Our new regular round-up of the fresh injury worries occurred over the previous weekend arrives this afternoon. We also dig deeper to discover just why a trio of key players only made the bench over Saturday and Sunday’s fixtures:
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger revealed Mesut Ozil was “fit to start” away to Stoke after recovering from a thigh injury. The German was only utilised as a second-half sub, however, as his manager reckons he has played “many many games” and is wary of fatigue playing a part in his record signing’s displays.
Aston Villa
Chris Herd has only just recovered from a hamstring problem but is out of the picture for the foreseeable future after the club released the following statement yesterday:
“The club can confirm that due to personal reasons Chris Herd will be unavailable for selection until further notice. There will be no further comment and we request that Chris’s privacy be respected.”
Cardiff
Craig Noone took to twitter to confirm he missed yesterday’s trip to Tottenham after picking up ”a slight knock”, though is optimistic of a return in time for the weekend clash against Fulham.
Crystal Palace
Glenn Murray was only fit enough for the bench as Palace travelled to Swansea yesterday. The forward made his first start of the season in Gameweek 27 but dropped out of the starting XI after picking up a knock in midweek. Joe Ledley played the full 90 minutes but is set to be assessed before joining up with the Wales squad this week – the midfielder admitted he is struggling with a hip problem and may have to withdraw from international duties. In the last few minutes, Palace have also confirmed Kagisho Dikgacoi has withdrawn from the South Africa squad to face Brazil because of injury.
Everton
Roberto Martinez admitted Romelu Lukaku was only fit enough to be utilised from the bench after he picked up a chest infection prior to Saturday’s visit of West Ham.
Fulham
Brede Hangeland was forced off early in the first period after an accidental clash of heads with team-mate Kieran Richardson and was taken to hospital for scans on Saturday evening. Fulham confirmed he was given the all-clear to return home, though it’s uncertain whether he will join up with the Norway squad in midweek.
Hull
The match commentary from the club’s official website revealed Curtis Davies “had been limping for much of the second half” before he was subbed off towards the end of Saturday’s 4-1 home defeat by Newcastle.
Newcastle
The Magpies back-up keeper Rob Elliot missed Saturday’s home hammering with a knee problem and has withdrawn from this week’s Republic of Ireland squad.
Norwich
Having been handed his first start since Gameweek 23 last weekend, Rickie Van Wolfswinkel was expected to start for Norwich’s trip to Villa but was ruled out of the match against Paul Lambert’s side with a knee problem, Chris Hughton has revealed. Robert Snodgrass lasted just 45 minutes before being withdrawn at the break due to a wrist injury and has subsequently pulled out of the Scotland squad. The Canaries boss elaborated on the trio after yesterday’s defeat:
“Ricky got a whack on his knee in the Tottenham game. He didn’t train at the beginning of the week but we felt generally it would be okay. Unfortunately it was still too sore come Saturday. Leroy does have a hamstring pull. We are still assessing how bad it is and we had to take Robert off at half-time because he felt his wrist when he fell making a tackle towards the end of the first half so he won’t go with Scotland.”
Earlier this afternoon, Hughton’s worries were compounded by the news that Martin Olsson has been forced to withdraw from Sweden’s midweek friendly with Turkey due to a shoulder problem.
Southampton
The Saints’ official twitter stream confirmed second choice keeper Kelvin Davis missed Saturday’s home loss to Liverpool after picking up a knock.
Swansea
Pablo Hernandez lasted just 22 minutes of the first period before being subbed off with yet another hamstring problem. After yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Palace, Garry Monk also confirmed he subbed off both Ashley Williams and Wilfried Bony due to illness:
“We’ve had illness in the camp over the last few days. Bony’s been ill, Ash was sick all last night and Pablo felt his hamstring in the first minute. Ash was ill today and has two badly bruised toes, but it shows his character and the leader that he is that he continues to play.”
Tottenham
After grabbing a goal and assist in Thursday’s Europa League win over Dnipro, Christian Eriksen was expected to be handed a starting role at home to Cardiff yesterday. Unfortunately for Tim Sherwood’s side, the Dane missed out altogether with a back problem, the club’s official twitter stream has confirmed. Zeki Fryers has withdrawn from the England Under 21 squad this morning with an ankle injury.
