We’ve got all the team news so far for Gameweek 11 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) in our first injury round-up of the pre-match press conferences.
There have only been five Premier League managers facing the media on Thursday, so we’re likely to hear from the rest tomorrow; Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers will also deliver his pre-Gameweek 11 briefing after full-time in tonight’s clash with Spartak Moscow but the “Leeds” section of that press conference will likely be embargoed until Friday.
Thomas Tuchel also won’t hold his virtual conference call until Friday but Mason Mount has been sighted back in training today following his recent illness-related absence.
We’ll summarise the key updates from Thursday’s pressers involving the managers of Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton and Hove Albion, Burnley and Southampton in the article below.
Don’t forget to keep checking our Predicted Line-ups page and Injuries and Bans tab, which will be gradually refreshed between now and Friday’s Fantasy Premier League (FPL) deadline.
BRENTFORD
Bryan Mbeumo (hamstring) appears to have a very good chance of returning to the Brentford starting XI this weekend after a hamstring injury resulted in an unused substitute’s role in the defeat at Burnley.
“If everything goes well tomorrow (in training) he should be OK to start.” – Thomas Frank on Bryan Mbeumo
Kristoffer Ajer (hamstring) has joined Mads Sorensen (knee), Josh DaSilva (hip), Shandon Baptiste (shoulder), Yoane Wissa (ankle) and David Raya (knee) on the injury list, however, and looks set for up to two months out.
“He got a hamstring injury. I don’t know exactly how long, but a fair amount of weeks. We are probably more likely speaking mid to late December or maybe the start of January depending on how well it is going. In these cases, I like to be surprised, so let’s say out until January and then hope for a miracle.” – Thomas Frank on Kristoffer Ajer
SOUTHAMPTON
Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed that Armando Broja will be available for the Friday night clash with Aston Villa, leaving just Jack Stephens (knee) on the sidelines.
“He’s back, he’s available for the weekend. The rest, apart from Jack Stephens, are also fit. Moussa [Djenepo] is also back.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl
That presumedly means that Nathan Redmond is up for selection, too, despite the winger not being seen in training ground images in midweek.
Broja’s return adds to the rotation risk status of Adam Armstrong and Che Adams, both of whom were mentioned by their manager in Thursday’s presser.
“It was important for him after not playing, because Broja was in the first XI, to show up immediately. He did it. This is a good reaction, I must say.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl on Che Adams scoring two in two
“It’s only a question of time when he will score again. In the last game, he had a few very good moments, a few inches missing. I believe in our attacking game at the moment.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl on Adam Armstrong
ASTON VILLA
We’re still not 100% sure what is wrong with Danny Ings and Douglas Luiz, with Dean Smith only reporting “few soft-tissue injuries and a couple of Covid-related issues” when referring to Villa’s myriad absences last weekend, but we do know that the pair remain on the sidelines for Friday’s clash with Southampton.
Ezri Konsa (suspended), Bertrand Traore (thigh) and long-term absentee Trezeguet (knee) are also out but Jacob Ramsey has made a swifter-than-expected recovery from an ankle sprain, and Morgan Sanson and Jaden Philogene-Bidace have returned to training this week following illnesses.
“JJ (Jacob Ramsey) will be available. He trained yesterday and it wasn’t as bad an ankle sprain as we thought. He had a full training session yesterday, so he’s available for selection.
“Morgan Sanson and Jaden Philogene-Bidace are back training with us. Danny Ings, Douglas Luiz and Bertrand Traore are still out. Ezri Konsa has had his appeal upheld, so he’ll be missing as well.
“Morgan Sanson coming back is good for us. Whether he’s fit enough to start is something we’ll have to weigh up.” – Dean Smith
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Dan Burn (knee) has an “outside chance” of featuring against Newcastle United this weekend but other than long-term absentees Danny Welbeck (hamstring) and Steven Alzate (ankle), Albion have no other injury concerns.
“Dan Burn is not definitely out, he’s made really good progress, so we need to see a little bit this afternoon and maybe tomorrow – there’s an outside chance of him being involved. No fresh problems from the weekend. Danny Welbeck is making really good progress, as is Steven Alzate, but won’t be ready for the game. Apart from that, we’re OK.” – Graham Potter
Aaron Connolly missed the Liverpool game last weekend after a heel problem affected his training time but his omission from the Ireland squad isn’t injury-related.
“I agree that the performance [against Liverpool] was good. We need to also acknowledge that it’s a completely different game. You have to factor that in. We’re at home, we’re playing Newcastle, and they bring a different challenge than Liverpool at Anfield – so you have to take that into consideration.” – Graham Potter when asked if he would name the same team as last Saturday
BURNLEY
Dale Stephens (ankle) is Burnley’s only definite absentee for the clash with Chelsea, although Aaron Lennon will be assessed for an illness ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge.
“Dale Stephens is not ready yet, he needs some game-time but he’s back on the grass and training with us regularly. Aaron Lennon’s got a bit of illness, so we’ll wait and see if he’s available. Everyone else is looking good.” – Sean Dyche
