Arsene Wenger admits of “red alert” worries over certain players’ fitness. Zoltan Gera picks up a serious knee injury against Spurs, while Blackburn could welcome back their captain for next weekend’s game against Swansea.
Arsene Wenger has warned of fitness and fatigue issues amongst his Arsenal squad after their below-par performance against Fulham at the weekend. The Gunners boss feels he may have pushed some of his players too far over the last few weeks and looks likely to give many the night off against Man City in Tuesday’s Carling Cup tie. With Robin Van Persie amongst those mentioned, Fantasy managers will be hoping the Arsenal skipper is excluded from tomorrow night’s action ahead of a trip to Wigan that will surely prompt many to hand him the armband:
We have to consider the injuries we have. We have red alerts on a few players. We have a few players on the edge like van Persie, of course, and Walcott, who had a hamstring alert and Ramsey as well. We’ll see how they respond to 24 hours’ rest. Walcott’s hamstring was picked up during the game but he should be OK. At half-time they said he’s all right.
West Brom confirmed earlier today that Zoltan Gera will be sidelined for the foreseeable future after picking up a serious knee injury at the weekend. The Hungarian had only just recovered from injury and made a return to the first-team in gameweek eleven, with Roy Hodgson accommodating him behind a lone front man in a 4-4-1-1. Gera will receive further scans this week to reveal the extent of the problem, with the likes of Peter Odemwingie and Simon Cox likely to see an upturn in game time alongside Shane Long up front as a result of his absence.
Roberto Mancini is expected to make wholesale changes for Man City’s Carling Cup clash with Arsenal tomorrow. The game, just over forty-eight hours after their draw at Anfield, could see Owen Hargreaves set to return, though Gareth Barry and Mario Balotelli will be unavailable due to suspension. Barry picked up his fifth yellow card of the season at Anfield yesterday, while Balotelli’s two yellows and subsequent dismissal means he misses the Gunners clash. Both will be available for the home game with Norwich next weekend.
Reports suggest both Michel Salgado could recover from a hamstring injury in time for Blackburn’s Carling Cup trip to Cardiff. Steve Kean welcomes back David Dunn, after the midfielder served a one match suspension against Stoke at the weekend. Kean admitted he expects Chris Samba and Martin Olsson to be available for Rovers’ crucial home clash with Swansea at the weekend. The pair have missed the last two games with hamstring problems, with the club slipping back to the bottom of the table.
John Terry will miss Chelsea’s Carling Cup match with Liverpool tomorrow after picking up his fifth booking of the season in Saturday’s game against Wolves. The Blues skipper was yellow-carded for his continued hesitancy in taking a throw-in, though Andre Villas-Boas moved to deny suggestions it was deliberate ploy to ensure Terry’s availability for the weekend league trip to Newcastle. Frank Lampard will play tomorrow night, after being rested for the Wolves game- he was also sitting on four yellows prior to the 3-0 win.
Alan Pardew faces a selection dilemma ahead of the Chelsea game, after Jonas Gutierrez’s dismissal at Old Trafford on Saturday. The Argentine will serve an automatic one-match suspension.
Mick McCarthy will have to do without the services of Karl Henry against Sunderland this weekend. Big Mick welcomes back Jamie O’Hara and Stephen Hunt from suspension but Henry picked up his fifth booking of the season at Chelsea, meaning he will serve a one-match ban and sit out the crucial home clash.
