We’ve got a very busy day of press conferences ahead of us – and this will be the place to get all the relevant Gameweek 8 team news.
There are 17 Premier League managers facing the media on Friday, hopefully clearing up the lingering concerns we have about flagged players after the international break.
As ever, we’ll be bringing you the latest key team news updates in this ‘live’ article. Keep checking back throughout the day for the latest updates.
For the headline updates from Thursday’s three other pressers, click here.
GAMEWEEK 8: KEY INJURY UPDATES FROM FRIDAY’S PRESSERS
- Chelsea: Palmer out for six more weeks, Neto, Enzo + Caicedo doubts, James fit, Badiashile out
- Arsenal: Odegaard out for “weeks”, Zubimendi fine
- Liverpool: Gravenberch + Konate expected to be fit, Alisson still out, Slot on Isak
- Manchester City: Rodri out, Marmoush + Ait-Nouri “much better”
- Newcastle United: Wissa on the grass, Hall latest, Joelinton a minor concern
- Bournemouth: Brooks injury, Iraola on Senesi
- Aston Villa: Watkins, Sancho + Buendia set to be fit, Mings close
- Tottenham Hotspur: Kolo Muani fit, Solanke nearing return, Bissouma out
- Manchester United: Mazrouai a doubt, Amorim explains Bruno training absence
- Nottingham Forest: Luiz, Zinchenko + Murillo all fit, nothing on Wood
- Fulham: Robinson, Lukic + Muniz out, Raul, Tete + Chukwueze doubts
- Brighton and Hove Albion: Gruda out, Mitoma + Veltman doubts, Gomez should be fine
- Everton: Grealish ineligible, Dewsbury-Hall returns, Branthwaite on the grass
- Crystal Palace: No fresh concerns, Riad return pushed back 1-2 weeks
- Brentford: Hickey trains, Milambo ACL, Nunes returns
- West Ham United: Fullkrug scan results awaited, Soucek returns from ban
- Wolverhampton Wanderers: Doubts over Hee-chan + Bellegarde, Toti trains
GAMEWEEK 8 PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES
🚨 Friday's FPL Press Conferences!
🕊️ 9am – Hurzeler
🍒 9am – Iraola
🔴 9am – Slot
🧿 9.30am – Maresca
⚫ 9.30am – Howe
⭕ 10am – Arteta
🍬 10am – Moyes
🔵 12.30pm – Guardiola
🐺 1pm – Pereira
🐝 1.30pm – Andrews
🦅 1.30pm – Glasner
⬜ 1.30pm – Silva
👹 1.30pm – Amorim
🌳… pic.twitter.com/YYcxekJS3D— Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) October 17, 2025
CHELSEA
Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Cole Palmer will be out for another six weeks as his battle to recover from a groin injury drags on.
“Unfortunately, he needs to be out probably six more weeks.
“Yes [it’s still the case that he does not need surgery], absolutely. We try just to protect Cole as much as we can and the most important thing is that when he comes back, he is fully fit.
“Yeah [we are confident that this will rectify the problem] but unfortunately the medical staff, they are not magicians, you never know that. Probably you need six weeks. We hope that six weeks, they are enough, but it’s a problem that we need to see step by step, week after week, but for sure, he’s going to be okay.
There are also concerns about Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, none of whom trained on Thursday.
“Moi [Caicedo], Enzo [Fernandez], Pedro [Neto], they didn’t take part in the session yesterday, and we’ll see if they can train today, otherwise they’re going to be out for tomorrow.” – Enzo Maresca
Meanwhile, Benoit Badiashile (muscle) has joined Levi Colwill (knee), Dario Essugo (thigh) and Liam Delap (hamstring) on the injury list.
“We have Levi [Colwill] and Liam [Delap], they are still out. Unfortunately, Benoit [Badiashile] will be out until December, injury again.“A muscle problem. He was doing fantastic, he showed how good he is, he showed how he needed, and we’re going to wait for him.
Mykhail Mudryk remains suspended.
In better news, Reece James is “fully fit” despite withdrawing from England duty with a shin wound.
Trevoh Chalobah (suspension), Wesley Fofana (concussion), Tosin Adarabioyo (calf) and Andriy Santos (unspecified) return, too.
