Optimism surrounding Harry Kane’s recovery from injury gathers momentum, Arsenal’s squad continues to be replenished, and the international break delivers mixed messages on the Liverpool defence.
There’s a growing confidence that Kane could be back in action sooner than initially thought – and it’s coming from the man himself, albeit via England manager Gareth Southgate.
The Spurs striker’s ankle injury, picked up in the Gameweek 30 win at Bournemouth, sent a large chunk of his then-2.7 million Fantasy Premier League (FPL) owners back to the drawing board just as Wildcard season took off.
Spurs own statement made on March 14 was vague on his recovery time.
“The England striker sustained the injury following a challenge in our 4-1 win against Bournemouth on Sunday and is expected to return to First Team training next month.”
Many took that to indicate that he could return for the Gameweek 34’s double with Man City and Brighton at the earliest. But that prognosis might be a little pessimistic.
Southgate had this to say on Kane’s prognosis in England press conference on Monday:
“I don’t know exactly when he’ll be back, but he’s confident it will be sooner rather than later. For exact timescales, you’d have to speak to the medical team at Spurs. I’d imagine he’d be back fairly quickly.”
Indeed, the England manager was recently pictured in conversation with Kane at Hotspur Way, with the striker free of his leg brace. Some local press even indicate that the striker will have targeted a return for the Gameweek 32 clash with Chelsea.
For those holding off on Wildcarding until Gameweek 33, news of Kane’s availability would represent a major game-changer.
Many have ditched the forward – his ownership has now dipped below 30% – and opted, perhaps temporarily, for team-mate Son Heung-min. The South Korean will doubtless take over the lone striker role in Kane’s absence and scored a brace from that position at the Vitality Stadium.
Son is the most bought midfielder ahead of this weekend’s return of domestic action, with form (four goals in two Gameweeks) more than fixtures (che stk MCI & bha blank) on his side.
But should Kane be fit enough to return to action before Double Gameweek 34, the security of pitch-time offered by Christian Eriksen could see him usurp Son in our thinking, particularly for the kindly run-in (WAT wba LEI) that follows a Gameweek 35 blank.
If Spurs, as expected, be handed a home meeting with Newcastle added to the trip to West Brom in Double Gameweek 37, Kane will be a compelling Triple Captain option, making him almost essential for the closing fixtures.
Any news from Spurs’ medical staff will be even more eagerly awaited now, with later Wildcarders afforded the luxury of extra time before they need to make a potentially crucial decision regarding their forward lines. At present, Romelu Lukaku and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang are the main beneficiaries up front, sitting first and second respectively for transfers in ahead of Gameweek 32.
Those with Wildcards currently active will surely either be reserving funds or making plans for a one or two-trade swap ahead of the Double Gameweek.
Arsenal squad swells
Striker Alexandre Lacazette is back in training for Arsenal following a knee operation that has kept him sidelined since mid-February.
Arguably, the news is of more consequence to the Gunners’ Europa League aspirations than our FPL plans, with fellow forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – ineligible in Europe – still the main domestic draw among their frontmen.
Tellingly, the Frenchman was afforded just 25 minutes off the bench in the two league matches after Aubameyang joined before he succumbed to injury. Once fully fit, then, Lacazette may have to settle for minutes on the flank instead.
Alex Iwobi could be the candidate to make way in such a scenario – the Nigerian international has started six of Arsenal’s last eight league matches in a 4-2-3-1 set-up.
More will be revealed when Arsene Wenger announces his side for Sunday’s visit from Stoke City, with next Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final first leg against CSKA Moscow a major factor in who he uses domestically.
Wenger now has close to a full squad from which to choose.
Aaron Ramsey is also training following a minor operation that kept him out of Wales’ international duties, while Mesut Ozil is another expected to be in contention for Sunday after he left the Germany squad, for reasons yet unclear, following their 1-1 draw with Spain on Friday.
However, the pair trail behind Henrikh Mkhitaryan as our favoured Arsenal midfielder for a very favourable run-in that sees them face just one top six between now and the end of the season.
