Daniel Sturridge misses Liverpool’s trip to Tottenham with a minor knee knock. Southampton and Bournemouth have concerns over their first-choice keepers, whilst Samir Nasri’s hamstring problem adds to City’s injury list…
Arsenal
Gabriel and David Ospina both missed Arsenal’s trip to Watford due to illness and a shoulder problem respectively.
Earlier today, Arsene Wenger has confirmed the defender is available for their midweek Champions League showdown with Bayern, though Ospina has been ruled out again.
Bournemouth
Artur Boruc is scheduled for a scan after sustaining a thigh injury during the warm-up at Manchester City. Cherries boss Eddie Howe also revealed that Marc Pugh could only make the bench due to injury:
“Artur will have a scan and we’ll wait to see the extent of it. We hope, because he was pulled out before the game, that it is not serious damage but we’ll wait until the results. He has been away with Poland so we haven’t seen a great deal of him over the past two weeks and for him to pick up that injury in the warm-up, it’s another one we couldn’t really control but we’ll hopefully get him back into action very quickly…In terms of Marc Pugh missing out, he hadn’t trained in the international break because of a rib injury. In a sense, my team selection was forced upon me.”
Chelsea
Pedro and Loic Remy have both been ruled out of Chelsea’s Champions League clash with Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday evening due to minor injuries. Earlier today, Jose Mourinho went on to say:
“We have other options and it would be big risk to play them.”
Leicester City
Claudio Ranieri expects Leonardo Ulloa to be fit for next Gameweek after missing Leicester’s trip to Southampton with a minor thigh problem.
Liverpool
Daniel Sturridge was sidelined for Liverpool’s trip to Tottenham after picking up a minor injury in training. Jurgen Klopp shed further light on Sturridge’s absence in his post-match presser, saying that he suffered nothing more serious than swelling in his knee. The Reds’ newly installed boss is hopeful that the ex-Chelsea forward will be available for selection when the Merseysiders host Rubin Kazan on Thursday, whilst Christian Benteke is also expected to return:
“We had a bad week with injuries. The best news is it’s not a serious thing with Daniel. But in a week like this with two ACL, we could not risk it. Daniel had a one-on-one situation with Jordon Ibe in training; I didn’t see it but after he said he had a little pain in a muscle. We made a diagnosis and screened him to be sure – we can see a little bit of swelling but nothing really serious. So we have to see. I hope he’s ready to play on Thursday…Danny Ings needs time, obviously, but Benteke could be back for Kazan or Southampton.”
Manchester City
Having entered the fray at the 62-minute mark against Bournemouth, Samir Nasri was forced to play through a hamstring problem at the Etihad in light of Man City using their full complement of substitutes. Manuel Pellegrini admitted that the French playmaker is now a serious doubt for the Sky Blues’ home tie against Sevilla on Wednesday:
“Nasri had a problem with his hamstring. I don’t know because I didn’t talk with the doctor yet but I think it will be very difficult for him [to play on Wednesday]. Unfortunately we knew that he was feeling something after we made the third change, so if not maybe I can change him before. He didn’t run too much, he stayed in the middle, so we’ll see in the next day what happens with him.”
Yaya Toure was passed fit for the Cherries’ visit but was hauled off at the break. Pellegrini explained that he didn’t want to risk affording the Ivorian midfielder further minutes given his recent niggling injuries and inactivity over the international break:
“It was not thinking about Sevilla, it was thinking about Yaya. He just played 45 minutes in the Champions League before he got in an injury. In the first ten days of the international break he did nothing so I thought 45 minutes was enough. It was not an important injury but one which prevented him from playing games.”
Southampton
Maarten Stekelenburg picked up a back injury during Saints’ Friday’s training session, paving the way for Kelvin Davis to earn his first league start of the campaign. Ronald Koeman revealed “we will have to wait a couple of days” before knowing whether his first-choice stopper will be available for the weekend trip to Liverpool.
Sunderland
Duncan Watmore sat out Sunderland’s road tie against West Bromwich Albion with a minor hamstring complaint. Jack Rodwell is also a major concern ahead of the Tyne-Wear derby as he struggles to shake off a persistent ankle knock.
Tottenham Hotspur
Nacer Chadli was withdrawn after 11 minutes of Spurs’ home tie against Liverpool after damaging his ankle. After the match, Mauricio Pochettino suggested that the Belgian winger might’ve suffered an ankle ligament injury:
“We need to assess tomorrow and after tomorrow we will know more. Maybe it’s a problem in his ankle ligaments but we hope it is not a big, big issue. After the game it was painful and in the next 24 or 48 hours we will be able to see better how the injury is.”
