Clint Dempsey is out of Fulham’s trip to Spurs. Chris Smalling is ruled out of England’s Euro 2012 campaign with a groin injury. Leighton Baines could return for Everton against Newcastle, Gabby Agbonlahor is back for Villa, while Roberto Di Matteo hints at giving a couple of youngsters a run-out for Chelsea’s game with Blackburn at the Bridge:
Martin Jol today revealed that Clint Dempsey will be unavailable for Fulham’s final game of the season at Spurs. The US international has a left abductor problem – his absence will likely see plenty of transfers out ahead of Sunday morning’s deadline as midfields are shaken up ahead of the Gameweek 38 finale. Dickson Etuhu is also out for the Cottagers, while Alex Kacaniklic is a doubt after picking up a hamstring problem.
Chris Smalling has been ruled out of Euro 2012 this morning. Sir Alex Ferguson revealed the centre-half’s groin injury, sustained in last week’s win over Swansea, was a lot worse than initially anticipated:
Chris Smalling got a bad injury last week. We tried to take him off, then Rio got a knock. He’s going to miss the European Championship. At the moment we’re assessing what we’ll do, but certainly it’s a bad injury. I can play Phil Jones back in there with Rio, who is okay.
Though Ferguson didn’t confirm Jonny Evans is out, no mention of the Irishman certainly suggests is set to remain sidelined with a foot problem. The United boss also revealed that Danny Welbeck is out of the Stadium of Light showdown, having failed to recover from a Nigel De Jong challenge in the Gameweek 36 defeat at City.
Martin Petrov is fit and available for Bolton’s must-win game at Stoke on Sunday. The Bulgarian limped off with 10 minutes remaining against West Brom last weekend but Owen Coyle revealed earlier this morning the winger is ready for the Britannia trip. Gretar Steinsson has been ruled out for the Trotters, while Coyle faces an anxious wait over midfield pair Nigel Reo-Coker and Mark Davies – both have failed to train all week.
Stoke are sweating on the fitness of Marc Wilson ahead of the Bolton clash. Tony Pulis revealed the left-back has undergone scans on a back injury that forced him off early in the 1-0 defeat at QPR last weekend. Wilson has been playing through the pain barrier in recent weeks and a decision on his availability will be made once the Potters get the scan results. Pulis is also hopeful of Andy Wilkinson returning on Sunday – the right-back has played just 31 minutes of the last six Gameweeks due to a groin injury.
Harry Redknapp has confirmed Scott Parker is a doubt for Spurs’ game with Fulham at the Lane on Sunday. The midfielder continues to be bothered by an Achilles problem, with Sandro looking likely to continue in a midfield starting role after impressing in recent matches.
Gabby Agbonlahor has declared himself fit and available for Villa’s final match of the campaign. The forward has recovered from a rib injury in time for Sunday’s trip to Norwich, while Emile Heskey has shaken off an ankle problem and is also ready for the Canaries clash – good news for Alex McLeish, given that Andreas Weimann is sidelined with a knee injury. Alan Hutton will miss the match, however; the full-back has ruptured knee ligaments, sustained in last week’s draw with former club Spurs; the club confirmed he is out for eight to nine weeks.
Roberto Di Matteo has ruled both David Luiz and Gary Cahill out of Sunday’s game against Blackburn, though continues to be positive over the pair’s chances of making the Champions League Final a week tomorrow. The interim Chelsea boss revealed he plans to give some youngsters a run out against Rovers, though expects to field some first-team players in order to achieve a balance within the team. John Obi Mikel remains a doubt, however, due to a knee problem.
David Moyes has revealed that Leighton Baines, Phil Neville and Darron Gibson could all return against Newcastle on Sunday afternoon. The trio have missed out in recent matches but are all in with a shout of featuring in the Goodison encounter, with the Everton boss going on to say:
Hopefully they have all got a chance of being fit. They are all very close to fitness, most of them have trained this week, and with a bit of luck we will have very close to a full squad to pick from. It’s great to get them back and you want them fit for all through the season. In the main we have not been too bad with injuries.
The injury worries are racking up for Mark Hughes ahead of QPR’s vital trip to City. Shaun Derry and Akos Buzsaky are both doubt for the Etihad clash due to thigh and hamstring problems respectively. Hughes has admitted Samba Diakite is likely to miss out, with the midfielder having failed to shake off a virus, while Heidar Helguson is another who may not be available, due to a groin problem.
As always, all the team news has been collated for you, along with our predicted lineups right here.
