The Treatment Table – Gameweek 32

Harry Kane discusses his return to fitness as Spurs prepare to entertain Bournemouth, Antonio Valencia and David de Gea miss United’s win at Sunderland, while Andros Townsend expects to be fit for Palace’s match with Leicester City.

Here are our latest updates on the injury situation after Gameweek 32 reached its conclusion at Selhurst Park last night.

Harry Kane

Sidelined for the previous three Gameweeks, the Spurs striker made a rapid recovery from an ankle problem in time for the weekend win over Watford.

Handed a 30-minute run-out off the bench on Saturday lunchtime, Kane failed to get amongst the points in a 4-0 rout against the Hornets.

Post-match, though, the frontman conceded that he isn’t quite up to scratch yet, before going on to suggest that he’ll be firing on all cylinders by the time Bournemouth roll up to the Lane in Gameweek 33’s early kick-off:

“The ankle is probably not 100 per cent, but it’s getting close. When I came back from injury last time for the Arsenal game [on November 6] it wasn’t 100 per cent. I now have another week to prepare and I’m pretty sure it will be 100 per cent for the Bournemouth game this Saturday. It felt great against Watford, though, and I didn’t feel any pain, even when I was tackled. That was part of the reason I wanted to play. I wanted to feel that contact. I want to get back to normal as soon as possible, so it was good to play 30 minutes and get that feeling back.”

Having signalled his return to fitness, Kane has been snapped up by over 61,000 FPL managers since the weekend deadline – nearly double any other striker.

With 56 points in his last four home starts, the Spurs talisman is set to battle it out with Everton’s Romelu Lukaku for this week’s armband, with the Belgian currently leading our Captain Poll ahead of a home clash against Burnley.

Kane’s expected return is set to hand Mauricio Pochettino a real dilemma in the final third, though. The Spurs boss has temporarily ditched his 3-4-2-1 setup and started the last two matches with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Son Heung-min the main beneficiary of the reshuffle.

Stationed on the left flank, the South Korean’s 19-point haul against Watford has made him the hottest FPL property in the Gameweek, with over 82,000 managers snapping him up ahead of the Cherries’ clash.

Should Pochettino retain his current set-up, Son looks set to continue in the first XI for now, though a return to the wing-back system remains a concern for his growing band of owners, with the pricier pair of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen offering the most secure routes into the Spurs midfield for the run-in.

Andros Townsend

The Palace winger jumped onto many a Fantasy manager’s watchlist after bagging a goal and assist in last night’s 3-0 victory over Arsenal.

Townsend then emerged to meet the press on crutches for a post-match interview before proceeding to play down any fears as Big Sam’s men prepare for a weekend home match against Leicester:

“I got a knock on my heel, so it’s just precautionary to be on crutches. I think I’ll definitely be fit for Saturday”.

Priced at 5.8 apiece, both Townsend and Wilfried Zaha have now served up two double-figure hauls in the previous five league outings after delivering 14 and 11 points respectively against the Gunners.

With five wins in six – which also includes a victory over Chelsea – the Eagles could barely approach their double Gameweek 34 against Liverpool and Spurs in more emphatic form.

But while Townsend seems confident of recovering in time to host the Foxes, the slight doubt over his fitness will only strengthen Zaha’s claims for consideration – the latter is now the second most transferred-in midfielder since the weekend in light of his pair of assists against the Gunners.

Antonio Valencia, David De Gea

Valencia missed a second successive league match on Sunday afternoon as United swept aside Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Having sat out the midweek draw against Everton, the United right-back has now been sold by over 47,000 FPL managers ahead of a weekend showdown with Chelsea.

Jose Mourinho, however, is relatively optimistic that Valencia will be available to face Anderlecht in the Europa League on Thursday night, with the United boss also refuting suggestions that he has decided to rotate his side for the run-in:

“We played with the players available [against Sunderland]. Not one single player stayed in Manchester because we were thinking about resting them, or because we were thinking about rotation or about Anderlecht. Not at all. These are the players available at the moment and, when I look to the others, I just expect Valencia to be ready to play and no more, I don’t think. I don’t think any one of the other boys will be ready to play.”

Clearly, a return to action in midweek would be music to the ears of the 16.6% of FPL managers who still hold the Ecuadorian.

