With a quick turnaround in fixtures, we take time out to assess the Premier League treatment rooms this evening and cast an eye over those players who picked up injuries over Saturday and Sunday’s fixtures.
Arsenal
Arsene Wenger’s injury troubles continue to mount as he lost both his left-backs to problems in the 1-0 win at West Brom. Nacho Monreal picked up an ankle knock before his replacement, Kieran Gibbs, suffered yet another issue. Wenger gave us an update on that pair, post-match, whilst also revealing that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has concerns over a knee injury ahead of the visit of Southampton on Wednesday…
“Gibbs struggled a little bit with an ankle problem and Monreal with a knee problem. Oxlade-Chamberlain also had a knee problem.”
Aston Villa
Paul Lambert’s defensive worries continued at the weekend. With Ron Vlaar, Philippe Senderos and Nathan Baker already sidelined through injury, the Villa boss is sweating on the fitness of Ciaran Clark after the centre-half was forced off during injury time of yesterday’s draw at Burnley.
Crystal Palace
Dwight Gayle was withdrawn just 21 minutes into the weekend draw at Swansea with a leg injury, though other sources also state he’s sustained a back problem. Gayle can be considered a doubt for Tuesday’s home clash with Villa, having started the last two league outings.
Hull City
Robbie Brady was replaced on 75 minutes of the Tigers’ loss at Old Trafford having sustained a knock, according to match reports.
Manchester City
City are sweating on the fitness of skipper Vincent Kompany after the defender suffered a hamstring injury in this afternoon’s win at Southampton. Post-match, Manuel Pellegrini – who also has Eliaquim Mangala suspended for the midweek trip to Sunderland – went on to say:
“We cannot know the situation at the moment. He has a problem with his hamstring. We will see with the doctor how important it is but at this moment, I cannot tell you exactly what he has. We will see.”
Man United
Angel Di Maria is almost certain to miss tomorrow’s home encounter with Stoke after being forced off just 13 minutes into the win over Hull with his own hamstring injury. Wayne Rooney is also nursing a calf complaint ahead of the Potters clash, though Louis van Gaal is a little more optimistic on his captain’s chances of being available:
“Angel shall be out for Stoke, I think. Wayne, I don’t know. He has already told me he wants to play against Stoke, but Rooney always says that. We will know in 48 hours..”
Newcastle United
The Magpies are sweating on the fitness of right-back Daryl Janmaat, who was forced off with a hamstring injury in the 1-0 loss at West Ham. Alan Pardew has also confirmed Rob Elliott will take his place between the sticks “for the next four or five games†due to Tim Krul’s ankle injury.
QPR
The R’s budget left-back Yun Suk-Young was replaced on 51 minutes of the 3-2 win over Leicester after sustaining a knee injury. Bobby Zamora missed out altogether with a slight back injury.
Southampton
Jack Cork was unavailable for today’s home loss to City due to illness, whilst Morgan Schneiderlin was forced off after sustaining a leg injury. After the match, Ronald Koeman rolled out an update on the midfield pair ahead of the midweek trip to Arsenal:
“He [Morgan] had an injury in his upper right leg, we have to wait, maybe we will know tomorrow [Monday] about if he will be okay for Wednesday. Jack I hope will be back, we need the players.”
Stoke City
Mark Hughes also has worries in central midfield ahead of the trip to Old Trafford. Steve Sidwell was withdrawn during the first half of yesterday’s loss at Liverpool with a knee problem, whilst replacement Glenn Whelan was subbed off at the break with a calf complaint. After the match, the Potters boss was pessimistic on both players’ chances of making it in time for the trip to United:
“We’ve got a game on Tuesday and it’s highly unlikely either will be available. Whether it was because he didn’t have an opportunity to warm up prior to coming on I don’t know, but he (Whelan) has pulled his calf unfortunately.”
Tottenham Hotspur
Vlad Chiriches limped out of this afternoon’s home win over Everton and was replaced by Erik Dier midway through the second period. Kyle Naughton is back from suspension for Wednesday’s trip to Stamford Bridge so the Spurs right-back situation is a little cloudy to say the least.
West Brom
The Baggies left-back Sebastien Pocognoli was forced off with a leg problem towards the end of yesterday’s home loss to Arsenal. Alan Irvine rolled out an update after the match:
“Seb has a dead leg, we think. He and Chris Brunt slid in at the same time and it seems he came off worse. All we can do now is assess him and see how he is. Dead legs can be a problem because you never know how quickly they will settle down.”
