Alan Pardew has doubts over Demba Ba’s availability for next Sunday’s trip to Liverpool. Micah Richards looks set to be sidelined for up to eight weeks with a knee injury for City, though Pablo Zabaleta could return for the trip to West Ham. Arsene Wenger has concerns over Gervinho’s ankle problem, Brian McDermott refutes reports of a bust-up with Danny Guthrie, while a quartet of injured West Brom players hit the comeback trail ahead of Southampton’s visit next Monday evening:
Alan Pardew revealed Demba Ba is to undergo a scan on the shin problem that forced the forward off after 71 minutes of Sunday’s 2-1 win over West Brom:
“Demba appears to have a bit of a nerve problem. It is not a major concern and I don’t think it is an ongoing problem, but the major question is whether he can make next week.”
Question marks remain over Ba’s availability for next Sunday’s trip to Liverpool, then – a potentially bitter blow for his 32.2% Fantasy Premier League (FPL) owners. The 8.4 priced FPL forward has racked up 60 points already, only four less than Robin Van Persie and Carlos Tevez at the top of the forward rankings, with his opener against the Baggies taking his tally to seven goals and an assist in the opening nine Gameweeks.
Ba has also picked up 14 bonus points in FPL, more than any other player but if he fails to make it, Pardew will be hoping luck continues to favour Papiss Cisse, after the January signing account his account for the season at the weekend in a somewhat fortuitous manner. The Magpies boss also talked up the prospects of Sammy Ameobi, after the latter climbed off the bench to provide the assist for Cisse’s last-gasp winner; with Hatem Ben Arfa providing just one assist in his last six, Pardew clearly needs more creativity right now:
“Sammy looks to provide a little bit of a spark for us. I was searching for some sort of lift for the team and I thought he was very positive for us. We changed the system a couple of times and he tried to create for us.”
Reports indicate Micah Richards is set to be sidelined for six to eight weeks for City after tearing cartilage in his knee during Saturday’s home win over Swansea. The Mail suggests the right-back has already undergone keyhole surgery to alleviate the problem and while the news is perhaps better than initially anticipated, it adds to Roberto Mancini’s defensive woes right now. Mancini was without Maicon and Pablo Zabaleta for the weekend and Richards’ loss further diminishes his options at right-back, though Zabaleta could perhaps be ready to return this weekend at West Ham from a hamstring problem – if he fails to make it, Kolo Toure looks odds-on to step in, should City continue with a back-four at Upton Park.
Elsewhere in the City squad, The Mail go on to say that David Silva has returned to England after a week’s rehabilitation in Spain on his injured hamstring; while the playmaker’s recovery is progressing, he is not expected to be ready in time for the Hammers game, though City have yet to officially confirm this.
Arsene Wenger rolled out an injury update ahead of Arsenal’s Capital One Cup game with Reading this evening. The Gunners boss revealed that Gervinho has an ankle problem but is unsure just how long the Ivorian could be out for – the player had a scan yesterday with Wenger expecting results soon. Wojciech Szczesny is close to a comeback, according to his manager, after returning to training – but he will not features against the Royals, while Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is also out tonight with an ongoing hip issue.
Wenger also spoke of his decision to drop Carl Jenkinson for the first time this season after Bacary Sagna recovered from a broken leg for the visit of QPR:
“It was a tough decision, very tough. The team was a bit low in confidence and I felt experience at the back could help. Of course Bacary Sagna has an advantage on Jenkinson in experience. But I am very, very happy and thrilled with what Jenkinson has done until now and he will play again this season of course. It was a difficult decision, but I would like to give credit to Carl. What he has done is extremely promising and he is so young, so where he is now at his age now is fantastic. Two years ago he was playing in League One, and where he is now is fantastic.”
Sagna’s return helped Arsenal to their first clean sheet in six matches after a poor run of defensive showings. Jenkinson had started the season solidly, with a clean sheet in each of his first three games, but as the backline started to look a little dodgy, Wenger is clearly turning to the more experience heads to get his side’s campaign back on track. With a trip to Old Trafford and a north London derby with Spurs in the next three, Sagna looks in the driving seat to maintain his starting berth; handing Jenkinson’s 21% FPL owners a real dilemma, with his game time looking anything but assured now the Frenchman is fit and available.
Brian McDermott has denied reports of a falling out with Danny Guthrie after the former Newcastle man was left out of the Reading squad for last week’s home game with Fulham.
“There was no bust-up. He wasn’t selected and trained yesterday. The players that are not in the side support the players that are in the side. I try to have a conversation with the players not playing and I did that… He wasn’t selected, but he’s fit. He’s part of the squad of 20-odd players and has got to get himself into the 18. I just felt it was the right thing to do.”
Guthrie had started the Royals’ first four in “the hole” before being dropped for a couple of games with McDermott moving to 4-4-2 but returned to action in the Gameweek 8 trip to Liverpool with the visitors returning to a more defensive shape. An injury to Jem Karacan looked set to afford Guthrie another run in the first XI but his manager’s decision to omit the midfielder from his squad completely was a huge surprise. Guthrie was a popular cut-price option at the start of the season but has now dropped to 4.3 in FPL – the sales look set to continue, with his failure to convince McDermott a clear worry for his 4.3% owners.
Chris Brunt, Jerome Thomas, Billy Jones and Boaz Myhill all continued their comebacks from injury by turning out for West Brom’s U21 game against Reading yesterday afternoon. While Thomas and Myhill have yet to feature for the Baggies this term, Brunt limped out of the Gameweek 6 derby with Aston Villa due to a hamstring injury, while Jones stepped in for regular right-back Steven Reid in Gameweek 3. He, too, picked up an injury in the Villa match and has been sidelined since then – with Reid still unavailable, Jones may be set to challenge Gabriel Tamas for the role against Southampton next Monday if he can prove his fitness.
