Wales boss Chris Coleman is hopeful Gareth Bale can recover from a virus in time to face Scotland this evening. Oscar is amongst the goals as Brazil share the spoils with Italy. Arsene Wenger heaps praise on Laurent Koscielny’s recent displays, Daniel Sturridge’s ongoing thigh problem is causing concern again, Fabricio Coloccini could be back soon for Newcastle, while Steve Clarke has hinted Markus Rosenberg may get more game time for West Brom over the remainder of the season:
Chris Coleman has revealed Gareth Bale has been struggling with illness ahead of Wales’ game with Scotland this evening. Speaking to the press prior to the World Cup qualifier at Hampden Park, the Wales boss remained optimistic of the winger’s availability but admitted he won’t take any chances:
”He had a bit of a virus on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we couldn’t do any sessions with him. He just needed rest. He took a later flight as we wanted to separate him from the lads. If there’s any doubts about him physically and he’s not ready, we can’t take the risk with Gareth or any of the player. They don’t belong to us, they belong to the clubs. Unless they are 100% right we can’t take the risk and we won’t. At the minute we are optimistic he is going to be fine. He’s got a very good chance to play tomorrow. Speaking with the doctors and the medical team, they are happy with his response. He’s in good spirits, he’s better than yesterday. Hopefully he will be alright for tomorrow.”
Bale was initially feared to be a doubt after picking up an ankle problem in Tottenham’s home loss to Fulham last Sunday but seems to have least recovered from that complaint. Having scored all of his nation’s three goals in qualifying so far, Coleman will be desperate for his star player to make it in time – Wales are already seven points behind Belgium and Croatia after four games and a win for the hosts this evening would all but end their slim hopes. Bale also has a home clash with Croatia on his agenda for Tuesday evening before a return to domestic duties the following Saturday takes him back to his native country as Spurs make their way to Swansea.
Italy 2 Brazil 2
Luiz Felipe Scolari named a trio of Premier League players in his starting line-up last night. Chelsea duo Oscar and David Luiz were joined by Julio Cesar for the trip to Italy, though Blues midfielder Ramires missed out with an adductor problem picked up in Sunday’s win over West Ham. The latter two lasted the full 90, while Oscar was subbed off just after the hour mark, having impressed once again – he grabbed Brazil’s second, three minutes before the break.
Arsene Wenger has lavished praise on Laurent Koscielny after the centre-half’s eye-catching return to the Arsenal first XI. The Frenchman helped his side to a 2-0 win at Bayern Munich in the Champions League last week and kept his place as the Gunners registered a similar scoreline at Swansea in the league on Saturday afternoon – his manager reckons Koscielny has only now recovered from a calf problem that has been plaguing him since last summer:
“He was extraordinary in Munich.. He showed a little more authority than usual and, when he plays with that state of mind, you can see he has exceptional qualities. He needs that authority in his game to express himself completely….He says he was troubled during his [pre-season] preparations. At the time of our last [pre-season] game, against Cologne, he had a calf injury. It took him a very long time to return. And after that he had many relapses and it was often bad.”
With a goal also thrown in for good measure at the Allianz Arena, Koscielny has certainly staked a strong claim for his continued inclusion at the expense of Thomas Vermaelen alongside Per Mertesacker in the heart of the back-four. Judging by Wenger’s comments, he looks perfectly placed to retain his starting berth ahead of a home clash against Reading next weekend and with a double Gameweek 33 also on the horizon, his potential suitors will perhaps be a little more confident of investing in the 5.3 priced FPL defender on the back of the Arsenal manager’s praise.
Jonas Gutierrez is optimistic Fabricio Coloccini could be closing in on a return to action. The Newcastle skipper returned to his native Argentina in a bid to aid his recovery from a back problem and, speaking ahead of the club’s inaugural Hall of Fame dinner, the Gutierrez revealed a little inside knowledge on his compatriot’s progress:
““When he got the injury, they said six to eight weeks only. When you talk about Colo, we know he can do it quicker. He always does the right things, and he doesn’t have any problems, so we will see him soon. I spoke with him, and he’s feeling better. It is a long-term injury of about a month or so. Therefore it was going to be hard to bring him back in the condition that he left. We know what type of professional he is, and we understand he can’t come back and just play a little bit. We all want him back to play full games. We want him back as quickly as possible, because he’s really important for us.”
Subbed off at half-time in the Gameweek 27 win over Southampton, Coloccini has failed to feature since with his absence affording Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa a chance to strike up a partnership with Steven Taylor in the heart of defence. With Tim Krul still injured and doubts over Mathieu Debuchy and Davide Santon, Taylor’s side could be rolling up to the Etihad in Gameweek 31 with just a single first-choice option at the back (Taylor) in the XI. With three home games in four to follow (FUL, SUN, LIV), the Magpies boss will be pinning his hopes of survival on his side’s St James’ Park form, with the Tyneside team having won three successive games in front of their own fans.
Reports suggest Daniel Sturridge’s thigh complaint is playing up again. The forward was believed to have undergone a scan on the problem ahead of England training last night – once again causing concern for his Fantasy owners. Sturridge has missed two of Liverpool’s last five due to the problem and with Brendan Rodgers happy to court caution over the situation, any potential issue may bring his game time for the Reds’ trip to Villa a week on Sunday into question. With Luis Suarez a single caution away from a two-game ban, though, Rodgers may be more reliant than ever on Sturridge should the Uruguayan receive a yellow over his next three matches.
Phil Jagielka has revealed Marouane Fellaini has been suffering with an ankle injury of late:
“He had a painful ankle problem before the City game and he could have milked it and missed the game before disappearing off on international week. But he was desperate to play. He strapped himself up and put in a great performance. You cannot question his commitment.”
The midfielder has come in for some criticism in recent matches and after an outstanding first half of the season, has found the net in just two of his last 11 league appearances. Having received his tenth caution of the campaign against City, he’s now set to sit out the next two and has been resultantly sold by over 71,000 FPL managers. After the upcoming internationals with Belgium, Fellaini has three weeks until he’s available for domestic duties again, affording him plenty time to rest and recuperate before the Toffees double Gameweek 33, which sees them host QPR before travelling to Arsenal.
Steve Clarke has admitted he sympathises with Markus Rosenberg after the striker has cut a peripheral figure in his debut season at West Brom:
“The form of others has hindered him. Shane (Long) and Romelu (Lukaku) were in front of Markus for that spot and it made it more difficult for him to get in. The shape of the team and the way the team developed over the early weeks of the season was with one striker. It’s been a disappointing season for him….Markus is very disappointed things haven’t worked out for him so far. He hasn’t had enough minutes on the pitch. Some of that can be my fault and he can be unhappy with me….But there are still eight games to go and there is a little bit of me hoping in those eight games Markus gets the chance to play and shows everyone what he can do.”
The Swede arrived at the Hawthorns on the back of 10 goals in 33 appearances for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga last term but has been afforded next to no chance to make an impact. Clarke has handed him just two league starts all season, with five sub appearances totalling 54 minutes since the turn of the year but with Romelu Lukaku returning to parent club Chelsea at the end of the season and Peter Odemwingie falling foul of the club once again thanks to twitter comments, Rosenberg may finally see some game time before the season is out. Certainly, with the club flying high in eighth position, the threat of relegation is not an issue and it may well be that the Baggies boss uses the last few games to assess his forward options ahead of next term – Lukaku’s owners may be a little concerned if he chooses to do so.
