Danny Rose grabs Spurs’ winner at home to Burnley before limping off with a knock. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picks up a muscle problem just as the fixtures turn in Arsenal’s favour and Eden Hazard reportedly undergoes a “staycation” as he continues to recuperate from a niggling knee problem. Here’s our review of the latest casualties to hop on and off the Premier League treatment tables.
Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose
The Belgian defender missed Sunday’s 2-1 win over Burnley due to a back injury picked up in training, but Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino revealed the issue isn’t a serious one:
“He’s not injured, he got a problem in the last training session in his back but it’s not a big issue, it’s only a small problem.”
With Tottenham having a few extra days to prepare for their next match against Alderweireld’s former side Southampton on December 28, he should have a good chance of being passed fit.
Danny Rose was forced off with a knock to his thigh after scoring the winning goal at the weekend.
Again, with Spurs facing a few more days preparation time than other teams, Rose could well be fit to play against Southampton, with Ben Davies on hand to fill in at left-back should he be needed.
A fully-fit Rose is shaping up to be an intriguing differential route into the Spurs defence. His winner against Burnley took the left-back’s average to 5.1 points per match compared to Kyle Walker’s 4.6, yet he sits in just 6% of FPL sides compared to the latter’s 38% ownership.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Man City that Oxlade-Chamberlain had suffered a muscular injury that forced him to be replaced just 13 minutes after coming on as a substitute:
“He is injured, it’s a muscular problem. It looks like a hamstring.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain had started four successive Gameweeks prior to dropping to the bench at the Etihad, with Alex Iwobi handed the role on the left flank.
Should the England man be ruled out, both Iwobi and Lucas Perez could see more playing time ahead of an excellent upcoming schedule across the next six Gameweeks. Alternatively, Wenger could also utilise Alexis Sanchez on the left, allowing Olivier Giroud to lead the line, though the Chilean’s displays up front means that Giroud is likely to continue as a “Plan B” off the bench.
Ryan Mason
The Hull City midfielder was ruled out of Saturday’s match against West Ham United due to an unspecified injury.
Mason did play 25 minutes as a substitute in the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last Wednesday, and appears to have picked up a knock during that brief cameo appearance.
Tigers head coach Mike Phelan will hopefully provide an update on Mason’s fitness during his pre-match press conference ahead of the Boxing Day clash against Man City.
Pablo Zabaleta
The Man City defender was forced off at half-time during Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Arsenal due to a knee problem, and looks almost certain of missing the Boxing Day trip to the KCOM Stadium.
Speaking after the match, Zabaleta revealed he tried to play through the injury, but was ultimately in danger of aggravating the problem further if he continued:
“I felt it after 15 minutes when I tried a shot from the edge of the box. I was in some pain from the ligament but I just tried to finish the first half. It was a risk to continue playing, possibly I could have made it worse, and that’s why I came off… I am going to see a specialist. I need to have a scan and then we’ll see. I had the same injury twice last season and, hopefully, from my experience, it is not too bad… Maybe I can have an injection in there and be ready in – I don’t know – maybe in 10 days.”
The Argentine may have a slight chance of being fit to face Liverpool on New Year’s Eve, then, but he does appear a major doubt for the majority of the festive period.
Bacary Sagna could therefore be set for a run in the side at right-back should Pep Guardiola sticks with the four-man defence that he’s favoured in the last two matches.
With three clean sheets to their name all season, though, it’ll take quite a turnaround in form before we reconsider investing in Guardiola’s erratic defence.
Viktor Fischer, Gaston Ramirez
Middlesbrough head coach Aitor Karanka has injury concerns over both Viktor Fischer and Gaston Ramirez following the 3-0 victory over Swansea City.
Fischer was forced off with an ankle problem just 11 minutes into the match, while Ramirez has had issues with both foot and knee injuries.
Karanka revealed after the match he hopes the pair will be available for the Boxing Day trip to Turf Moor, although both players will need to be fully assessed over the coming days:
“With Viktor, it’s his ankle, but we need to check. With Gaston, when I put a player out on the pitch he’s 100 per cent – unless it’s a final and I have to take a risk. Otherwise I won’t take a risk. At the end of the game he had problems in his knee because he couldn’t train as he wanted before the game.”
