The Treatment Table – Gameweek 4

Our latest update on the recent batch of Premier League injuries sees Chelsea’s skipper sidelined for a Friday night encounter with Liverpool. Palace are set to be without Pape Souare for some time, whilst Luke Shaw is doubtful for United’s Europa League match on Thursday.

John Terry

The Chelsea captain has this afternoon been ruled out of Friday’s home clash against Liverpool with a foot injury sustained in the weekend draw at Swansea.

Terry had been an early doubt for the Stamford Bridge encounter, according to Antonio Conte on Sunday evening:

“I don’t know the extent of the injury but tomorrow we will see the situation about his ankle. But he is a warrior and I am not worried.”

In light of Sunday’s capitulation, Conte may well have been reconsidering his defensive options anyway. New boys David Luiz and Marcos Alonso were handed spots on the bench but may now come into contention, either in the current 4-1-4-1 set-up or the 3-4-3 formation the Italian hinted at late last week.

With one clean sheet in four and clashes against Arsenal, Leicester and Man United also to follow in the next five, many may look beyond the Blues’ backline for now, allowing Conte the chance to establish his preferred pecking order.

Luke Shaw

The United left-back is a doubt for this week’s Europa League encounter with Feyenoord after being replaced late on in the Manchester derby due to a slight hamstring niggle.

Having went into the weekend as a doubt after calling off from England duties, Shaw’s withdrawal raises concerns over his fitness after being sidelined for the vast majority of last season. The second most popular defender in FPL, he sits in over 25% of squads, yet those looking to invest in Jose Mourinho’s rearguard may be more inclined to opt for Antonio Valencia at this point, given the right-back’s stronger underlying numbers so far.

Although Shaw’s problem is believed to be minor, any possible absence could see Daley Blind move to the left, with Chris Smalling coming in at centre-half, though Marcos Rojo and Matteo Darmian offer the Red Devils further options out wide.

Laurent Koscielny

Arsene Wenger has allayed fears that the centre-half would miss tonight’s Champions League clash with PSG due to the eye injury sustained against Southampton on Saturday:

“He’s alright. He had a big knock on his face [after the Southampton game] but recovered quite well. I was concerned after the game that he wouldn’t be available, but he’s alright.”

Koscielny is the fourth most transferred in defender in the Gameweek after netting the Gunners’ leveller last weekend. Wenger immediately turned to new signing Shkodran Mustafi alongside Koscielny last weekend, thus ending Rob Holding’s run of three straight league outings since arriving from Bolton.

The Koscielny news means that Holding is likely to rely on cup appearances for starts now, with Mustafi set to establish himself as the Frenchman’s central defensive partner in the continued absence of Gabriel and Per Mertesacker.

Pape Souare, Connor Wickham

Crystal Palace look set to be without Pape Souare for the foreseeable future after he was involved in a serious car crash on Sunday.

Discussing the left-back’s condition with the media yesterday, Alan Pardew went on to reveal:

“He’s not in a good way in terms of football. I think he’s broken his leg so maybe that’s not so good, but thankfully he looks sound other than that. He’s a bit bashed up, but we’ll have to look after him and get him back as quick as we can. He’s a great lad and a great player for us and he’ll be a big loss. It is a blow but these things happen, and more importantly it’s not more than it could have been because obviously you see the state of the car and the size of the accident, it was a big accident.”

Souare missed the weekend win over Middlesbrough due to a knock, allowing Martin Kelly a rare start for the Eagles. At 4.4, the former Liverpool man seems likely to be handed an extended run in the Palace XI, though with no clean sheets to their name so far, few Fantasy managers will be pinpointing Pardew’s backline as a likely source of defensive points.

Connor Wickham missed the trip to Teesside with a knock and with Loic Remy sidelined for up to eight weeks, Pardew reverted to a 4-2-3-1 set-up on Saturday.

