Scout Scribbles – Problems Pile Up for Pardew

Yohan Cabaye and Jonas Gutierrez add to Alan Pardew’s injury woes ahead of tomorrow’s home game with Swansea. Michael Laudrup also has plenty concerns, with Pablo Hernandez and Ashley Williams the latest doubts, Spurs and Arsenal are sweating on the availability of first-team regulars for Saturday lunchtime’s north London derby, while Ben Foster is out for West Brom and Jose Reina returns for Liverpool…

Alan Pardew revealed the injuries are racking up for Newcastle ahead of tomorrow’s encounter with Swansea. Yohan Cabaye and Jonas Gutierrez are both ruled out, and with Fabricio Coloccini currently suspended, the Magpies are a few bodies short of their first-choice XI. Pardew also admitted the club are currently in talks with Senegal after Papiss Cisse pulled out of international duty in midweek. It is understood the country are considering invoking FIFA’s five-day rule, which prevents a player turning out for his club within five days of the international game from which he was withdrawn, though Pardew is optimistic the situation can be resolved:

“We gave a report and an email straight after the (West Ham) game saying that at half-time he was feeling his back. We took him off and our doctor also sent reports on the injury. We didn’t, as far as I’m aware, get too much information back and now it seems that Senegal are upset that he didn’t appear for them. Somewhere down the line there has been something lost in translation there and we are trying to sort that out. Hopefully it will be cleared for Papiss to play on Saturday and clear for him to continue with Senegal going forward, because nobody wants any bad feeling.”

Andre Villas-Boas is hopeful that Aaron Lennon, Kyle Walker and Jermain Defoe will all recover from hamstring injuries ahead of tomorrow lunchtime’s north London derby:

“Most of the England boys who were carrying heavy legs have done one more recovery session. They were struggling. Lennon had a scan, but he’s okay. I think all three will be up for selection.”

While Walker and Lennon have started every league game for Spurs so far, Defoe’s role in the first XI was called into question last weekend, when Emmanuel Adebayor made his first appearance in the starting line-up this term. Adebayor also scored for Togo in midweek and could well get the nod once again as he returns to his former club. The Spurs boss did admit that Moussa Dembele remains unavailable, though; the Belgian has failed to recover from a hip injury that has seen him miss the last four, though he has a “50% chance” of returning for Europa League duties next week.

Ben Foster has been ruled out of West Brom’s home clash with Chelsea tomorrow. The Baggies keeper missed out for the first time last weekend and his omission is no real surprise, after Steve Clarke admitted he was a real doubt earlier this week. The Blues showdown affords Boaz Myhill his second consecutive start and with the Baggies registering four clean sheets in six at the Hawthorns, the visitors will be hoping to improve on the recent attacking form which has seen them notch just twice in the last couple of Gameweeks. In further West Brom news, Youssouf Mulumbu is hoping to shake off a hamstring problem that forced him to withdraw from international duty in midweek, while Gareth McAuley picked up a knock while on duty for Northern Ireland and is to be assessed. Clarke revealed in his press conference that a couple of players have picked up knocks but remained tight-lipped when asked to name names.

Arsene Wenger rolled out a handy injury update for Fantasy managers yesterday. Speaking to the Arsenal website, he revealed:

“Szczesny (ankle), Walcott (muscle), Chamberlain (hip) – they all have a chance to be in the squad. Walcott came off against Fulham and will have a test tomorrow [Friday]. So will Szczesny. Sagna has a test tomorrow [Friday]. It is just for general fatigue. He’s played three games quickly but before that he didn’t play for six months.”

Bearing in mind that Sagna be up against Gareth Bale, it may well be that Wenger chooses to be cautious with his game time, with Carl Jenkinson perhaps coming back into the reckoning after he made for the Frenchman back in Gameweek 9. With both Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain doubtful and Gervinho still sidelined, Aaron Ramsey could move to the right flank, with Jack Wilshere now back from a one-game suspension.

Brendan Rodgers has confirmed the injury situation is starting to ease at Liverpool ahead of Wigan’s visit this weekend:

“We’re in a good moment. Some of the players that have been out are starting to return back to training. Jonjo (Shelvey) will be back into training today, so he’ll be fine [for the weekend].Pepe (Reina) has been back in training. He was very close to last weekend [at Chelsea]. He made a great commitment to show he’s fighting for his place here in the group. He was called into the Spanish squad, but stayed here to ensure he was fit and strong – and he’s been training all week. He’ll be available for the weekend.”

While the return of Shelvey – whose last start was in Gameweek 4 – will have little Fantasy impact, Reina’s comeback could potentially earn his new investment ahead of a decent run of fixtures. The Reds have conceded a single goal in their last three at Anfield and are now unbeaten in six overall; priced at 5.8 in FPL, the Spaniard’s next five visitors (WIG, SOU, AVL, FUL, SUN) certainly offer potential. Liverpool’s hopes have also been boosted by the news that Lucas has returned to training, with his manager hoping he will be back in the reckoning “in a couple of weeks”.

Michael Laudrup is sweating on the fitness of Pablo Hernandez, after the Spaniard sustained an ankle problem last weekend. The Dane also revealed he is set to check on his first-choice central defensive pairing ahead of the trip to Newcastle:

“We have to see about Pablo, who twisted his ankle last weekend, and also about Chico. Ashley (Williams) has a dead leg too — it is the time for dead legs at Swansea — but we think he should be okay. Unlike Chico, he was able to stay on and finish the game when he got his, and that shows you it is not as serious. I thought Chico would have made it back for Southampton, but he still wasn’t right so we will have to see.”

Williams looks likely to make it, going on his manager’s words, though Chico could be set to miss out for the third Gameweek in a row, with Garry Monk set to deputise once again if the summer signing is unavailable. Elsewhere in the Swans side, Laudrup also has Ki Sung-Yeung out with a hamstring injury, while Danny Graham is hoping to overcome a back problem. The Koreans absence could force a reshuffle which may potentially see Jonathan de Guzman move deeper and Michu drop back to his preferred role in “the hole”, while Hernandez’s possible absence is likely to see Nathan Dyer return to the starting line-up for the first time since Gameweek 7. With a busy schedule on the cards, Laudrup clearly is in no mood to take any chances:

“Obviously I want Chico to be okay because you want all your players available so you can make the choices you want. But I think it’s a little more the midfield and the forwards we have to think about this week. And then after Newcastle we have three games in six days, so we have to think about that too. We have to be prepared for today and a little for tomorrow as well. “