Scout Scribbles – Another Injury Scare for Aguero

Sergio Aguero limps out of City’s Champions League loss at Barcelona and is set for scans ahead of the weekend trip to Hull. Aaron Ramsey looks set to miss out of Arsenal’s trip to Tottenham on Sunday. Tim Sherwood will be without Michael Dawson for the north London derby but welcomes back Danny Rose to the fold, whilst Marouane Chamakh remains sidelined for Palace’s crucial trip to Sunderland with a hamstring problem:

CITY TOPPLE OUT OF EUROPE

Joleon Lescott replaced the suspended Martin Demichelis in the heart of Manchester City’s defence, as Sergio Aguero was fielded as a lone striker for last night’s 2-1 Champions League defeat to Barcelona. Vincent Kompany grabbed the away side’s late consolation goal, whilst it was the turn of Pablo Zabaleta to see red this time round as City’s European dreams were put to a swift end in Spain.

Aguero’ s propensity for picking up injuries reared up yet again last night. The Argentine came off at half-time for Edin Dzeko amidst fears that he may have damaged his problematic hamstring once more – post-match, assistant boss Ruben Cousillas was quick to play down fears of a serious injury:

“Aguero would have played the whole game if he had not been injured and would have played the second half with another striker. It’s too early to say how long Sergio will be sidelined – apparently it’s nothing too important. He felt some pain in his muscle and he went off as a precaution more than anything. Tomorrow he will have some medical tests and the doctor will let us know how important the injury is. It will be up to the medical staff who determine the extent of the injury, so we cannot speculate about this.”

The Scout Says: Fantasy managers will be on tenterhooks for further news of Aguero’s injury in the coming days. Already this week, over 64,000 FPL managers had acquired the City forward in light of his side’s 12 matches from Gameweek 31 onwards but another absence for the 12.1-priced frontman will have many of us rethinking our strategies for the run-in. With just two appearances (or 73 minutes) since Gameweek 16, the Argentine’s fitness is clearly a continuing issue, but history shows that he may only need a few injury-free Gameweeks to decide the outcomes of our seasons. Aguero is clearly a real doubt for Saturday’s trip to Hull, meaning Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo coule be set to lead the line for City against a side that shipped four goals last time out against Newcastle. With European and FA Cup duties no longer a source of distraction, City’s assets could well be primed to plunder the points over the remainder the season as they push for the title. With both Negredo and Dzeko struggling for form and confidence, though, Manuel Pellegrini will be as desperate as Fantasy managers for his star forward to make a quick recovery and boost City’s title bid.

RAMSEY ADDS TO WENGER’S WOES

Reports suggest that Aaron Ramsey is unlikely to feature for Arsenal against rivals Tottenham this weekend – a fixture the Welshman was expected to make his return from a thigh injury for. Although he was back in training last week, the midfielder is still short of full fitness and now looks set to have to delay his comeback until the following week’s visit of Chelsea. Meanwhile, Kieran Gibbs remains a doubt for the weekend, while Arsene Wenger did receive some positive news ahead of Sunday’s North London derby in the shape of Nacho Monreal and loan signing Kim Kallstrom’s returns from injury – the latter could well feature for the first time for the Gunners at White Hart Lane.

The Scout Says: With Arsenal set to be without the services of Mesut Ozil for up to a month, Wenger would have been praying to have Ramsey back in time for Sunday’s showdown with Spurs, but it would seem that the Gunners will now have to do without both of their talismanic midfielders. With no other opportunity to evaluate the Welshman before Gameweek 31, this leaves Santi Cazorla as the only real certainty amongst the Gunners’ midfield ranks for the double. Nacho Monreal’s imminent return will be good news for managers seeking a budget option in the Premier League’s tightest defence for the double, although a tough schedule beyond Gameweek 31 could well see that decision regretted, with many already parting company with the likes of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny this week.

CHAMAKH FACES THREE-WEEK ABSENCE

Tony Pulis has confirmed that striker Marouane Chamakh will be absent for this weekend’s relegation scrap with Sunderland. Reports suggest that the Moroccan may not return to action for up to three weeks, having missed last Saturday’s loss against Southampton with a hamstring injury picked up the previous week.

“Cham will miss this weekend and we’ll see what he’s like for the following one at Newcastle. He will be a big miss as he’s been very good since I’ve come to Palace. He has got that little bit of quality you need and he’s played exceptionally well since I’ve been here. Marouane is a bit different to the other strikers, he drops off and he gets the team playing better through the pitch than anyone else because of his experience. We’ve played a lot of good football through him really, so it’s a big blow in lots of respects.”

The Scout Says: The absence of Palace’s top scoring forward in Fantasy Premier League (FPL), while being a blow for his side, will come as positive news for those eyeing up fit-again Glen Murray ahead of two double Gameweeks (one to be confirmed) for the Eagles before the end of the season. Having played his first 90 minutes of the season last time around, the 5.2 priced Murray’s start is all but assured for this weekend, although it will be interesting to see how Pulis chooses to build the team around him. Thomas Ince’s owners will be desperately hoping that, with Chamakh missing again, the loanee will be re-installed in ‘the hole’ behind Murray having been dropped from the starting line-up for the past two Gameweeks.

POSITIVE INJURY NEWS FOR SPURS

With confirmation of Christian Eriksen’s recovery emerging yesterday, Tim Sherwood also revealed that Danny Rose is back in the frame for tonight’s Europe League tie against Benfica. Meanwhile, Sherwood was also positive that skipper Michael Dawson will not be on the sidelines for too long, going on to say his skipper should “be back in the fold in a couple of weeks.”

The Scout Says: Rose’s return will be welcome news for his manager, with the 23-year-old set to contend with Kyle Naughton for the left-back berth. Nonetheless, his classification as a midfielder all but eliminates his Fantasy prospects. The hamstring injury sustained by Dawson in Saturday’s loss to Chelsea will be a bitter blow for his 12.2% ownership who have looked to take advantage of his reliability as a cut-price route into Spurs defence. Nevertheless, it couldn’t be a better time to get rid of the centre-back anyway – a horrific fixture list for Tottenham in the next few weeks (including Arsenal, Southampton and Liverpool in the next three) will surely convince those holding on to any of their defensive assets to look elsewhere.