Scout Scribbles – Walcott Out for Gunners

Theo Walcott, Laurent Koscielny and Kieran Gibbs are out of Arsenal’s trip to Norwich. The injuries also rack up for West Brom ahead of City’s visit tomorrow, Ashley Young is back for United, while Martin O’Neill is undecided whether to play Danny Rose in the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday afternoon:

Arsene Wenger has handed Fantasy managers a handy injury update ahead of tomorrow morning’s deadline. In an article published late last night on the club’s official website, the Arsenal boss revealed he will be without Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs for the trip to Norwich, while in this morning’s press conference, he also confirmed Laurent Koscielny is sidelined for the Carrow Road showdown. The news means Per Mertesacker is set to continue alongside Thomas Vermaelen at centre-half, while Andre Santos should be handed his first start of the season – he climbed off the bench to replace the injured Gibbs at Upton Park last time round.

While Wenger is hopeful that Gibbs will return for the Gameweek 9 match against QPR, Walcott could be set for a fortnight on the sidelines:

“He has an injury to his chest and lungs. We have to treat that clinically. He’s quickly short of breath when he makes an effort but it’s bruising and that will heal. It’s no major concern but it will take we think about two weeks to be back to a normal level.”

Wenger also revealed that Jack Wilshere will require another game for the reserves before coming into first-team contention, while Thomas Rosicky and Abou Diaby are also unavailable in the midfield tomorrow.Aaron Ramsey started alongside Mikel Arteta at West Ham and looks set to continue.

West Brom rolled out an injury update ahead of their clash with City tomorrow. The Baggies official website has revealed that Chris Brunt, Billy Jones, Steven Reid, Boaz Myhill and Jerome Thomas will all miss out, while Romelu Lukaku has returned to training following an ankle problem and could be passed fit to play. Youssouf Mulumbu is also a doubt after picking up an injury on international duty, while Liam Ridgewell gave his Fantasy owners a boost by taking to twitter to reveal he has returned to full training. Ridgewell’s possible return is likely to see Goran Popov drop out for the Hawthorsn match, while the absence of both Jones and Reid means Gabriel Tamas and Gonzalo Jara will battle it out for the right-back slot. Tamas started the last match against QPR but was subbed off at half-time; replacement Jara impressed by providing an assist in the 3-2 win.

Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed Ashley Young is back in contention for United. The winger has been sidelined since Gameweek 2 but will return to the squad for tomorrow’s home clash with Stoke. Ferguson admitted Chris Smalling is still out, though the former Fulham man is “making progress” from a toe problem that has kept him out all season.

Sam Allardyce has spoken of his frustration after Winston Reid was called up by New Zealand, despite being unfit. The centre-half sustained a back problem in the Gameweek 7 home defeat by Arsenal and was unable to participate for his country, with Allardyce saying:

“I don’t see any sense in calling them over and particularly that far, because they are injured. I don’t see any sense it in at all. I also think there was an underlining factor that they didn’t trust him or us that he was injured. There’s another underlining factor that tells me that the players are brought there and then they’re put under enormous pressure to play, because of the loyalties to the country by the coaches and certain political elements which they have to resist.”

The West Ham boss hinted that Guy Demel could be available for the home game against Southampton tomorrow, though. Demel was listed as an unused sub for the Ivory Coast match with Senegal by the Hammers’ website earlier this week – Allardyce revealed he was glad to have the right-back and Mohamed Diame back safely after crowd trouble caused the match to be abandoned:

“We had two very important players away in that horrific situation … they’ve come back okay.”

Tottenham’s injury worries at left-back are starting to ease after Andre Villas-Boas revealed Benoit Assou-Ekotto is to return to full training next week. The Cameroon international has been sidelined since Gameweek 3 with a knee injury, while his initial replacement, Kyle Naughton, has also been unavailable due to a foot problem. This has seen Jan Vertonghen move from the centre to full-back, with Steven Caulker afforded a first-team opportunity but Naughton – along with Jake Livermore – may be fit in time for tomorrow’s visit of Chelsea, according to the former Blues boss. Given the club’s current run of form, though, it seems unlikely that Villas-Boas will drop Caulker right now – he has produced a goal and assist in his three appearances so far.

Martin O’Neill has admitted he will assess Danny Rose’s state of mind before deciding whether to start the on-loan youngster in Sunday’s Tyne-Wear derby.

“I was very disappointed about it and somewhat angry as well. I don’t think it is something Danny will ever have encountered and I have the utmost sympathy for him. He shouldn’t have to endure that and that goes for everybody concerned. I’ll take the opportunity to let things lie for a day or two and I’ll speak to him closer to the time and see what state of mind he is in [to play against Newcastle]. Whether he can take it in his stride, I don’t know. I’ll see whether things die down and then try to focus his mind on the game. It will depend very much on how he feels, but I’m sure he will want to play.”

Rose was the subject of alleged racial abuse during England U21’s game in Serbia and was sent off at the end of the match following a melee with the home players. Having started the last four for the Black Cats, he has become a key component of the Sunderland first XI; O’Neill has the option of moving Carlos Cuellar to left-back and recalling Titus Bramble for the Stadium of Light showdown should he decide to leave Rose out of the action.