The international break presents us Fantasy Managers with the prospect of walking the same tightrope of injuries and knocks suffered by the Premier League bosses.
Thankfully the sight of Michael Dawson being stretchered from the field in last night’s 4-0 win over Bulgaria remains the most significant blow we’ve had to withstand. This afternoon there was an update on his condition from the FA, along with details on some further injuries that have surfaced from further afield…
The FA have confirmed that Michael Dawson will miss Tuesday’s qualifier with Switzerland on Tuesday in this afternoon’s statement…
“Following a scan on his knee this morning, Michael Dawson will miss England’s Euro 2012 qualifier with Switzerland on Tuesday. England and Tottenham Hotspur medical staff were in contact this morning and Dawson has now returned to his club for further treatment. There will be no further call-ups.”
An “FA insider” meanwhile has stated that Dawson has suffered cartilage damage and will be sidelined for around six weeks as a result. That prognosis is rather better than the initial reaction with the same source admitting that they feared that the defender had broken his leg or snapped a ligament.
Spurs are now likely to be without the towering influence of Dawson for league fixtures against West Brom, Wolves, West Ham and Aston Villa with a return against Fulham on October 16 a likely target return date. That might well be optimistic, although Harry Redknapp will certainly want to see Dawson in contention for their second Champions League tie away at Inter Milan on October 20.
As mentioned previously, Younes Kaboul, Sebastian Bassong or Willam Gallas are in line to benefit from Dawson’s absence although in truth, rotation, with Ledley King’s persistent knee problems also a factor, looks a likely strategy from Redknapp. There seems little security amongst the Tottenham back four over the coming weeks then.
Elsewhere it seems that casualties from last night’s internationals are minimal. Everton’s Louis Saha is perhaps the most notable name to suffer a setback. Despite the intervention of the much publicised leech treatment, Saha limped off after just ten minutes of a substitute appearance for France in their 1-0 home defeat to Belarus.
Everton have reported further knee problems as the culprit but French boss Laurent Blanc has today confirmed it’s a calf injury. Regardless, Saha’s continual injury setbacks will only help to maintain Jermaine Beckford’s hold on the starting role in David Moyes’ lineup and perhaps set him up for further Fantasy consideration. Everton’s struggle for goals and forthcoming fixture with United will do little for Beckford’s cause in the short-term however.
Bolton’s Johan Elmander was subbed four minutes after the break in Sweden’s 2-0 win over Hungary – a clash of heads was the cause and he would seem likely to make a recovery in time for Bolton’s trip to the Emirates this weekend.
It’s worth noting that Birmingham’s Seb Larsson replaced Elmander from the bench. The midfielder might well be forgotten amongst the hype surrounding the new arrivals at St Andrews but Larsson has enjoyed an outstanding start to the season and looks likely to be in contention to face Liverpool this weekend having recovered from a minor knee problem sustained at Bolton last time out.
Aston Villa will have some concerns about James Collins after he suffered a facial injury in Wales’ defeat to Montenegro. Despite talk of a fractured cheekbone, the Welsh FA have stated that the defender has not suffered any serious injury and have released the player back to Villa for their own assessment. That looks to be good news then with Collins perhaps in line to face Stoke on Monday night.
We will update the Injuries and Bans table with all this latest news and of course keep you posted as and when any further casualties crop up.