Absent from Gameweek 10, Harry Kane dominates the thinking of Fantasy managers, as our plans are put on ice ahead of a potential midweek return.
We revisit Kane’s situation while checking in on the latest slew of injury setbacks which includes the current leading points scorer from Gameweek 10. We also explore the latest developments with those closing in on a return to contention.
New Arrivals
It is fair to say that plans for Gameweek 11 are largely shelved until we gain clarity on Harry Kane’s hamstring injury.
The striker missed Spurs’ 1-0 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday, with manager Mauricio Pochettino stating that it was “impossible” to take a risk with his star asset.
On Friday, Pochettino also stressed the nature of the hamstring issue was slight and indicated that he hoped that Kane’s setback could be “fixed” ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Real Madrid.
“It’s a minor injury, very small, but we cannot take a risk for tomorrow. We’ll see after about Real Madrid [on Wednesday], but for tomorrow it’s impossible…There’s no sense to take a risk and make bigger a problem that at the moment is small and we can maybe fix in a few days.”
There are some theories to suggest that Kane will struggle to make a full recovery for midweek, and indeed Saturday’s Wembley Stadium meeting with Crystal Palace.
But following Saturday’s defeat, Pochettino continued to indicate that Kane could be back for Wednesday’s tie, presenting his own cautiously optimistic view on the situation.
“With the doctors and the player, we will take the best decision for everyone. It’s not the last game or the final where you would say, ‘OK, after that it’s holidays. We must analyse and take the best decision for everyone. We will assess him and then we will make the best decision. My feeling is good. But it’s not my feeling, it’s Harry Kane’s feeling.”
As we’ve seen in the past with appraisals of recovery times for Erik Lamela and Danny Rose, Pochettino’s accuracy with his reporting in press conferences can be misleading. So we shouldn’t read too much into these latest comments.
However, there are also reports stating that Kane is “pleading” his manager to allow him to face Madrid.
Tuesday’s Champions League press conference will surely push the Spurs boss into giving us a stronger indication on Kane’s prognosis.
In many ways, we may still be in the dark as to his chances of featuring against Palace in Gameweek 11.
If considered fit enough to face Madrid, it’s feasible that Pochettino will not want to risk the striker four days later against the Eagles. It’s a match that Spurs will perhaps feel they can win without Kane’s influence.
However, home form has faltered against so-called weaker clubs, while the United defeat represents a major set-back in Spurs’ bid to emerge as the main threat to leaders Manchester City.
We’d be confident on Kane’s start but, in many ways it could be preferable for Kane to be eased back against Madrid, perhaps via a bench role, making him more likely to figure against Roy Hodgson’s side.
Kane will then be due to meet up with England for their international friendlies with Germany and Brazil – both of which are at Wembley.
There’s no question that Pochettino will want Kane withdrawn from those matches or, at the very least, managed carefully by Gareth Southgate. His ability to push for that would surely be enhanced should Kane sit out the Palace clash.
But equally, the case to omit Kane from those internationals should not take too much persuasion. While Southgate would want his star striker in these showpiece friendlies, there’s no question that Kane’s selection is assured and that, in his absence, Southgate could give opportunities to others. He and England may not push back on Spurs’ request given the importance of Kane and Spurs to their own setup.
We can speculate and build scenarios all we want at this stage. All we can really do is wait on Pochettino’s next statements on go from there.
Kane has currently suffered additional sales of 32,000 managers following Saturday’s absence. But conversely, some 26,000 have brought him into their squads optimistic of his availability for Gameweek 11. Kane suffered a net ownership loss of 621,000 prior to Saturday’s deadline.
Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho was another Gameweek 10 absentee and, like Kane, we will learn more on his situation via a midweek press conference.
Jurgen Klopp’s side play Maribor on Wednesday with the Reds boss also set to face the press on Tuesday. Coutinho missed the 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town with a groin problem, with Klopp playing down the problem in Friday’s update.
