Nicklas Bendtner will be the first to confirm it takes a special kind of footballer to have an immediate impact upon his return from injury. Some players take time to regain fitness and form after a long lay-off, but the big Dane seems to have laid the recent foundations for others to follow.
After a couple of tentative sub appearances, Bendtner’s three goals and four assists (aided by five Fantasy League Bonus Points) has seen him accumulate forty points in seven matches since starting at home to Liverpool in mid February, averaging just under six points per game.
Mikel Arteta is another example. Everton’s sublimely skilled playmaker has missed so much of the season with a ruptured cruciate knee ligament but since taking to the field in last month’s Merseyside derby, his eight appearances have returned four goals, two assists and twelve Bonus Points. A total of fifty three points for Arteta means an average of just under seven per game.
The month of March has seen the return of another couple of players from lengthy Premier League absences with spectacular effect. Coming off their sick beds -once again- for some analysis then are David Dunn and Jimmy Bullard…
David Dunn
Pre-Injury
The Blackburn man had a great start to the season before breaking down with a calf injury at home to Stoke City on the 28th November. Prior to the match with Tony Pulis’ team, Dunn’s FPL stats couldn’t fail to impress:
Over the space of ten games, he grabbed five goals, one assist, and fourteen Bonus Points, making a grand total of sixty points. This average of six points per game saw Dunn’s price rise from £5.5m up to £6m, still an absolute bargain given his returns.
The Comeback
This past month has seen Dunn back with a bang; since returning against Spurs at the start of March, he has played four games, scored three goals and picked up six FPL Bonus Points, gaining a total of twenty-eight points for any managers brave enough to gamble. Dunn now currently averages seven points per game since returning, though to be fair, his set-piece duties always help.
The Weekend
A look at his chalkboard in yesterday’s game against Burnley shows Dunn saw little of the ball, making just over twenty passes, and his only shot at goal was the penalty he duly converted. Goes to show that even when he’s not being brilliant, the FPL Bonus Judges – he got three yesterday- still love him.
Price and Fixtures
The injury absence has seen Dunn’s price plummet, and he now sits at just £5.3m, with only 2.9% of FPL managers as owners.
Rovers fixtures appear to tighten up, with their remaining matches reading (por, MUN, EVE, wlv, ARS, avl). Close inspection, however, suggests the majority of the away fixtures are reasonable, and with Big Sam’s team suffering just two home defeats all season, Dunn will be expected to be in amongst the points as usual.
Jimmy Bullard
Pre-Injury
Recovering from a cruciate ligament injury sustained last season meant Bullard didn’t see any match time till October, appearing as a sub in a brief half-hour appearance against former club, Fulham. Fit and raring to at the start of November, he played three games out of four, scoring two goals, two assists and six Bonus Points. He then lasted just eighteen minutes into the next game against Aston Villa before a knee injury forced him to give way.
Despite taking the two short appearances into account, Bullard’s points still work out as thirty points over five matches, an average of six per game.
The Comeback
Like Dunn, he returned on the first weekend of March and has played all the club’s four games this month. Set-piece duties have also helped, as he’s picked up two goals -both penalties- and two Bonus Points in the four games, a total of twenty-one, meaning his average has slightly dipped to just over five points per game.
The Weekend
His weekend chalkboard shows Bullard saw a good deal of the ball, and was integral to much of Hull’s play, with forty passes. He also ventured forward time and again, getting into dangerous positions and managed four shots on the Fulham goal, in a performance that caught the FPL Bonus Judges eye, with Jimmy picking up two points.
Price and Fixtures
Having started the season at £6.0m, Bullard’s price has dropped to a bargain £5.4m, and with just 0.9% of FPL managers as owners, is a real “differential”. Hull also have a double game week in GW35, as their fixture list reads: (stk, BUR, bir & AVL, SUN, wig, LIV).
With four home games still to come, Hull get to play host more times than any other Premier League team in the run-in. Coincidentally, Bullard has managed just four home games all season, and with a points haul of thirty-eight points, averages just under ten points for every game he’s played at the KC Stadium.