Even if the pair are passed fit to face Burnley, it’s likely they’ll both be rotation risks through the hectic festive period, with their minutes, particularly in the case of Ramirez, who appears to be playing through niggling injuries, expected to be carefully managed.
Adama Traore and Cristhian Stuani may see increased playing time in the matches against Burnley, Man United and Leicester City, then, with Stewart Downing also in the mix.
In terms of FPL interest, though, it’s been all about two-goal hero Alvaro Negredo. The Spaniard is second only to Zlatan Ibrahimovic for transfers in up front after bagging a brace against Swansea last weekend.
Sebastian Prodl
The Watford defender was forced off during the first-half of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Sunderland with a knock, but speaking after the match, Hornets head coach Walter Mazzarri wasn’t overly concerned by the injury:
I didn’t have time to check on him yet but he had a knock on his quad which shouldn’t be anything too serious.”
The Austrian international appears to have a decent chance of being fit to face Crystal Palace on Boxing Day then, with the likes of Christian Kabasele, and Craig Cathcart, who returned to the bench last weekend following a spell on the sidelines, available to provide cover in central defence.
Granted, a run of seven Gameweeks without a clean sheet has dented the appeal of Jose Holebas, who has managed just 11 FPL points over that period. Nonetheless, the Greek’s 7.7% owners may well be happy to hold ahead of a schedule that sees the Hornets host Palace, Middlesbrough and Burnley and travel to Stoke and Bournemouth over the upcoming seven.
Maarten Stekelenburg, James McCarthy
Both players were forced off with injuries during the Merseyside derby, and will be assessed ahead of the Boxing Day trip to the King Power Stadium.
McCarthy picked up a hamstring problem, while Stekelenburg was involved in a collision with team-mate Leighton Baines.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Everton manager Ronald Koeman revealed he couldn’t take any chances on the fitness of McCarthy:
“James played well in the first 45 minutes but he was not sure about his hamstring and we couldn’t take that risk.”
Should McCarthy be ruled out for the match against Leicester City, Gareth Barry looks the obvious replacement in central midfield, while Joel Robles will be on standby to deputise in goal if Stekelenburg is unavailable.
It’s fair to say that the Toffees face a tough task to remain in Fantasy managers’ plans, though. Romelu Lukaku has blanked in six of the last seven now, while last night’s late loss to Liverpool means that Koeman’s men have served up a single clean sheet in 13 Gameweeks.
Eden Hazard, Diego Costa
There are fresh doubts surrounding the fitness of Eden Hazard emerging ahead of the Boxing Day meeting with AFC Bournemouth.
The Guardian were first to report that, while the main body of the Chelsea squad have been granted three days leave ahead of the festive spell, Hazard has remained at their Cobham Training ground.
According to the report he was “still undergoing treatment on the knee injury sustained from a kick he received against West Bromwich Albion earlier this month.”
Having missed the visit to Sunderland in Gameweek 16 following the knock against West Brom, Hazard completed 90 minutes at Crystal Palace at the weekend.
However, follow-up reports yesterday expanded further and suggested that there were doubts surrounding Hazard’s fitness and availability for Bournemouth’s visit.
While the articles state that Hazard is “expected” to be in contention against the Cherries, Antonio Conte’s press conference will again be of keen interest.
In the same Guardian article, the Chelsea boss reveals that Diego Costa is currently feeling a hamstring issue, perhaps raising early concerns on his return from suspension for the Gameweek 19 visit of Stoke City.
“This game was the third game in seven days, and Diego played all the games, with great intensity, passion and drive…The injury is nothing important. Now he has more days to rest compared to his team-mates.”
Again, we can only wait on further information from the club ahead of and post Chelsea’s Boxing Day fixture.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson
Burnley’s winger returned to action earlier today having recovered from his recent hamstring injury.
Gudmundsson suffered the injury in the 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in Gameweek 13 and has since been sidelined for the last four matches.
However, the Icelander scored in the Clarets’ U23 clash with Preston and will now, presumably, push for a recall in the Boxing Day encounter with Middlesbrough.
