Stephane Sessegnon limps off towards the end of Sunderland’s FA Cup win against Middlesboro. Vincent Kompany returns to full training for Man City. Matt Etherington is available for Stoke’s trip to Fulham, Frank Lampard is training ahead of the trip to Everton, while Villa fail in a bid to extend Robbie Keane’s loan deal:
Martin O’Neill is sweating on the fitness of Stephane Sessegnon after the midfielder was subbed off towards the end of last night’s FA Cup win over Middlesboro. The Benin international netted the winner deep into injury time but then limped out of the proceedings at the Riverside Stadium. It may very well be innocuous- O’Neill admitted post-match it was too early to offer a prognosis, going on to say:
He is an outstanding player and I am delighted that we have him. He hasn’t missed a game – I hadn’t realised he hasn’t missed a game this season for us, which is outstanding. I hope it is just cramp rather than anything else.
Vincent Kompany returned to full training for Man City yesterday. The Belgian missed out on Saturday’s win over Fulham with a knee problem picked up in training but now appears to have overcome the issue ahead of City’s trip to Villa this weekend.
Matt Etherington looks set to return for Stoke’s trip to Fulham on Saturday. The winger has missed the last couple of games with a flu bug, with Jon Walters filling in on the left in his absence, but revealed yesterday he has now fully recovered. His return will be a vital boost for Tony Pulis, with the Potters losing both games and failing to score in Etherington’s absence.
Michael Kightly will miss this weekend’s derby with West Brom due to a back problem. The Wolves winger had started all three league games since returning from a loan spell at Watford but was forced off with the problem in the gameweek 23 home loss to Liverpool and has failed to feature since. Kightly is expected to recover in time for the club’s next game, a trip to Newcastle towards the end of the month.
Frank Lampard is winning his fitness battle ahead of Saturday’s trip to Everton. The Chelsea midfielder has skipped the last couple of league matches due to a calf problem but reports yesterday suggest he is expected to be fit and available for the Goodison clash.
Reports suggest the rift between Chris Samba and Steve Kean has worsened over the last few days. The Rovers skipper has been fit and available for selection but Kean has chosen not to play him after his failed January transfer request. Samba sat out his side’s 7-1 hammering at Arsenal and was expected to return to action in a reserve fixture but, having missed the match, he is, once again, not training with the first-team.
Aston Villa have failed in a bid to extend Robbie Keane’s loan spell at the club. The Irishman has been in eye-catching form since his return to the Premier League, grabbing 3 goals in four appearances for the midlanders and Alex McLeish had hoped he could persuade LA Galaxy to allow him to field Keane in the gameweek 27 trip to Blackburn. The MLS side have refused, meaning Keane’s last game for Villa will be the gameweek 26 away clash at Wigan on the 25th February.
Owen Coyle has revealed he is considering shaking things up ahead of Bolton’s home game with Wigan. The Trotters boss admitted new boys Tim Ream, Marvin Sordell and Ryo Miyaichi are all in contention for game time, with the latter particularly impressing in midweek, scoring the only goal in a behind-closed-doors game with Preston.
