Uncertainty still surrounds the availability of several widely owned Fantasy Premier League assets this evening, with the Thursday and Friday press conferences not providing the unambiguous injury updates we had yearned for.
The 9% of FPL managers who own Luke Shaw (£5.1m) have had a rollercoaster week with one media report contradicting the other regarding his recovery from a concussion, and Friday was no different.
Jose Mourinho had effectively given Shaw the all-clear in his press conference earlier today, stating that the Manchester United medical department had declared him available for selection.
Mourinho himself, however, said that he “didn’t know” whether he would pick Shaw for the trip to Vicarage Road tomorrow and reports in the press this afternoon suggested the England full-back was not with the travelling party heading to Watford.
Those FPL bosses sitting on Ryan Fraser (£5.6m), Theo Walcott (£6.7m) and Wilfried Zaha (£7.0m) also face a nervous wait once the Gameweek 5 deadline passes, with little clear-cut information being offered by their respective club managers in the press gatherings today and yesterday.
Fraser picked up a hamstring injury while on duty with the Scottish national team over the international break and wasn’t pictured in training as of Wednesday this week.
Eddie Howe said Fraser was a concern for Saturday, though had been working with the club’s medical team in a bid to recover. Charlie Daniels (£4.5m) meanwhile hasn’t trained with the Cherries all week and is a big doubt for the visit of Leicester City.
Walcott and Zaha, at least, have been training with their respective clubs, though Roy Hodgson and Marco Silva stopped short of declaring their players 100% fit ahead of the weekend.
Silva claimed Walcott was “in contention” to play, while Hodgson said on Thursday that he would make a late decision on whether Zaha and James Tomkins (£4.4m) would feature against Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
Everton’s injury crisis at least shows signs of abating, with Bernard (£5.9m) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.4m) now available for selection – though Seamus Coleman (£5.4m) will be out for “one or two weeks”.
There was mixed news for three other England players injured before or during the international break, with Raheem Sterling (£11.0m) declared fit by Pep Guardiola earlier today but Dele Alli (£9.1m) and Adam Lallana (£6.9m) ruled out by their respective managers.
Mauricio Pochettino also confirmed that Hugo Lloris (£5.5m) would be out for “several weeks” with a thigh injury.
There was little to report concerning Chelsea’s likely starting XI against Cardiff City tomorrow, though Maurizio Sarri did suggest that Cesc Fabregas (£6.3m) may be fit enough for a place on the bench at Stamford Bridge.
Unai Emery’s press conference on Thursday was also thin on injury updates, though the Arsenal manager was quick to rubbish any rumours of a tiff with Mesut Ozil (£8.3m) – speculation that owners of Henrikh Mkhitaryan (£7.2m) might have hoped was true.
Arsenal are up against Newcastle United tomorrow, whose manager Rafael Benitez confirmed that Jonjo Shelvey (£5.4m) and Matt Ritchie (£5.9m) have recovered from their respective injuries to come back into contention.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson (£5.9m) and Stephen Ward (£4.9m) were declared fit to play against Wolves by Sean Dyche today, while his counterpart in the opposite dugout on Sunday – Nuno Espirito Santo – asserted that his returning international players were all “healthy”: good news for those worried about Raul Jimenez (£5.5m).
Jack Wilshere (£4.9m) was ruled out of West Ham’s trip to Everton with an ankle injury, meanwhile.
Neil Warnock was his usual loquacious self, effectively confirming that Danny Ward (a £4.5m-rated midfielder in FPL) and Bobby Reid (£5.4m) were his first-choice strike pairing for the time being.
Tom Cairney (£4.9m) remains out for Fulham, while Adama Diakhaby (£4.9m) is a minor doubt for Huddersfield. The Terriers’ goalkeeper Ben Hamer (£4.0m), however, appears to be back in contention to compete for Jonas Lossl‘s (£4.5m) starting spot.
Charlie Austin (£5.8m) and Shane Long (£4.9m) are minor doubts for Southampton, though Mark Hughes was more upbeat when discussing Danny Ings‘ (£5.6m) blister problems.
The Saints’ opponents on Monday night, Brighton, might have Florin Andone (£5.0m) – a potential threat to Glenn Murray (£6.5m) in the medium term – available for selection for the first time this season. There was no update provided by Chris Hughton about the knock picked up by Pascal Gross (£6.9m) in Gameweek 4, however.
There was little to report from Javi Gracia and Claude Puel’s pressers, though Caglar Soyuncu (£5.0m) is now fit and available for selection at centre-back for the Foxes.
More in-depth injury updates and predicted line-ups can be found in our Team News tab.
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