Reds defence in flux
The withdrawal of Liverpool’s Joe Gomez from the England squad with an ankle issue should be good news for the 3.8% of FPL managers with Trent Alexander-Arnold in their sides.
Gomez limped off early in England’s win in the Netherlands on Friday and returned to his club over the weekend, with reports indicating he could now be sidelined for a month
That should mean Alexander-Arnold takes over right-back duties when the Reds travel to Crystal Palace in Gameweek 33.
But there is a chance that another England man, Nathaniel Clyne, returns at full-back instead.
The former Southampton defender has returned to full training after missing the entire season to date with a back problem.
Alexander-Arnold, at 4.3, is a much more attractive Fantasy option than Clyne (5.3), although the lack of double Gameweeks to come for Liverpool might make the point moot anyway.
The Reds’ schedule (cry eve BOU wba STK che BHA) is strong but limited, leaving Mohamed Salah as the one stand-out option, with Roberto Firmino also currently popular – he’s Gameweek 32’s fifth most bought player, with 76,000+ new owners.
But centre-half Virgil van Dijk reminded us all of his potential for points at both ends of the pitch with his first international goal for the Dutch in their 3-0 win over Portugal last night.
He played the full match, and club-mate Georginio Wijnaldum 68 minutes, in the friendly held in Geneva.
Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake and Brighton midfielder Davy Propper started and finished the match for the Netherlands, with Timothy Fosu-Mensah handed six minutes at the end and his Palace team-mate Patrick van Aanholt an unused sub.
Leicester City playmaker Adrien Silva played the first half for the Portuguese, while Southampton’s Cedric Soares and Man City midfielder Bernardo Silva watched on from the bench.
Full shifts for the Welsh
Spurs Ben Davies’ 23.1% ownership makes him the second most popular defender in FPL.
That 1.4+ million base won’t have been overly thrilled to see the left-back play 90 minutes for Wales in their 1-0 China Cup final loss to Uruguay yesterday.
Davies, who was subbed off in stoppage time, also played 70 minutes in Thursday’s win over hosts China and the long round-trip to the Far East, plus 160 minutes of pitch-time, is hardly ideal preparation for a vital Gameweek 32 clash at Chelsea. On the upside, though, the Stamford Bridge encounter won’t take place until 4 pm on Sunday.
Davies’ rival for left-back duties, Danny Rose, played 71 minutes for England on Friday and might well feature again tonight at home to Italy.
New Wales manager Ryan Giggs also handed starts to Wayne Hennessey, Ashley Williams, Joe Allen and Andy King against the Uruguayans.
All played the full match, while Burnley striker Sam Vokes was given 67 minutes.
Elsewhere, Southampton’s Mario Lemina played 79 minutes for Gabon in their 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates on Sunday.
Heaton ready for action
Burnley’s Tom Heaton has discussed his recent injury comeback after another outing for the reserves earlier in the week.
The Clarets’ skipper has now made four 90-minute appearances since stepping up his comeback and, ahead of a schedule that hands Sean Dyche’s men five matches in the next four Gameweeks, reckons he is now finally fit to challenge Nick Pope for the role between the posts.
“I’m ready to go really. It’s my fourth 90 minutes. Each one is a step done, and I felt really good today.
It’s been a few long, hard months in the gym and in the physio room, so I’m delighted to be back out on the grass, and I think that sort of ticks the box in playing games now.
I’ll probably speak to the manager and to the physios, but in terms of where I feel, I feel sharp and ready to go, and the arm feels superb.”
Pope sits third in the FPL keeper standings on 131 points and is currently the third most bought stopper ahead of Gameweek 32. Given his fixtures – with two home meetings in Gameweek 34 – he would be primed for further investment but the threat from Heaton raises real concern.
Clarets’ boss Sean Dyche faces a major dilemma, with the World Cup hopes of both keepers in his hands. Pope’s performances justify his starting role, though one notable error or a heavy defeat would surely trigger a change with club skipper Heaton reclaiming the berth.
