Scout Scribbles – Gradel Sidelined for Cherries

Bournemouth winger Max Gradel is set for a spell on the sidelines due to a knee injury. West Ham’s Mark Noble is available for selection after the FA overturned his weekend red card, Ibrahim Afellay is handed a ban reduction, whilst Roberto Martinez confirms Tom Cleverley’s ankle ligament absence.

Gradel Blow for Bournemouth

Scans have revealed that Bournemouth winger Max Gradel ruptured his cruciate ligament during the weekend draw with Leicester City, ruling him out for up to six months. Elsewhere, the injury concerns are building for Eddie Howe after Tyrone Mings took to twitter yesterday to suggest he has sustained medial ligament damage before quickly deleting the post.

The Scout Says: Gradel was displaying laudable form before he succumbed to injury, having tallied three assists in his previous two outings. His absence will doubtless come as a blow to Callum Wilson’s 19.5% ownership and the Cherries’ attacking prospects as a whole, given that the Ivorian winger was executing key passes at a greater frequency (one every 52 minutes) than any of their midfield contingent. Marc Pugh (5.0) will likely now take up the responsibility of providing width on the left, with Christian Atsu and the versatile Joshua King offering further alternatives. Focusing our attention on Bournemouth’s embattled rearguard, with first-choice left-back Charlie Daniels also expected to be sidelined through injury, Howe drafted in Joe Bennett on a six-month loan deal on deadline day. Priced at 4.0, the Aston Villa defender could offer us a rare budget starter during a favourable quartet of upcoming fixtures (nor, SUN, sto, WAT, though would-be investors are best holding until we get a definite prognosis on Daniels’ likely length of absence.

Noble in the clear

West Ham have successfully appealed Mark Noble’s dismissal away to Liverpool in the previous Gameweek. Yesterday, the FA rescinded his red card and subsequent three-match ban, meaning the Hammers midfielder is now available for selection with immediate effect.

The Scout Says: There’s no doubt that Slaven Bilic’s arrival has boosted West Ham’s attacking prospects this term and Noble, with two goals in the last couple of Gameweeks, has already equalled his 2014/15 tally. The Upton Park outfit have scored nine times in the first four – only City (ten) have netted more often – and, as the club’s number one spot-kick taker, Noble, with a mere 0.4% ownership, has remained very much under the radar. With Newcastle, Norwich, Sunderland and Palace in the next five, the schedule looks prosperous for the Hammers, though there’s no shortage of option in the centre of the park after a busy transfer deadline day. The arrival of wide men Victor Moses (5.3) and Michail Antonio (6.0) could force a possible switch to 4-2-3-1, with Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate (two goals, one assist so far) stationed in the double-pivot, and focus attentions on the former pair as cheaper alternatives to Dimitri Payet (7.6) for those eyeing up a route into Bilic’s flourishing attack.

Afellay handed ban reduction

Ibrahim Afelllay’s three-match ban for slapping Craig Gardener has been reduced to two games by the FA following a successful appeal by Stoke City.

The Scout Says: Although Afellay will still sit out a trip to Arsenal and a home tie against Leicester City, he’ll return for Bournemouth’s visit to the Britannia Stadium in Gameweek 7. His absence paves the way for Marko Arnautovic to reclaim a starting berth on the left flank, having been displaced by the former Barcelona starlet last time out against the Baggies. Those Fantasy managers eyeing attacking coverage for the Potters will be more interested by the form of Mame Biram Diouf (two goals in three outings) and the tantalising potential of Xherdan Shaqiri (one assist in two starts). Certainly, beyond a trip to the Emirates, the Staffordshire outfit enjoy an excellent run of fixtures (LEI, BOU, avl, swa, WAT, new) that greatly enhances the prospects of their forward line.

Mixed News for Martinez’ Midfield

Everton midfielder James McCarthy is set for knee scans after the Republic of Ireland midfielder picked up a minor knock during training for their Euro 2016 qualifiers. Martin O’Neill detailed the Toffees’ request, insisting that he expects nothing untoward to emerge from the tests:

“I was speaking to Alan (Byrne, Irish team doctor) and more importantly the player (McCarthy), and the player’s not too concerned, so that’s OK. I think it’s something Everton wanted to do so, fine, we’ll fall into line and go with it. I can’t envisage a problem at the moment. If it is, it might not be anything to do with the scan – obviously your concern would be training, like something that happened with Jeff (Hendrick) today. I think Jeff hopes he will be okay himself but those would be the things that concern me in the next couple of days of training.”

Elsewhere in the Everton camp, Roberto Martinez confirmed that Tom Cleverley sustained ankle ligament damage in the goalless draw at Spurs following a challenge from Erik Dier. The Toffees boss couldn’t provide an estimated return date, though:

“We thought that it was a fracture and to have a fracture at this stage of the season for Tom would have been devastating because his form has been terrific. He has got ligament damage and the next step will be to see how long he is going to be out. It’s an injury we need to try and recover as quickly as we can but clearly it’s good news from when we saw Tom falling to the ground at White Hart Lane.”

In more positive developments, Gerard Deulofeu captained Spain’s U21 outfit to a 2-0 victory over Estonia, claiming a goal (penalty) and assist in the process.

The Scout Says: With Cleverley out of the picture for the foreseeable future, Martinez will need to fill the void on the Everton left. There’s no shortage of contenders here, with Kevin Mirallas perhaps the likeliest candidate, having been handed a 45-minute cameo against Spurs last Gameweek. The 6.9-priced Belgian wide man tallied seven goals and one assist in just 1421 minutes last term, highlighting his potential to develop into a top Fantasy asset, though could also face competition from the improving Deulofeu, with Arouna Kone and Aaron Lennon likely to battle it out on the opposite flank. Having failed to score in the last two matches, and with some tough fixtures to follow (CHE, swa, wba, LIV, MUN, ars) it’s difficult to justify investing in the Merseysiders until the schedule smiles kindly from Gameweek 11 onwards.