The Treatment Table – Gameweek 29

Our regular post-Gameweek assessment of the latest injuries is rolled out next, as we assess concerns surrounding the two top scoring Fantasy Premier League midfielders.

Mauricio Pochettino offers an optimistic prognosis on Harry Kane’s injured ankle but Southampton’s man of the moment is set for an assessment after hobbling off early at the Lane.

Alexis Sanchez

After limping out of Arsenal’s 3-1 defeat at the Hawthorns, the Chilean’s Fantasy owners were put on alert by Arsene Wenger’s worrying post-match prognosis:

“He was injured from the tackle in the first half. It’s a bad tackle. His ankle is in a terrible state. He should not have played in the second half. He insisted that he wanted to come out. In the end we had to take him off but he should not have even played. Chile goes to Argentina for a massive game but it’s not until next week. If it’s only a kick he will play. His ankle is swollen. If the ligament is damaged he will not play.”

Despite netting for the eighteenth time this term in that loss against the Baggies, Wenger’s comments means that Sanchez has been subject to an exodus since the weekend deadline – he’s the second most sold player in FPL, with over 24,000 parting company.

However, recent developments indicate that he is likely to push himself through the pain barrier as Chile prepare for a vital World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.

First of all, the local press suggested that Chile medical staff reckon Sanchez is “in good condition and can play”, while the player himself took to social media to say:

“The only failure is not to try.”

This was further backed up by reports from today, which indicate that Sanchez has now returned to training, with the Evening Standard saying, “He did not appear to be bearing any signs of strapping to protect the injury and reports in his homeland suggest he is going through his sessions at full pelt”.

Clearly, as the top scoring player in FPL, Sanchez’ fitness is of vital importance to us at a point where Arsenal – along with Southampton and Manchester United – are one of only three teams set to play 11 times in the final nine Gameweeks.

Although Chile also play at home to Venezuela next Tuesday evening, Arsenal’s Gameweek 30 clash against Man City takes place on late Sunday afternoon, allowing the South American plenty of time to rest and recuperate.

With his side struggling to claim their customary fourth-place finish, Wenger can ill-afford to do without his star attacker and – as evidenced by his manager’s above comments – it will likely take nothing but a serious injury to prevent Sanchez from featuring.

Harry Kane

In his pre-match press conference ahead of Spurs’ clash with Southampton, Mauricio Pochettino revealed that his top scorer may well be back far sooner than expected:

“He’s very positive. He’s talking about after international break, three or four weeks. And that’s good. If you’re positive, it can affect injuries in a big way. But we need to be careful with his injury. If not four weeks, it’s five weeks or whatever. We have full trust in our doctors and physios in that department. We hope that as soon as possible, he can be available again. That’s our wish. We need to assess day by day”.

Similar to Sanchez, a fit-again Kane is expected to play a significant part in our plans for the run-in – in terms of FPL points per match, the duo’s average of 7.3 and 6.9 are more than any regular players.

A total of 12 goals and three assists in ten league outings prior to limping out of last week’s FA Cup win over Millwall triggered a major bandwagon, but the Spurs man has already dropped to just 10% ownership, with over 56,000 managers already selling him since the weekend.

Pochettino’s side now face Burnley, Swansea City, Watford, Bournemouth and Palace in a run that could barely be more favourable and it’s fair to assume that Kane will be fast-tracked into our squads once he’s back in contention.

With the striker closing in on a return, Son Heung-min’s appeal is already on the decline, with weekend scorers Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli looking far more secure routes into Pochettino’s attack. Indeed, given that Spurs will also have a double Gameweek further down the line, there’s an argument to have one, or even both midfielders along with Kane for our Wildcard squads, once the remaining fixtures have been rescheduled.

Eden Hazard

The Belgian slipped further behind Sanchez in the FPL midfield standings after missing Chelsea’s 2-1 win at Stoke with a minor problem, according to manager Antonio Conte:

“In the last training, he felt a bit of a problem in his calf, for this reason, I decided not to risk him. That is why he didn’t play today.”

With Hazard unavailable, Willian grabbed his opportunity on the right of Chelsea’s front three by firing the opener against Mark Hughes’ men.

While there’s no denying that Hazard is vital to Chelsea’s title tilt, Conte is clearly unwilling to take any chances with the winger’s fitness – all the more so given that his team sit ten points clear at the summit with ten matches remaining.

Much depends on the severity of the Belgian’s problem, though, having withdrawn from international duties already, his 28% owners will clearly be desperate for him to recover in time for the upcoming home clash against Palace.

Reports emerging from the Belgium camp place considerable doubt on that, though, with Roberto Martinez suggesting that Hazard could be out for up to 15 days – a timescale that could potentially see him face a race to be fit for the Gameweek 31 clash with Man City.

