Ahead of the midweek Carling Cup ties, the paper talk is mainly on returns from injury. Hatem Ben Arfa and Owen Hargreaves look set for their first starts of the campaign, as is Bolton’s Stuart Holden. Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez give Sir Alex a welcome boost, while Kenny Dalglish is still uncertain over Steven Gerrard’s imminent return to action. Here’s this morning’s Scribbles, folks:
Alan Pardew intends to given Hatim Ben Arfa his first start of the season this evening. Newcastle square up to Nottingham Forest in the Carling Cup and Ben Arfa is set to feature in just his fifth senior game since moving to Tyneside last season. Pardew was more than a little complimentary of the Frenchman and admitted he envisages playing him as a forward, when Ben Arfa is good and ready:
He will bring a creative force to the team that is different to what we have. He is probably different to a lot of players in the Premier League. He’s elusive on the ball. What’s important for him is to make sure he grabs the work-rate that we have got in the team.
If he grabs that, he’s got a good chance of getting into this team. He will have that number 10 role that Demba Ba did on Saturday and did very, very well for us, so that’s where he’s got good competition.
Bobby Zamora has admitted he’s happy with Martin Jol’s decision to limit his game time of late. The Fulham forward has grabbed two goals in his last two games since returning from stiffness in an ankle joint and Jol has been resting him from European competition in order to ensure his availability for Premier League action:
Obviously, I want to play. The European nights are nice but, at the minute, we want to get points in the Premier League. In terms of my ankle, I’d rather rest to be honest.
It’s been reported Javier Hernandez has escaped with nothing more than a bruised shin following Ashley Cole’s horror tackle at Old Trafford on Sunday. After Man United ran scans on the Mexican, his agent, Eduardo Hernandez, revealed the good news and reckons his client should even return to training in the next day or so:
Nothing, it’s just a bump, nothing more. It looked like (his absence) was longer, they were looking for a fracture, that’s why they ran those tests on him. I expect him to be training without incident on Wednesday.
Danny Welbeck has given Sir Alex Ferguson more good news on the injury front. Having deputised for Hernandez at the start of the season, Welbeck succumbed to a hamstring strain after a superb first few games but is already back training and pushing for a place in the first team ahead of United’s Carling Cup visit to Leeds tomorrow:
I’m feeling good. I don’t know the squad yet for Leeds but, if I’m called upon, I’m always prepared to be there as I feel ready. I wouldn’t be training if I wasn’t.
Owen Hargreaves looks set to feature for Man City in the Carling Cup clash with Birmingham tomorrow night. Roberto Mancini will make the decision after training today but the likelihood is that the former Man United midfielder will pull on a City shirt for the first time at the Etihad Stadium showdown with the holders, after impressing the Italian in recent training sessions.
Stuart Holden should make his first-team return for Bolton this evening as the Trotters take on Aston Villa. The midfielder has been out for six months and given Bolton’s recent performances, it’s fair to say they’ve missed his presence in the centre. Owen Coyle is making sure the pressure is off, though:
Stuart has been working so hard to get back to the outstanding level he was at. We don’t expect him to be there yet. When he does get back to himself we will be a better team. He still needs match time.
Steve Bruce has been explaining the reasoning behind his decision to bench Lee Cattermole on Sunday. The Sunderland skipper was replaced by David Vaughan in central midfield and the club duly won their first game of the season, with Vaughan outstanding on his first start.
I am a big believer that you don’t really get that back until you have been back as long as you have been out. They need games, and Lee certainly comes into that category. Nobody epitomises what I like about a footballer more than my captain, but at the moment, it’s not going too well for him, so we gave somebody else a go in David Vaughan.
Jack Wilshere reckons his injury comeback is ahead of schedule. Having been expected to be sidelined with an ankle injury up until possibly Christmas, the Arsenal midfielder took to twitter yesterday to reveal:
“Good day at football today! In the gym again! Ankle feeling a lot better hope to be back playing soon!”
It’s been reported Louis Saha was axed from Everton’s squad for refusing to play in a midweek reserve game. The Frenchman used his twitter account to reveal his disappointment on the matter but it perhaps bodes well for Fantasy owners of Tim Cahill- the Australian has been fielded as the lone striker for David Moyes’ side in recent games and may continue up front in light of Saha’s situation.
Kenny Dalglish refuses to commit to a definite comeback date for Steven Gerrard. The Liverpool skipper was expected to return after a six-month absence for the Carling Cup tie with Brighton tomorrow evening, but Dalglish’s stance is non-committal on the matter:
It’s natural everyone will chase Stevie, especially after we lost 4-0. He has done fantastically well to get where he is. We will monitor his fitness, we will see how it goes, and then we will decide between ourselves when he is fit to play.
