We round up the key Fantasy Premier League (FPL) talking points of the day in FPL Daily, a series that services weekdays where there is no press conference round-up or Premier League match.
NO INTERNATIONAL DUTY FOR JAMES
Reece James (£6.2m) was among four players who withdrew from the England squad on Monday.
James, Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.5m), Aaron Ramsdale (£5.1m) and Roma’s Tammy Abraham have all pulled out of international duty because of fitness concerns.
Tyrick Mitchell (£4.5m), Kyle Walker-Peters (£4.8m), Ollie Watkins (£7.5m) and Sam Johnstone have been called up in their places.
James hasn’t been involved for Chelsea since sustaining a muscle injury in Gameweek 28 and wasn’t part of the squad that faced Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on Sunday, as he is yet to rejoin full team training.
Thomas Tuchel didn’t hide his feelings when asked about the full-back after that cup tie, although his below comments suggest that he’ll be in contention for Gameweek 31.
“The recommendation is that he does not go. He is still in individual training, otherwise we would have brought him to Lille and we would have brought him here for sure.
“There is no doubt about it. He needs one more week of rehabilitation and I think we can provide this much better. It is not the job of the national team to do this.” – Thomas Tuchel on Reece James
Ramsdale and Alexander-Arnold were both ruled out for “weeks” by their respective managers ahead of last weekend.
BOWEN LATEST
The plot thickened regarding Jarrod Bowen‘s (£6.8m) foot injury on Monday.
The winger sustained a fracture against Liverpool in Gameweek 28, with the prognosis at first sounding optimistic.
Fast-forward to now and not only has Bowen failed to feature in any West Ham United fixture since but he is also a major doubt for Gameweek 31.
David Moyes didn’t appear overly positive when asked about Bowen’s recovery on Sunday and now the Athletic report that the player is “facing a race against time” to be fit for the Hammers’ Europa League quarter-final meetings with Lyon, which fall either side of Gameweek 32.
RAPHINHA OUT OF BRAZIL SQUAD
Raphinha‘s (£6.5m) chances of featuring in Gameweek 31 may have been boosted by his omission from the Brazil squad.
The Leeds winger had been due to head to South America to hook up with his national team, which would have meant being in action with the Selecao on the Wednesday morning before the Gameweek 31 clash with Southampton.
The reason for Raphinha’s non-attendance, of course, is that he tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of Leeds’ trip to Molineux on Friday, which resulted in a no-show for the widely owned midfielder.
With isolation periods not as long as they were and there being over a fortnight for him to make a physical recovery from coronavirus, the hope is that he’ll be fit and rested for the visit of the Saints on April 2.
“Forward Raphinha, from Leeds United, and defender Gabriel Magalhães, from Arsenal, will not play for the Brazilian team at Granja Comary for the team’s next games against Chile and Bolivia.
“Raphinha tested positive for Covid-19 and, due to the isolation protocols, will not be able to travel to Brazil and perform for the period of training and games. Defender Gabriel Magalhães, on the other hand, is not injured. He got in touch with the coordinator of the Brazilian national team, Juninho Paulista, and with the coach Tite to tell him about the forecast of the birth of his first daughter for the next week. Understanding the importance of the moment for the player, he was called off.” – Brazil national team statement