“This week he had a little bit of problem with the adductor. It’s not clear so far if he is out for tomorrow. We will make the decision today after training.”
Liverpool go to West Ham in Gameweek 11, a fixture that saw the Brazilian thrive last season with two goals and an assist in a 4-0 win. However, Klopp will surely not risk any further complications for his playmaker.
Coutinho will be due to meet up with Brazil’s squad for the friendlies with Japan – which is to be played in France – and England at Wembley.
While those fixtures will not amount to the usual long-haul flights for Coutinho, it’s very likely that Klopp will want him omitted from duty. An absence against West Ham would facilitate a withdrawal from Brazil’s squad.
Klopp will also go to West Ham with concerns over defender Dejan Lovren. The much-maligned centre-back was named in the starting line-up against Huddersfield but forced to withdraw following complications with a groin injury suffered in the warm-up.
Elsewhere among the Gameweek 10 casualties, Arsenal’s Sead Kolasinac is a new concern.
The Bosnian starred in Arsenal’s 2-1 victory over Swansea City with a goal and an assist, contributing a Gameweek-high 14 points.
But the wing-back was withdrawn on 77 minutes with Arsene Wenger confirming the nature of the injury post-match…
”It’s a hip problem, a tight muscle in his hip. How long will he be out? I don’t know. We hope to get him fit for next Sunday. He had that before and we managed to get him always available.”
Kolasinac is a player renowned for his toughness, so his chances of a recovery for the Gameweek 11 trip to Man City appear strong, particularly as it seems that the injury has been ongoing. Wenger also indicated that the player was keen to play on, suggesting that his withdrawal was something of a precaution.
“Yes, of course, that’s what he wanted [to remain on the pitch]. I thought there was no need to take a gamble so I took him off.”
Meanwhile, we saw a string of perhaps less significant injuries crop up over the weekend.
West Ham could face Liverpool without Winston Reid after he missed the 2-2 draw with Palace with a calf complaint. His absence would come as a blow for Slaven Bilic having been exposed by Liverpool’s attack at the London Stadium last season. Again, with the international break looming, he seems unlikely to be risked in Gameweek 11. And they are also monitoring the fitness of Jose Fonte, who was forced off at Selhurst Park with 15 minutes left on the clock.
West Ham’s opponents on Saturday were without their own defensive mainstay as Mamadou Sakho missed out with his own calf injury. Roy Hodgson failed to mention the setback in his pre-match press conference, but gave us an update following the 2-2 draw.
“Sakho has a calf injury. It was after the Newcastle game. He hasn’t trained all week. We were hoping he would have a Lazarus moment and appear from the treatment room straight onto the field at the last minute, but it didn’t happen. “
Hodgson now has key concerns in his defence ahead of the Gameweek 11 Spurs visit, with Patrick van Aanholt looking a major doubt having sustained a hamstring injury early on in Saturday’s draw. He will undergo scans according to Hodgson.
“Van Aanholt to damage his hamstring, I can’t tell you how exactly how bad the damage is, that will have to be assessed, but it’s obviously damaged it. We’ve got to hope it’s not too bad but we won’t know that until he’s had a scan.”
Bournemouth’s Junior Stanislas appears to be have been struck down by another cruel injury. The midfielder was edging back to form after his goal and assist returns at Stoke in Gameweek 9 but was forced off against Chelsea on Saturday. Manager Eddie Howe also lost striker Benik Afobe to a potential muscle strain, but was clearly more concerned on Stanislas.
“Junior’s looks serious. It looks like a muscle pull. It happened just in front of us and he was in full flight. He said his groin had gone. I didn’t speak to him again after the game, but that was his initial reaction. We worked hard to get Junior fit after we had really missed him in the early part of the season. He showed his quality at Stoke, so it would be a really tough one to take.”
In Recovery
Chelsea could have N’Golo Kante in contention for tomorrow evening’s Champions League clash with Roma, according to manager Antonio Conte.
