The start of the 2021/22 Premier League season is upon us, with Brentford v Arsenal kicking off Gameweek 1 on Friday.
The pre-match press conferences will take place up and down the country at the back-end of the week but this article takes an early look at the injury situation across the top flight, following a busy summer of international and pre-season football.
Our team news tab and injuries and bans page are the places to go for more information this week, with predicted line-ups gradually updated further as the pressers take place.
BRENTFORD v ARSENAL
Brentford boss Thomas Frank gave a positive fitness update on Ivan Toney (£6.5m) after Fantasy Premier League’s most-owned forward missed the Bees’ final pre-season match through injury.
Speaking after he witnessed his side see off Valencia 2-1, Frank said:
I don’t think there is almost anything that can keep him out of the game on Friday night [against Arsenal]. I’m sure he’ll be available and ready to play.
Josh Da Silva (£5.5m) is a longer-term absentee.
Thomas Partey (£5.0m), Gabriel Magalhaes (£5.0m) and Eddie Nketiah (£5.5m) were ruled out for “weeks” by the Gunners ahead of the north London derby at the weekend.
Rob Holding (£4.5m) “wasn’t fit enough” to feature against Spurs, meanwhile.
MANCHESTER UNITED V LEEDS UNITED
Edinson Cavani (£8.0m), Jadon Sancho (£9.5m), Dean Henderson (£5.0m) and Jesse Lingard (£7.0m) were all absent as Manchester United defeated Everton on Saturday, with the latter two having contracted Covid-19.
Solskjaer said of his missing players:
Jesse, he feels okay, and hopefully it’ll stay that way but when you get the positive test you’ve got to isolate even if you’re feeling well.
Dean, he was positive early on and then he’s negative in his testing but he’s not felt as energised or sharp as he has done. So he’s still fatigued and feeling the after-effects. So, you never know, you’ve seen so many effects of this virus, so he’s got a few days still to rest and then we’ll check up on him.
The medical with Raphael Varane [still] has to be done. He’s isolating at the moment. He had to wait for visas, so unfortunately that took a few more days than expected but we’re going to follow the protocols and the rules, so it’s taken a few more days than we hoped for.
Jadon is in for Monday and hopefully, then he’s in decent nick and can be involved [against Leeds].
Cavani, like Sancho, returns to training this week.
As for Leeds, Junior Firpo (£5.0m) and Diego Llorente (£4.5m) were absent on Saturday with supposedly minor issues, while Jamie Shackleton (£4.5m) – a right-back in pre-season – missed out with a head injury.
BURNLEY V BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Matt Lowton (£4.5m) has missed two pre-season matches in a row but should be back soon, with Sean Dyche revealing that the right-back has merely been isolating because a family member tested positive for coronavirus:
Someone in his family had Covid, he is clear, but we have to do the right thing.
Back-up options Kevin Long (£4.5m) and Dale Stephens (£4.5m) look set to miss the start of 2021/22.
Dan Burn (£4.5m), Tariq Lamptey (£4.5m) and Danny Welbeck (£6.0m) will sit out Gameweek 1, with Graham Potter saying of the latter:
Danny [Welbeck] felt his hamstring. We are just getting to the bottom of the extent of it. Obviously disappointing for us and for him. It looks like he is going to miss the start [of the season] at this stage but it is what it is.
CHELSEA V CRYSTAL PALACE
Nine Chelsea first-teamers have yet to have any pre-season involvement, a situation that has prompted the Blues to arrange a surprise additional friendly the day after their Premier League season begins.
Chelsea do have a Super Cup to contest on Wednesday before then, however.
Eberechi Eze (£6.0m) and Nathan Ferguson (£4.5m) are long-term absentees for Palace, while summer signing Michael Olise (£5.5m) hasn’t featured in pre-season due to a hip problem.
EVERTON V SOUTHAMPTON
James Ward-Prowse (£6.5m) remains a doubt for Gameweek 1, having sat out much of the Saints’ pre-season with a knee injury.
Ralph Hasenhuttl said:
It takes time. I’m not so sure that he (Ward-Prowse) makes the beginning, v Everton, but we will see. It is important that we have him back fully fit.
Everton were deprived of the services of Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£8.0m) and Richarlison (£7.5m) against Manchester United on Sunday, with the former suffering from a minor knock and the latter tasting Olympic Games success with Brazil.
Rafael Benitez hasn’t provided a recent update on either player to date.
Andre Gomes (£5.0m) and Jean-Philippe Gbamin were left out “as a precaution” against the Red Devils, meanwhile.
LEICESTER CITY V WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Wesley Fofana (£4.5m) has been ruled out until 2022 after fracturing his leg, while Jonny Evans (£5.5m) is seemingly targeting a Gameweek 4 comeback based on Brendan Rodgers’ recent comments.
James Justin (£5.0m) is a long-term absentee and Nampalys Mendy (£4.5m) looks set to miss the start of the season but Timothy Castagne (£5.5m) is back in training after being fitted with a mask.
