Our weekly press conference summary rounds up the headline injury news and stand-out manager quotes from the pre-match conference calls.
Manchester City v Arsenal
Kevin De Bruyne (muscle) will miss the visit of Arsenal this weekend and could be out for a little while longer, with boss Pep Guardiola saying of the Belgian:
I don’t think it’s much but next games I think will be out. But we will see, day by day, how he is going on. I don’t know [how long], I cannot answer this question because I don’t know.
The Telegraph report that De Bruyne may be out for two weeks.
There was no mention of Raheem Sterling (hamstring) in the broadcast section of Guardiola’s conference call, although the City boss did say that De Bruyne was the only player returning from international duty with an injury.
Guardiola also offered updates on Gabriel Jesus (leg) and Sergio Aguero (knee), with the latter a possibility to return this weekend:
[Aguero is] training well, I’m very happy. Trained the last three or four days. Happy to see him back on the pitch.
[Gabriel] has an injury in the front part of his leg where if he reinjures, we will lose him for a long, long time. I don’t know [if he’ll be back for the Champions League].
Arsenal have yet to issue their weekly medical bulletin following Mikel Arteta’s presser on Thursday.
The Gunners’ head coach was asked about whether Kieran Tierney could play this weekend, despite fears that he would have to self-isolate for 14 days:
I hope so. We are still having some discussions with the authorities and hopefully we will know more this afternoon.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had pulled out of the Gabon squad with an ankle injury but the withdrawal was a precautionary one and he has since been spotted on the training ground.
Everton v Liverpool
Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina look to be injury-free despite having been fitness concerns while on international duty.
Carlo Ancelotti reported a clean bill of health but did warn that tiredness could factor into his thinking this weekend:
No [injury] news, I think all the players are available. It’s true that they travelled, they played, but they came back in good condition and they are all available for tomorrow.
Maybe they are a little bit tired so this could be a consideration when choosing the line-up and also to see what happens during the game.
Sadio Mane and Thiago Alcantara (both COVID-19) have been back in training this week and they, along with Joel Matip, are in contention for the Merseyside derby.
Leicester City v Aston Villa
Leicester have a number of injury headaches ahead of Gameweek 5, with Cağlar Söyüncü (abductor) joining Daniel Amartey (hamstring), Wilfred Ndidi (adductor) and Ricardo Pereira (ACL) on the sidelines.
Jamie Vardy (calf), Jonny Evans (abdominal) and Dennis Praet (knee) will be assessed too, although James Maddison (hip) is in contention to feature.
Brendan Rodgers said:
We think that Çağs will most definitely be out with an abductor strain, so we’re waiting on the scan on that. We think that he is definitely out for a number of weeks, but until we get the final scans, that will determine the length of time.
We’ll see how Wes Morgan is also and then we’ll assess it over the next 24 hours. Wes has had some issues with his lower back, but we’re hoping, if he’s required, he’ll be available to play.
Jonny has come back with abdominal pain, so again, we’ll review that. We’re hopeful that Jonny will be okay and that would obviously be a great bonus for the team.
Vards has an issue around his calf, so we’re awaiting a scan on that. Dennis Praet, obviously, has gone away and done some work with Belgium, so we’ll see how he is, but he’ll be a doubt.
On the flip side, Dean Smith hasn’t reported any fresh injury concerns for Aston Villa.
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
Most of Spurs’ returning international contingent have come back unscathed but Eric Dier has a hamstring injury that, according to his manager, could “maybe but not definitely” rule him out this weekend.
Giovani Lo Celso (thigh) and Japhet Tanganga (unspecified) will miss out but Gareth Bale (fitness) could feature for the first time since his move from Real Madrid, with Jose Mourinho saying:
It’s a physical thing. He didn’t have any pre-season and even in the period after the lockdown, he didn’t participate in much with Real Madrid.
Then he plays a couple of matches with Wales and he had an injury there. So it’s not just about coming and needing a week of work to be at the level. It’s more global than that. We don’t want him to be rushed. We want him to feel comfortable, we want him to make the decision of ‘yes I’m ready, yes I’m ready to go’.
It’s more about that… but he’s working so well. It’s just evolution in everything, in every data and in every aspect of his condition. He’s there, he’s there. Probably he plays Sunday, if he doesn’t he will on Thursday, but he’s there, he’s very, very close.
The Spurs head coach later confirmed, in less-than-shocking news, that Harry Kane would start against the Hammers.
The broadcast section of David Moyes’ pre-match presser was ludicrously short but the West Ham boss was later quoted as saying:
Ryan Fredericks is back in training, Issa Diop is back in training. We’ve got everyone back fit now.
We’ll check the boys who have come back from international duty, a few have come back from a bit further afield, so we’ll just check that they’re all fine over the next few days, but we’re in a good place at the moment.
Arthur Masuaku had pulled out of the DR Congo squad but his withdrawal was said to be precautionary.
Newcastle United v Manchester United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reported that Harry Maguire picked up a knock during England’s game against Denmark on Wednesday and will be assessed before the match against Newcastle this weekend.
