Gameweek 16 ensured that physiorooms remained well-stocked ahead of the busy Christmas spell. Here’s our team-by-team rundown of the new knocks and scrapes stemming from the weekend’s action…
Arsenal
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is the latest injury concern for Arsene Wenger. The England midfielder played a key part in the Gunners’ win over Newcastle but replaced in the 91st minute as he struggled with a groin problem. Wenger gave us this, post-match, on the starlet’s condition…
“I wanted to take him off and then he takes the ball and crosses the whole pitch and cannot run any more…We cannot afford to lose him at the moment. He’s got a pain in his groin. I took him to Galatasaray and maybe two games was a lot for him.”
Burnley
The Clarets replaced left-back Ben Mee 73rd minute to a problem: there’s no details on an injury involved and a suggestion that Mee was battling illness. Mee will be a minor doubt for the trip to Spurs, then, but, with Stephen Ward also sidelined, Sean Dyche could now be forced to hand a first Premier League start to Danny Lafferty White Hart Lane: he replaced Mee in Saturday’s 1-0 win over City.
Crystal Palace
Neil Warnock’s men were forced into two changes in the 1-1 stalemate with Stoke City at Selhurst Park. Wilfried Zaha was reportedly subbed with an injury concern on the hour-mark – there is, however, little or no confirmation of that injury from the Palace camp. Marouane Chamakh was also forced off on 75 minutes – Warnock confirmed post-match that a scan will take place today.
“I am not sure yet but I don’t think it is as bad as the injury he got at Newcastle or last season, he will go for a scan on Monday and we will have a look at it from there. I am hoping it will only be a couple of weeks rather than anything drastic.”
Hull City
The Tigers lost defender Michael Dawson to a hamstring injury after just 10 minutes of the Stamford Bridge encounter with Chelsea. Hull confirmed earlier that Dawson is set for scans later today and looks set to miss the festive period – while the severity of the injury is not yet confirmed, Steve Bruce was in pessimistic mood post-match…
“We don’t know how serious it is, it could be four to six weeks”
Liverpool
Brendan Rodgers deployed Glen Johnson on the right of a defensive three at Old Trafford but lost him after just 24 minutes to an injury, confirmed as a groin problem by Rodgers in his post-match comments…
“Glen was a groin injury – he’s over-stretched his groin”
Man City
As widely reported, City’s injury woes up front continued when Edin Dzeko suffered a recurrence of a calf injury in the warm-up ahead of the encounter with Burnley at Turf Moor. While the prognosis is not yet confirmed, Manuel Pellegrini’s early assessment of the injury was not encouraging
“Edin Dzeko has a muscle injury in his calf, so maybe he will also be more than a couple of weeks out…Maybe he will also be a couple of weeks out. I think it is impossible (for him to return) before the new year.”
Pellegrini was also without Stevan Jovetic for the Clarets defeat – he remains a doubt for the Christmas spell despite his muscle injury previously being described as a “minor” setback. Again, Pellegrini’s comments, post-match, offered little room for optimism…
“Of course now we are without Aguero, Dzeko and Jovetic for more than a couple of weeks. It’s a difficult situation but we will see the best way to resolve it.”
The City boss also lost Vincent Kompany to a recurrence of his hamstring injury that had previously kept him sidelined ahead of the Turf Moor visit. The Belgian was forced off on 75 minutes with Pellegrini offering these words on his skipper’s situation…
“I think he felt again a problem in his hamstring. That is why he didn’t play on Wednesday because it was too soon. He thought he was ready to play today. Vincent said he was available to play but could not play the whole game and we see what happened to him.”
Further quotes indicated that Pellegrini also felt that Kompany would join Dezko in the treatment room until the New Year…
“We will see with Vincent how hard his injury is but I think it will be very difficult for them to play before the next year.”
Man United
Marcos Rojo is a new addition to the roster of injuries down at Old Trafford – the Argentine was a late withdrawal from the United squad having sustained an unspecified injury in training. Judging by Louis van Gaal’s comments, however, Rojo may well be back in the frame for the visit to Villa Park in Gameweek 17…
“He [Rojo] felt something yesterday, and I didn’t want to take a risk. If a player is complaining about a knock, I ask whether or not they want to play, and that’s the end of it. So, I played Phil Jones today.”
Van Gaal remained vague on the nature of the injury and it’s prognosis…
“I don’t think it’s healthy but I’m not a doctor.”
Southampton
Jake Hesketh was given his first Premier League start by Ronald Koeman in the 1-0 defeat to Burnley but saw the 18-year-old suffer a knee injury which forced him from the field on 30 minutes. The Saints’ boss confirmed post-match that Hesketh’s setback will be assessed today ahead of preparations for the St Mary’s meeting with Everton.
“It was a pity [to lose Hesketh] because he played well. He felt comfortable in the game. It was a foul – a kick to his knee. We have to wait until tomorrow to say more about his injury.”
Stoke City
Mark Hughes was forced to withdraw Spanish playmaker, Bojan, on 54 minutes of the 1-1 with Palace. The Stoke boss confirmed post-match that the player had suffered a knock to his hip, playing down the severity of the setback ahead of their meeting with Chelsea this coming weekend.
“He [Bojan] got a bang right on the fleshy part above the hip bone, so we had a decision to make. I have had them myself and they are really sore for a couple of days. Thankfully they resolve themselves relatively quickly so we aren’t too worried about it. It’s one of those injuries that can restrict your movement though and in the end he wasn’t able to affect the game in the manner he would have liked to have done.”
