Charlie Austin is back for QPR’s trip to Hull. Hector Bellerin requires a late fitness test as Arsenal head to Palace, Remy Cabella is likely to miss out for Newcastle’s visit to City, while Gabriel Agbonlahor and Carles Gil are available for Villa’s first match under Tim Sherwood.
Chris Ramsey has confirmed that Charlie Austin is “back in contention” for QPR ahead of the trip to Hull, after returning to training following injury. Sandro is still in the “conditioning phase” and therefore still available, while Ramsey also rules out Mauricio Isla through injury.
Remy Cabella is “almost certainly” out of Newcastle’s trip to City with a medial ligament strain picked up in training. Elsewhere, the Magpies have revealed that Paul Dummett doesn’t require an operation but will be sidelined for up to 12 weeks with a knee injury.
Victor Anichebe (groin) is Tony Pulis’ only injury concern as the Baggies prepare for the trip to Sunderland. They could also be boosted by the availability of Youssouf Mulumbu who is back in training, though remains short of full fitness.
Aston Villa have confirmed that Gabriel Agbonlahor and Carles Gil are both back in training and available, having missed the cup win over Leicester through injury. Tim Sherwood could be without Nathan Baker and Philippe Senderos, though, as the pair remain injury doubts for the visit of Stoke.
Alan Pardew is sweating on the fitness of James McArthur, with the midfielder rated as “touch and go” for the meeting again Arsenal. Meanwhile, Pardew believes Yannick Bolasie should be “okay” for the weekend having made a return to training. Jonny Williams meanwhile, has suffered a setback with a groin injury in training and will be monitored over the coming days.
In his Friday morning press conference, Arsene Wenger has revealed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in back in full training but is short of fitness, whilst Aaron Ramsey is expected back in ten days. Hector Bellerin is set for a fitness test later today, though Jack Wilshere is set to return to the squad after recovering from injury. Wenger gave no further update on Mathieu Flamini, who was regarded as a doubt yesterday due to a hamstring problem.
Burnley boss Sean Dyche has received a welcome boost with Stephen Ward making a quicker than expected return from injury. The defender is set to go into the Clarets squad for the Stamford Bridge test. There is also positive news on Matty Taylor, with Dyche revealing that the winger is making good progress from a troublesome Achilles problem.
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.