Valencia has produced attacking or defensive returns in eight of his last nine league outings, and with United set to play eight times in the remaining six Gameweeks, he could still play a prominent part in our wildcard plans if Mourinho is true to his word and opts against rotation.

The United manager also issued an update on David de Gea, who missed out with a minor hip problem against the Black Cats.

An ever-present in the top-flight prior to Sunday’s match, the Spaniard is the most popular keeper in FPL, with an ownership in excess of 33%.

According to Mourinho, De Gea is also expected to remain out against Anderlecht, though this is down to his preference of playing deputy Sergio Romero in Europe:

“De Gea’s injury is not serious and Romero every time he plays he plays so well. The fans are used to having Romero in goal in the competition [the Europa League] – that becomes the most important competition for us after winning the League Cup. The Europa League is the competition we can still win, so when Sergio plays in the Europa League and when we are giving him this confidence to play, it’s because we know that his answer is positive and today he looked like he was really comfortable.”

Joe Allen, Jack Butland

The Welshman lasted less than half an hour of Stoke City’s home defeat to former club Liverpool before limping off with a hamstring problem.

Post-match, Mark Hughes was somewhat pessimistic on Allen’s chances of recovering in time for a home encounter against Hull:

“It looks like Joe’s tweaked his hamstring unfortunately and that was a set-back. I don’t think it’s a significant injury that will keep him out for weeks, but we might be looking at 10 to 14 days unfortunately”.

Still owned by over 9% of FPL managers, Allen is the fifth most transferred-out midfielder since Saturday’s deadline passed – over 28,000 owners have decided to look elsewhere.

Having scored just a single goal in his last 18 league outings, and with Stoke playing only six times in the final six Gameweeks, the 5.1-priced Welshman looks an obvious makeweight for Palace’s midfield form options ahead of their double Gameweek 34.

Butland, meanwhile, stepped up his belated recovery from an ankle injury with a 90-minute run-out for the club’s reserves last night:

“It feels really good. I’m just happy to be back out on the pitch again and to have come through the whole game. The ankle feels brilliant. There have been no ill effects or stiffness or anything like that so I feel a million times better than I did going in the last attempted comeback. Obviously. I feel ready and today was the last sort of box which needed to be ticked in terms of my rehab. The next decision is now for the manager. Hopefully, I’ve given him a headache towards the weekend having come through tonight. I’ll get ready for the weekend and then we will see.”

Having failed to play a single minute of the season so far, it remains to be seen whether the keeper will be fast-tracked into the Stoke XI just yet, though it looks very likely that he’ll earn pitch time before the season is out.

The Butland return is a clear concern for owners of the Potters’ current number one, the 9%-owned Lee Grant, who is the third most transferred-in keeper since this week, with over 6,000 new owners.

Those still holding their second wildcards will now be reassessing their options between the posts, with Stoke’s lack of extra fixtures over the run-in likely to see many part company with their main men.

Michail Antonio

After recovering from the illness that forced him off against Arsenal, the West Ham winger lasted just 39 minutes before limping out of the weekend win over Swansea with a hamstring problem.

Having produced a goal or assist in three successive league outings prior to that Gunners’ clash, Antonio had looked set for a profitable run-in, yet those recent issues have seen his ownership slip to just 6.8% over the last few days.

Like Stoke, the Hammers’ lack of a double Gameweek limits their appeal over the remaining six rounds of fixtures. Although the weekend trip to Sunderland looks promising, showdowns with Everton, Spurs and Liverpool in the subsequent four highlights just why an exodus looks on the cards for those still holding Slaven Bilic’s regulars.

The Rest…

Leicester’s five-match winning streak under Craig Shakespeare came crashing to an end after battling midfielder Wilfred Ndidi missed the trip to Everton with a minor groin problem. In this evening’s pre-Champions League press conference, however, the Foxes boss confirmed that the winter signing will return to full training and is expected to be available for tomorrow night’s encounter with Atletico Madrid.

Sunderland’s worries in defence escalated after Bryan Oviedo limped out of the weekend loss to Man United due to a hamstring problem. Javier Manquillo looks in line to deputise should the Costa Rican be ruled out.

Swansea are hopeful on the weekend availability of Jack Cork, who was forced off with an ankle problem against West Ham.

Finally, Stoke’s problems in the centre of the park escalated after Charlie Adam – a replacement for the injured Allen – was also forced off near the end of the 2-1 loss to Liverpool after sustaining a knock.