Non-owners, though, may well instead look to the in-form Pedro as a potential budget-friendly alternative for the run-in. The Spaniard has bagged two goals and a pair of assists in his last four outings and, at price of just 7.2 – compared to Hazard and Diego Costa, at 10.2 and 10.7 respectively – could prove an ideal solution for those already keen to draft in big-hitters such as Sanchez, Kane and Zlatan Ibrahimovic once the injuries and suspensions clear.

Manolo Gabbiadini

Departing early in the 2-1 loss to Spurs, the Southampton frontman has since withdrawn from international duties, with Claude Puel revealing post-match:

“It’s an injury to his groin, and we will see when it’s examined in the next few days. I think and I hope it is not bad, but for his national team I think it is not possible for him to play. We will see for us how many times he will stay out. It’s an important player for us with his quality and his clinical edge but now it’s an opportunity for another player to show us their quality.”

With six goals in his first four appearances across all competitions since arriving from Napoli, Gabbiadini wasted little time in earning himself a bandwagon, rising in price by 0.4 to 6.9 and boasting a 10% ownership ahead of his trip to the Lane.

Second only to Kane for transfers out up front, he’s been sold by over 17,000 FPL managers despite being set for back-to-back home clashes against Bournemouth and Palace directly after the break.

As mentioned above, Saints are also set to play 11 times in the remaining nine Gameweeks, and the Italian’s mid-price appeal looked ideal for our three-man frontlines over the run-in.

Much depends on the prognosis, though with midfield pair Dusan Tadic and Nathan Redmond struggling for consistency, it remains to be seen whether either is capable of offering a viable alternative to the new boy, should he be ruled out for any period of time.

Michail Antonio

The West Ham midfielder has withdrawn from England duties with a hamstring injury sustained against Leicester last weekend.

Antonio’s assist in the 3-2 loss took him into ninth spot in the FPL midfield standings, yet, despite a very favourable 6.9 price tag, he currently sits in less than 10% of squads.

Although the club have yet to officially comment – aside from a tweet from co-owner David Sullivan’s son – growing reports suggest that Antonio could be out for up to a month, which, bearing in mind that he faces Hull, Arsenal, Swansea and Sunderland’s dodgy defences in the next four Gameweeks, would prove a bitter blow for Slaven Bilic and Fantasy managers alike.

Although both Manuel Lanzini and Andre Ayew offer in-form alternatives as a route into the West Ham attack, the lack of a double Gameweek further down the line somewhat dents their appeal. Should he indeed be ruled out, Antonio owners may now choose to look for assets amongst those sides that are set to play ten or more fixtures in the remaining nine Gameweeks.

The Rest…

Man United’s Jesse Lingard will be assessed ahead of England’s midweek clash with Germany after being replaced late on in the weekend win over Middlesbrough, having picked up an ankle problem. Phil Jones was released from the Three Lions’ squad earlier today after sustaining an injury in training. Gareth Southgate has since revealed that Jones has sustained a toe problem.

Arsenal keeper Petr Cech was forced off during the 3-1 loss to West Brom with a calf problem with the Daily Mail reporting that he now faces a month on the sidelines. That would mean starts for David Ospina, potentially making the 4.7 FPL option a short-term candidates for our squads.

Meanwhile, Mesut Ozil (hamstring) and Lucas Perez (thigh) missed the Hawthorns clash. Ozil has since pulled out of the Germany squad to face England tomorrow.

Earlier today, Everton confirmed that midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin suffered “a minor calf injury” against Hull City last weekend and will be assessed ahead of their Gameweek 30 Merseyside derby trip to Anfield. The Toffees’ Seamus Coleman has yet to train for the Republic of Ireland this week but local reports state he will “be okay” to face Wales on Friday.

Wes Morgan was forced to miss Leicester’s 3-2 win at West Ham after sustaining a “slight back injury” in the midweek Champions League encounter with Sevilla.

Man City right-backs Bacary Sagna and Pablo Zabaleta have both withdrawn from international duties over the last 48 hours.

Lamine Kone picked up a knee problem and failed to make Sunderland’s home match against Burnley. The Ivorian has since pulled out of international duties and is optimistic of being fit in time to face Watford next time out.

John Terry missed Chelsea’s trip to Stoke with a knock.

Palace’s James McArthur has withdrawn from the Scotland squad with the problem that forced him to miss last week’s home win over Watford.

Both Winston Reid (thigh) and Pedro Obiang (ankle) were forced off during West Ham’s home loss to Leicester City, with reports indicating that Reid could be out for six weeks, while the latter may even be sidelined for the season.