This allowed Wilfried Zaha to return to the Eagles’ XI and the winger vindicated his manager’s decision by bagging a goal and assist in the 2-1 triumph. Certainly, his subsequent 12-point haul and kind 5.4 price catch the eye, but, with new boy Christian Benteke in the goals up front, Zaha needs to find an end product to persuade us he’s worthy of consideration, having netted just six times in the previous two seasons.

Danny Simpson

The right-back was forced off in the first-half of Saturday evening’s 4-1 hammering at Liverpool with a hamstring complaint, though according to reports earlier today, was on the plane for Leicester’s Champions League trip to Club Bruges tomorrow evening.

After one win in four, it’s fair to say that Fantasy faith in Claudio Ranieri’s side is on the slide this season. Simpson’s likely recovery looks set to keep Luis Hernandez on the bench for the weekend home clash against Burnley but, beyond that one, the Foxes then face Man United, Southampton, Chelsea and Spurs in four of the subsequent five, deterring investment at both ends of the pitch until they can rediscover last term’s title-winning form.

Dejan Lovren, Emre Can

The Liverpool defender missed Saturday’s win over Leicester due to an eye injury sustained in training.

Lovren had started each of the first three Gameweeks in the heart of defence and his absence allowed Lucas to slot in alongside Joel Matip. The Brazilian’s disastrous error allowed Jamie Vardy to deny the Reds a first clean sheet of the campaign and he looks set to drop back to the bench for Friday evening’s trip to the Bridge, providing Lovren recovers in time.

The Croatian and Emre Can werepictured back in training earlier today, suggesting that both will be available for Friday.

Can, of course, has previous with Chelsea’s Diego Costa, who was handed a three-match ban back in January 2015 after being found guilty of stamping by the FA. The German may struggle to find a place in Jurgen Klopp’s starting line-up right now, though, and a place amongst the subs could be the likeliest scenario if Klopp sticks by his favoured trio Adam Lallana, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum in the centre of the park.

Stefano Okaka

Handed a brief second-half sub role on his debut at West Ham last weekend, Watford’s summer signing limped off with a possible hamstring injury prior to the final whistle as the visitors finished the match with 10 men.

Both Okaka and fellow new boy replaced Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney after their side went 4-2 up on Saturday, with Walter Mazzarri looking for fresh legs up front.

Ighalo and Deeney had previously played 90 minutes in each of the first three Gameweeks and, having both scored their first goals of the season against the Hammers, may well come into contention for our three-man frontlines when the fixtures take a turn for the better in Gameweek 6.

Xherdan Shaqiri, Glen Johnson

Earlier this afternoon, Stoke assistant manager Mark Bowen revealed some mixed news on the injury front.

First up, he conceded that Xherdan Shaqiri is set to miss the next couple of matches with the calf complaint that has sidelined him since Gameweek 2:

“He’s probably going to be another couple of weeks, I’ve just heard that now. He had a really good pre-season, started the first game (at Middlesbrough) and got his goal, but because of this injury it’s almost like he hasn’t had a pre-season now. All the work he’s done after coming back from the Euros, it’s almost been wasted because his fitness levels have dropped again as he hasn’t done anything for so long. He’s going to be a miss for us. It’s looked as if, I wouldn’t say a different mentality, but a focus coming back, had points to prove and this was going to be his season.”

Bowen then went on to confirm that Glen Johnson could be set for a return as the Potters head to Palace:

“Glen Johnson trained the last two today and yesterday and come through well. I spoke to him after we trained today. Any ill-effects? No. So now you’d hope he’d carry on through the rest of the week. We are in every day this week, so we will monitor him and hopefully he puts himself in the frame for the weekend.”

Shaqiri’s continued absence, allied with Bojan’s recent drop to the bench, leaves Marko Arnautovic as the one viable Stoke attacking midfielder for now. Granted, Mark Hughes’ side have hardly impressed in recent weeks but the upcoming schedule, which also pits them against West Brom, Sunderland, Hull and Swansea in the next six, could yet prove profitable at both ends of the pitch.