Nelson Semedo (£5.0m) missed Wolverhampton Wanderers’ final pre-season friendly on Saturday but should be available for Gameweek 1.
The Portugal international was not involved in the Wolves squad against Celta Vigo after coming into contact with someone who had contracted Covid-19 but the Express and Star report that his isolation period will end ahead of the clash with Leicester City.
Willy Boly (£5.0m) and Yerson Mosquera (£4.5m) look set to miss the start of 2021/22 with hamstring problems, meanwhile.
Pedro Neto (£6.5m), Daniel Podence (£5.5m) and Jonny (£4.5m) are longer-term absentees.
WATFORD V ASTON VILLA
Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) hobbled off just after half-time of Aston Villa’s weekend win over Salernitana, appearing to hold his thigh muscle in some discomfort.
New signing Emiliano BuendÃa (£6.5m) was also watching from the stands in that game as he continues to deal with a minor hip injury.
No official update has emerged from the club on either player just yet.
Trezeguet (£5.5m) is a long-term absentee, with Morgan Sanson (£5.0m) also yet to play a part in pre-season.
Keinan Davis (£4.5m) and Frederic Guilbert (£4.5m) have picked up problems in recent warm-up games, meanwhile.
Domingos Quina (£4.5m) was expected to return to full training last week after recovering from a thigh injury.
NORWICH CITY V LIVERPOOL
Andrew Robertson‘s (£7.0m) scan on an ankle injury hasn’t revealed any serious damage but ligament damage has been diagnosed, which will mean a spell on the sidelines for the Liverpool left-back.
Jurgen Klopp said on Monday:
It could have been much worse. It will not be too long. I’m not sure if it will be before the international break or after it but, as I say, I think we got lucky.
An outbreak of coronavirus has seriously affected Norwich’s pre-season preparations.
Daniel Farke discussed the situation after full-time of the recent friendly defeat at Newcastle and provided an update on Todd Cantwell (£5.5m):
Our situation in the last two weeks has been a difficult one. It was difficult to be really competitive today, we’ve only had ten players who’ve been ready to go for 90 minutes.
These were the ten players in the starting line-up. On the bench, we had Teemu Pukki who is just since yesterday back in team training and not ready for 90 minutes and Kenny McLean who’s been out for 12 weeks and has been struggling with his back this week.
We had Jacob Lungi Sorensen as well who’s only just back from Covid. He has many symptoms and is only just on his way to finding his legs back.
In the second half, I think some of the players were a bit tired. We’ve been giving lots of minutes to players, more than I would have liked.
The only thing that matters is that we are there when the real stuff begins. I’m quite pleased that we had this test today, it was important for Teemu, Kenny and Jacob to get some minutes under their belt.
Todd had a knock yesterday in training and rolled his ankle. We have to wait, he’ll be out for a few days. Hopefully, he’s available for the weekend.
We have some good news with the Covid situation. No new cases in the last ten days, all the players who’ve been isolating will be back next week.
We are in a much better position, but it’s not easy. When I think about Milot Rashica, he’s missed four games now and for a new player, it’s not great. Grant Hanley as well, he hasn’t played a game yet.
NEWCASTLE UNITED V WEST HAM UNITED
The still-unpriced Freddie Woodman is now seemingly favourite to start the season between the posts for Newcastle, with Karl Darlow (£4.5m) only just back in training following hospitalisation with coronavirus and Martin Dubravka (£4.5m) sidelined through injury.
Callum Wilson (£7.5m) and Allan Saint-Maximin (£6.5m) recovered from injury and illness respectively to play a part in Newcastle United’s final pre-season friendly on Saturday, leaving Paul Dummett (£4.5m) – who has a calf problem – as the only senior outfielder who remains a concern for Gameweek 1.
Angelo Ogbonna (£4.5m) is a sizeable doubt for the clash with Newcastle because of a hamstring issue, while Arthur Masuaku (£4.5m) has yet to feature in pre-season at senior level as he builds fitness following a knee injury.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR V MANCHESTER CITY
Nuno Espirito Santo revealed on Sunday that new signing Cristian Romero (£5.0m) didn’t feature in the north London derby because of a knee injury:
He didn’t train yet with the group, it is true. He finished the last game with a problem. It is much better now but we have to be very careful first, not take any chances. Like all the players, we have to manage a lot of aspects until we decide to put the player on the pitch. But he is here, he looks good. When he starts training in a normal way, he will become an option.
The new Spurs also mysteriously revealed that Tanguy Ndombele (£6.0m) is “not injured” despite not being up for selection and was his usual enigmatic self when asked if Harry Kane (£12.5m) is to be involved in Gameweek 1:
All the players that are in the squad that work on a daily basis will be options for us. Then it’s up to us to decide.
Eight City players haven’t tasted any pre-season action, with Kevin De Bruyne (£12.0m) and Phil Foden (£8.0m) major doubts for Gameweek 1 through injury.