Edinson Cavani (quarantine) and Anthony Martial (suspended) will definitely miss out.
Speaking of the availability of Maguire and his new signings:
[Maguire] picked up a knock just before he came off, so I’m hopeful that he will be fit. We had a look at him yesterday and will give him a test today.
Alex [Telles] came in yesterday, did his recovery after a long, long flight from Sao Paulo, having come on twice for Brazil. We’re looking forward to integrating him.
Edinson has still not been with the group because of his quarantine.
Allan Saint-Maximin, Jamaal Lascelles and Jamal Lewis are both expected to be available for the Magpies, while Ciaran Clark, Matty Longstaff and Paul Dummett will build up their match fitness with run-outs for the under-23s.
Chelsea v Southampton
Edouard Mendy (thigh) and Thiago Silva (fatigue) will not feature in Gameweek 5 but Frank Lampard reported good news elsewhere ahead of the visit of Southampton:
Mendy won’t be fit for the match tomorrow, we hope the injury is not too long. Thiago Silva after his trip [to Brazil] and back, he’s not unfit but he’s not ready to play the game. So he won’t be in the squad.
Ben Chilwell is in the squad. Christian Pulisic is in the squad and fit to play. Hakim Ziyech is in the squad, not fit to start but fit to participate some minutes, we hope.
Ralph Hasenhüttl will be without Stuart Armstrong (illness) and Moussa Djenepo (hamstring) for Southampton’s trip to Chelsea on Saturday.
Armstrong has been self-isolating since testing positive for COVID-19 on international duty with Scotland, while Djenepo picked up a hamstring problem in the 2-0 win over West Brom in Gameweek 4.
Hasenhuttl said of Armstrong:
I do not think that he will be an option for the weekend. He couldn’t train with us, was in quarantine. Normally you have to work for one week to be part of [a Premier League game]. It’s a pity that he is out now. Hope he can be back Friday or Saturday and then can start training the beginning of next week to be an option for next weekend.
Leeds United v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Marcelo Bielsa confirmed that Pablo Hernandez is fit to face Wolves on Monday, while new signing Raphinha is expected to be in the squad.
Liam Cooper is touch and go with a muscle problem, however, while Diego Llorente (muscle) and Adam Forshaw (hip) are out.
Marcal (calf) is back in contention for the visitors but Nuno Espirito Santo did warn of some “problems” with his international contingent:
We have players that came from national teams with problems that we have to deal with, assess and manage.
Fortunately, players that were here, like Marcal, are starting with the team already, the first sessions with the team.
It’s about trying to balance everybody so that we can have a full squad in these moments.
Crystal Palace v Brighton and Hove Albion
Graham Potter said of Brighton’s fitness latest on Thursday:
Tariq [Lamptey] has trained today so we’ll see how he responds to that.
Jose [Izquierdo] has been training with the group and he benefitted from some game-time with the under-23s the other week, so we might see if we can do the same again this weekend.
Davy [Propper], we just wanted to take it easy with him. He has trained this week as well so again, we’ll see what the reaction is towards the back-end of the week before we make a decision over the weekend.
Roy Hodgson revealed that Crystal Palace are assessing Wayne Hennessey after the goalkeeper picked up a muscle injury over the international break.
James McCarthy is out with a hamstring problem, meanwhile.
There were no further updates on Gary Cahill, James Tomkins and Patrick van Aanholt, all of whom were close to fitness even before the international break and who have all been in training.
Jeffrey Schlupp (muscle) has also rejoined the squad.
West Bromwich Albion v Burnley
Jack Cork (ankle), Ben Mee (thigh) and Matthew Lowton (knock) will again be missing for Burnley, with Johann Berg Gudmundsson (groin) and Bailey Peacock-Farrell (hip) to be assessed ahead of the meeting with West Brom.
Jay Rodriguez is back in contention after an ankle problem, however.
Slaven Bilic expects Hal Robson-Kanu to be out for between four and five weeks with a broken arm.
West Brom are still waiting to hear if Callum Robinson can play, with the striker having had to self-isolate over the international break.
Fulham v Sheffield United
Much like West Brom with Robinson, Sheffield United are waiting on news on whether John Egan can feature after his spell in self-isolation.
Chris Wilder also reported “a couple of injury issues with boys from international duty”, which could include David McGoldrick (muscle), John Fleck (back) and Oliver Burke (knock).
Scott Parker says that Joachim Anderson will be out for the “foreseeable future” after sustaining ankle ligament damage, with Kenny Tete (calf) also sidelined for the next few weeks.
Mario Lemina is fit again but Gameweek 5 looks to have come too soon for Harrison Reed (unspecified).
More detailed information and predicted line-ups can be found in the Team News tab, which will be refreshed before the Gameweek 5 deadline at 11:00 BST on Saturday.
Keep an eye on our Twitter feed, too, for any late-breaking updates.
A video round-up with Andy and Neale can be viewed below:
3 years, 6 months agoCaptain Werner anyone?