The injuries pile up for Southampton ahead of a home game with City. United and Swansea have selection problems up front for the visit of Newcastle and Hull respectively, Ron Vlaar is a concern as Villa roll up to Fulham, while Spurs sweat on Jan Vertonghen’s ankle problem for the trip to Sunderland:
Mauricio Pochettino has ruled out Nathaniel Clyne and Victor Wanyama of Southampton’s clash with City at St Mary’s – the latter has a hairline fracture of the leg and his manager is uncertain as to when he will return. The Saints boss has also revealed Jose Fonte is to be assessed after only being fit enough for a sub role in midweek, while Morgan Schneiderlin, Danny Fox and Guly Do Prado remain on the sidelines along with injured keepers Artur Boruc and Kelvin Davis.
Fantasy managers were dealt a blow in midweek when Wayne Rooney picked up a fifth booking of the campaign, which sees him miss the visit of Newcastle this Saturday. David Moyes has also conceded he doesn’t yet know when Robin Van Persie will recover from the groin injury that has sidelined him for weeks, though has insisted the injury is “nothing desperately serious”.
Michael Laudrup has issues up front ahead of Monday’s visit of Hull. Alvaro Vazquez was forced off early in the first-half against Newcastle and his manager admitted post-match that the injury wasn’t bad and a return looks imminent. The Swans boss exercised caution when discussing Michu and Wilfried Bony’s progress from injury – the Spaniard has been training on his own and Laudrup confessed that he “could be back” for Monday but definitely won’t be match fit, going on to say it is too soon to decide whether either will be available for selection.
Ron Vlaar owners are facing a nervous wait to see whether he’ll be available to face Fulham. The Villa skipper was forced off in midweek against Southampton with a calf injury – his potential absence could force Paul Lambert to revert back to a four-man defence, having fielded a 3-5-2 at St Mary’s.
Andre Villas-Boas is eagerly awaiting scan results on the ankle problem picked up by Jan Vertonghen at Fulham on Wednesday. The Belgian rolled over on his ankle in midweek and his manager conceded the joint was “quite swollen” immediately after the 2-1 triumph. Kyle Naughton is on standby to deputise, though the Spurs boss has also revealed Danny Rose has now started training and may be back in a week or so. Villas-Boas has concerns over Mousa Dembele, who missed the trip to Fulham with a hip problem. The Belgian’s absence afforded Paulinho another stint in “the hole” during midweek, though Lewis Holtby may get the chance behind a lone striker after grabbing the midweek winner.
All this and more has now been updated in the Team News section ahead of tomorrow’s deadline. Keep an eye on our official Twitter stream for breaking news as Friday’s press conferences unfold and Fantasy managers prepare for the third Gameweek in the past seven days.
