRoyals won, he has a 2.18 ERA while holding opposing hitters to a .225 batting average. In his eight losses, Volquez has a 9.44 ERA with opponents hitting .322.Indians right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall has 14 hits and a .429 batting average against Volquez, while designated hitter Carlos Santana has a .167 average off the Royals right-hander he has two home runs.The Indians have defeated the Royals six times in 10 meetings this season, but are 0-3 at Kauffman Stadium.Glenn Robinson Jersey . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. Khris Middleton Bucks Jersey .C. Lions has come to an end. 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The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital.Fiji coach John McKee believes the creation of a Pacific Islands Super Rugby franchise would eventually transform his side into heavyweights of the game.Plans are underway to establish a team comprising of players from Englands opponents at Twickenham on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 2, plus Samoa and Tonga, that would compete in an expanded version of the southern hemisphere competition.By offering professional rugby in the Pacific Islands in the form of a franchise that would be operational in the early 2020s, it is hoped that the player drain to overseas clubs can be stemmed. Fiji played Australia at the 2015 Rugby World Cup England are among the nations profiting from Fijians opting for the greater riches available outside their homeland as they prepare to name Nathan Hughes and Semesa Rokoduguni in their starting XV for Saturdays second autumn international.It costs a lot of money to run a Super Rugby franchise and the economies in the Pacific are small economies, but it could become a reality in the next five to six years, McKee said. I certainly feel that the groundswell has changed a little bit and were realistically moving towards that now. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price From a national coaching perspective, to have our players playing in Super Rugby would be hugely beneficial for the national team because the windows fit in with the Test match windows.We would have access to a fair number of our squad at home over the whole 12 months. We would still select players from Europe, but the core of our team would be at home. With the talented athletes we have, if we had a Super Rugby team, we would be right up there. Fiji played Australia at the 2015 Rugby World Cup McKee views the emergence of Argentina since their exposure to Super Rugby as proof that Fiji might also power into rugbys top tier.ddddddddddddIf you look at Argentina, they have improved since joining Super Rugby, he said. They found it a bit tough with all the travel, but its enabled them to have the core of their players at home for the majority of the year. England vs Fiji November 19, 2016, 2:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass You can see how Argentinas style has changed - they are a much more dangerous team now and had a very successful World Cup, playing very un-Argentinean style rugby. That has come from playing Super Rugby.Fiji captain Akapusi Qera believes that having a Super Rugby franchise in the Pacific Islands would have a profound impact on their ability to halt the exodus and urged World Rugby to invest in the project. Fiji played Australia at the 2015 Rugby World Cup Having Super Rugby would bring professionalism to the islands and it would raise question marks on whether to come to Europe or not. If it happened, most of the boys would tend to stay rather than moving on, Qera said.If World Rugby wants the tier two nations to compete with the tier one nations, then they have to look into this investment in order to level the playing field.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price!Also See:Vunipola returns to trainingJones rings changes for FijiWell bore Fiji to deathHughes frank over finances ' ' '