Leighton Baines remains sidelined for Everton at Molineux. Theo Walcott may return for Arsenal next weekend. James Morrison is back for the Baggies, Thomas Sorensen will take over in goal for Stoke’s last two, while Kyle Walker is fit enough to start for Spurs, despite a broken toe.
Leighton Baines has been ruled out of Everton’s trip to Wolves this weekend. David Moyes revealed earlier that the left-back is making good progress from a hamstring injury but a Molineux recall will come too soon. Victor Anichebe is also out after sustaining yet another groin injury at Stoke on Tuesday, while Jack Rodwell is expected to remain sidelined with a hamstring problem. Phil Neville and Darron Gibson both remain doubts for the Toffees.
Arsene Wenger has revealed that Theo Walcott could return for Arsenal next weekend. The winger was expected to be out for the season after sustaining a calf injury in the Gameweek 35 draw with Chelsea but is recovering quicker than expected and may come into contention for the trip to West Brom on the final day of the campaign, according to his manager:
If all goes well he is back in normal training on Thursday or Friday. Then we have to assess the risk of a setback, so we will see. If all goes well he could be back for the next weekend.
Wenger also admitted Abou Diaby is expected to miss Arsenal’s final two games of the season with a calf problem. The midfielder came on as a sub late in last week’s draw at Stoke but picked up the injury at some point in his 17 minutes of pitch time. Johan Djourou “should” be available for tomorrow’s game with Norwich, though is likely to go handed a bench role at best.
Roberto Di Matteo has today ruled both Gary Cahill and David Luiz out of the FA Cup Final against Liverpool tomorrow. The interim Chelsea boss revealed he hopes the pair will return to training next week, placing question marks against their availability for Tuesday’s trip to Chelsea. With both John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic suspended for the Champions League Final against Bayern, however, it’s conceivable that Di Matteo will choose not to risk either Cahill or Luiz in domestic action – an injury to either would limit his already-decimated defensive options further ahead of the Allianz Arena showdown on May 19.
Alex McLeish hardly has his problems to seek right now. Just three points above the drop zone and with Spurs rolling up to the midlands on Sunday, the beleaguered Villa boss has had to discipline three of his first-team players after an altercation at the club’s player of the year awards on Tuesday evening. Fabian Delph, Chris Herd and James Collins have all been fined for their behaviour and have issued formal apologies for their roles in a night club brawl.
Martin Olsson could return for Blackburn’s crucial home game with Wigan on Monday evening. The Swede has played just 29 minutes over the past three Gameweeks due to a groin injury but Steve Kean revealed earlier today that Olsson has now shrugged off the injury and is on course to face the Latics. David Dunn is available after recovering from a tight Achilles problem, though Kean is sweating on the fitness of Bradley Orr – the defender hasn’t trained due to an Achilles tendon problem.
West Brom have confirmed James Morrison is available for selection for West Brom’s game at Bolton tomorrow. The Scot was expected to be out for the season after sustaining a knee injury in Gameweek 30 but has returned to training this week. The Baggies are sweating on the fitness of Peter Odemwingie, though; the Nigerian is struggling with a hamstring problem. Shane Long picked up a knock in last week’s draw with Villa but is expected to be available.
Tony Pulis has confirmed Thomas Sorensen will take over from Asmir Begovic for Stoke’s final two matches of the season. The Potters boss feels that Sorensen is in need of match practice for this summer’s Euro 2012 with Denmark and will hand him the keeper’s jersey ahead of the games against QPR and Bolton – a blow for Begovic’s 6.7% of Fantasy owners. Andy Wilkinson is recovering from a groin problem that kept him out of the double Gameweek, while Jermaine Pennant and Rory Delap are also doubts, with hamstring and calf problems respectively.
Nigel Reo-Coker is a doubt for Bolton, according to Owen Coyle. The Trotters boss admitted that the midfielder is still struggling with the leg problem that has curtailed his game time in the past couple of matches. Darren Pratley remains out with a virus, Gretar Steinsson is still a doubt, while Coyle also confirmed that Chung-Yong Lee will not feature in the final two games, despite the midfielder returning to first-team training.
Simon Mignolet will return in goal for Sunderland’s trip to Fulham tomorrow. The Belgian was rested for last week’s home clash against Bolton but replacement Craig Gordon failed to impress, conceding two against the Trotters. In other team news, John O’Shea and Nicklas Bendtner are both looking to overcome foot injuries in time for the trip to the Cottage.
Kyle Walker is available for selection ahead of Spurs’ trip to Villa. The right-back, who has been transferred in by over 38,000 Fantasy managers this week, has received pain killing injections on a broken toe sustained in Wednesday’s win at Bolton. Harry Redknapp also revealed he is hopeful of having Scott Parker back for Sunday – the midfielder has missed the last two matches with an Achilles problem but has returned to training this morning.
11 years, 12 months agoThis Baines news is a real kick in the teeth after the earlier tweet! Defence is going to cost me my mini league lead if I am not careful. Current defence
Baines (out) JEvans (out) Caulker Verm Kelly
Is it worth taking a hit to bring in a big hitting defender or do I stick with what I've got? (2.2m in the bank)