Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are both sidelined until after the international break. Newcastle’s Jack Colback is out for six weeks with a knee injury, Winston Reid could return for the Hammers, whilst Bojan is back for Stoke after recovering from a toe problem.
Arsenal have been dealt a major blow with the news that Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have been ruled out until after next month’s international break. The pair picked up calf and hamstring injuries during the midweek cup loss at Sheffield Wednesday, with Arsene Wenger admitting he could play Joel Campbell or Alex Iwobi on the right flank due an increasing lack of options. Wenger has also revealed that he expects Oxlade-Chamberlain to return to action quicker than Walcott.
Seamus Coleman is a major doubt for Everton’s home clash with Sunderland after picking up a stomach bug over the last few days. Leighton Baines and Mo Besic will return to first-team training today but the weekend is likely to come too soon for the pair.
Mark Hughes has revealed that defender Marc Muniesa will be sidelined for three to four weeks after suffering a hamstring injury in the midweek cup victory against Chelsea. The weekend will also come too soon for fellow centre-back Geoff Cameron, who came off early with a thigh issue in last weekend’s loss to Watford – Hughes has suggested that the American requires another four to five days to recover. Mame Biram Diouf and Jon Walters are both expected to be available despite soreness and a dead leg respectively following the Chelsea tie. Elsewhere, Bojan is set to return for the Potters having been rested due to a toe problem in midweek, while Glen Johnson is also expected to be in contention – he missed the Chelsea clash with a knock but is back in training.
Newcastle have suffered an injury blow with the news that midfielder Jack Colback is ruled out for up to six weeks with the knee injury that forced him off during last week’s derby loss at Sunderland.
Slaven Bilic suggests that the Hammers almost have a clean bill of health for the weekend. Key defender Winston Reid is back in training, though the Hammers boss has conceded he will have to “wait and see” if the New Zealand international is fully fit. Alex Song remains unavailable.
Swansea have a fully fit squad for the weekend visit of Arsenal, with Garry Monk confirming that winger Wayne Routledge is back in contention having trained all week.
Leandro Ulloa will be assessed ahead of the weekend, after missing recent matches with a thigh problem. Foxes boss Claudio Ranieri has suggested that the forward “is ready” for the Hawthorns trip.
A non-committal Tony Pulis has revealed West Brom “have one or two knocks” ahead of the visit of Leicester.
Sunderland will give Fabio Borini, Ola Toivonen, Younes Kaboul and John O’Shea as much time as possible before making a late decision on their fitness.
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 for breaking news – as the day unfolds, we will issue updates from Friday’s press conferences and refresh our Team News tab accordingly to keep you informed.
