A sceptical Arsene Wenger admits Alexis Sanchez is determined to prove his fitness in time for tomorrow’s North London derby. Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama could return for Southampton’s trip to QPR. Everton could welcome back James McCarthy for the Merseyside derby. Connor Wickham is set to miss Sunderland’s trip to Swansea. Alan Pardew remains without Mile Jedinak for the weekend, while Ron Vlaar could make a return to action as Chelsea roll into town:
As Arsenal gear up for tomorrow lunchtime’s trip to Tottenham, Arsene Wenger confirmed yesterday that the Gunners would be without Alexis Sanchez due to an ongoing hamstring injury. This morning, however, Wenger initially ruled out the Chilean again only to backtrack and suggest he will be assessed:
“Sanchez is out but he wants to have a go (in training) today. It’s not easy to tell him he’s not playing. He wants to play – he’s so keen. He feels he can defy the medical people because he is so keen to play. I don’t know if he can. I will see today.”
Elsewhere, the Gunners boss revealed Danny Welbeck is back in the group, with the rest of the squad expected to be the same as the one that played Aston Villa, according to Wenger. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jack Wilshere remain out for the weekend, though are closing in on a return to full training.
Southampton have received a big boost ahead of their visit to Loftus Road, with Ronald Koeman confirming that midfielders Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama should be available for selection, after recent injury troubles. There is less positive news on Toby Alderweireld though, with Koeman ruling the Belgian out of Southampton’s next two league fixtures. New signing Filip Djuricic will also miss out at the weekend, as he’s still awaiting his work permit.
Roberto Martinez believes James McCarthy will be in Everton’s squad for the Merseyside derby, having refuted suggestions that the midfielder had suffered a setback on his return from injury. Meanwhile, Tim Howard has made a return to training, though is unlikely to be risked for the weekend and will instead be given an extra week to get fit, according to Martinez. The Toffees boss has also revealed that Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar are expected to make their returns from injury and join the rest of the squad soon.
Sunderland striker Connor Wickham has been ruled out the trip to Swansea with a calf injury picked up in midweek. Gus Poyet is also sweating on the fitness of Adam Johnson, Jack Rodwell and Emanuele Giaccherini for the weekend, with the trio all rated as “50-50” to be involved.
Alan Pardew has confirmed that skipper Mile Jedinak will miss the trip to Leicester, after returning from the Asian Cup with a sore ankle.
Ron Vlaar and Joe Cole could return from injury for Aston Villa ahead of the weekend visit of Chelsea. The pair had been absent with knee and hamstring injuries respectively, but are expected to be in contention to face the Blues should they come through their final training session today.
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 as breaking news unfolds.