Quizzed on the midfielder’s availability after Saturday evening’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth, the Italian revealed:
‘I hope so. He could be ready. I know very well the importance of this player. I want to be sure he is ready. I hope to have him in this game, but I prefer to not take this type of risk. If he is ready, he plays.’
Having Kante back on board would boost the Blues’ prospects of shut-outs and perhaps strengthen our faith in the likes of Marcos Alonso – they conceded just twice in his last five league matches but have struggled for resilience and shipped four goals in three without him.
While a weekend visit from Man United and trip to Liverpool in the next three are somewhat concerning, those two are the only tough looking fixtures in a superb run all the way through to Gameweek 21, taking us up to New Year’s Day.
Conte’s pre-Roma press conference is expected this afternoon and should hopefully shed more light on the situation.
Paul Pogba’s recovery from a hamstring injury seems to have stalled, judging by Jose Mourinho’s latest mutterings.
When asked if the midfielder could be back in action before the upcoming international break, the United manager indicated he was in the dark, though had better news on Marcos Rojo:
“Again, I have no idea. Honestly. I am not in control of his recovery process. He is not training with me. He is on individual work. For example, Marcos Rojo is working with me, with certain conditions, and I would expect him to be ready to play after the international break. I can predict that. But Paul, I have no idea.”
It’s fair to say that Pogba’s absence has had a marked effect on the United attack.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan racked up five assists in the first four Gameweeks with Pogba in the frame but has mustered just one goal and no assists since his fellow midfielder was ruled out of action.
Up front, Romelu Lukaku netted four times in the opening four but has three goals in six without Pogba on the teamsheet.
Having served up three goals and two assists in the first four, a fully-fit Pogba would be good for both United and Fantasy managers – particularly as they host Newcastle and Brighton and travel to Watford in the three matches directly following the November break.
Revisiting Klopp’s Friday conference, we also received notice that he was hopeful that both Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane could be back in contention for Liverpool in the middle of next month.
“After the international break, I think Adam and Sadio are back. It will be close, so hopefully, they can train during the international break and be part of the normal training. I saw in the last hour them both with the fitness coaches on the pitch doing technical things and stuff like this, so it all looks good.”
Mane’s return, in particular, looks encouraging for the Reds’ attack. He was the only player in the Premier League to score in each of the first three Gameweeks prior to being sent off at Man City in Gameweek 4. Since then, he’s played just one match due to suspension or injury.
His return to the Reds’ front three would mean a move into a more withdrawn central berth for Coutinho once he’s fit. The Brazilian has mainly been deputising on the left of attack before missing out at Huddersfield.
Down to just 6% ownership, a fit-again Mane would become a major factor judging by the Reds’ post-November break schedule. With Southampton, Stoke, Brighton, Everton, West Brom and Bournemouth in six of the subsequent seven.
Finally, Pep Guardiola has suggested that Vincent Kompany’s latest stint on the sidelines could be about to come to an end.
The Belgian is on course to return after the November break, with his manager indicating that Kompany’s availability will allow him to rotate at centre-half once again:
“Of course we need Vincent and [Eliaquim] Mangala at a high level to give rest. John and Ota can’t play every game for the remaining eight or nine months, it’s impossible. That’s why we are lucky because in this month and a half they didn’t get injured, they didn’t suffer, I don’t know what happened. Last season in the last seven games, he was so important for us. Vincent was a key point for us last season, he helped us to be more solid, to win a lot of duels, one against one, his personality, and we need him. He needs to compete with John and Ota, and Manga, and like this we will get the best level for the team.”
Kompany played from start to finish in each of the first three Gameweeks, but his absence has allowed John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi to cement the spots in the heart of City’s defence.
The Argentine, in particular, has proven value for money over that period, serving up two goals and six assists to sit fourth among defenders.
Should Kompany finally find his way out of the treatment room, Kyle Walker – with four assists already – could be the safest route into Guardiola’s defence in light of the injury situation at full-back.