“Tosin is back, [Wesley] Fofana is back, Andrey Santos is back, but at the same time we have unfortunately Enzo doubt, Moi doubt, Pedro doubt. It’s a little bit of a balance, but again, we’re going to try our best to find the right solution for the next games.” – Enzo Maresca
ARSENAL
Mikel Arteta confirmed what we knew already: Martin Odegaard (knee) will be out for “weeks” with the injury he sustained in Gameweek 7.
“It will be weeks, no definite date for his return but he is evolving well. Very unlucky what’s happening with him and his injuries this season but yeah, I think he will be back in a few weeks.” – Mikel Arteta on Martin Odegaard
Noni Madueke (knee), Kai Havertz (knee) and Gabriel Jesus (knee) also remain unavailable.
Martin Zubimendi is fine, despite watching Thursday’s open training session from the sidelines.
“All the players come from different countries, different amounts of games and minutes played. We believe [giving him a rest] was the right thing to do. He played two games again, his load has been really high recently, and he needed an extra day.
“He will be available, yes.” – Mikel Arteta on Martin Zubimendi
Ben White was absent from that session completely but it sounds like a similar situation.
”Very similar [to Zubimendi], we are monitoring all the players and giving a specific menu to each of them to make sure that they are in the best condition.” – Mikel Arteta on Ben White
Piero Hincapie (groin) should be okay, too, having also been sighted.
“He will be training today again with us and if everything is right, he will be available.” – Mikel Arteta on Piero Hincapie
LIVERPOOL
It’s seemingly good news on two of the regular starters who had injury scares over the break.
Ibrahima Konate (thigh) came off in Gameweek 7 after he “felt his quad”, failing to get off the bench for France in their first World Cup qualifier before exiting Les Bleus’ camp early with the same injury.
Ryan Gravenberch (hamstring) came off at half-time withdrawal for the Netherlands last weekend, too.
But Arne Slot was positive on both players on Friday.
“Ryan is completely fit, although we still have to train twice, but if you ask me now, he’s completely fit.
“Ibou has come back to us, started his sessions again and [is] expected to train with us today.” – Arne Slot
Wataru Endo also withdrew from the Japan squad with an unspecified issue and we await the latest on him.
Alisson (hamstring), Jayden Danns (hamstring) and Giovanni Leoni (ACL) will miss the visit of Manchester United, with the latter out for the season.
“He’s not training with us, so he’s out.
“Like I always say, it’s so difficult to say [how long he’ll be out] because the end phase of rehab is always going to give you positives or negatives but he will not play at the weekend, also not next week.” – Arne Slot on Alisson
Slot was also asked about the fitness of Alexander Isak, who got through 180 minutes for Sweden over the international break.
“I think now he’s had his 5-6 weeks of ‘pre-season’, which is normal for every player, especially if you’ve been out for 3-4 months. So, fitness-wise, I think he’s now close to the level he should be, and now, I think we can judge him in a fair way from now on.
“I know how this industry works: if he plays twice and doesn’t score, then that’s not what you’re hoping for, of course. You’re hoping, if they go to the national teams, that they score goals, like Cody did, like Virgil did, like Dominik did, like Mac Allister did, but he didn’t.
“But I think his pre-season may be finished now, he’s played a few games 70/80/90 minutes. So, let’s see where he is in the upcoming weeks.” – Arne Slot on Alexander Isak
MANCHESTER CITY
Omar Marmoush (knee) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (ankle) were back in training on Thursday and are close to a return.
”They trained yesterday and they are much, much better. They are close to coming back.” – Pep Guardiola on Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri
Rodri, who came off with a hamstring injury in the win over Brentford a fortnight ago, is out, however.
”I don’t know [how long he will be out]. Not yet. Not ready for tomorrow.” – Pep Guardiola on Rodri
There was also no Abdudokir Khusanov (ankle) in Sky Sports’ training ground video this week.
Long-term absentee Mateo Kovacic returned to fitness before the break but Pep Guardiola insisted it would be “step by step” with the Croatian midfielder.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Lewis Hall (hamstring) joined Tino Livramento (knee), Harrison Ashby (thigh) and Yoane Wissa (knee) on the injury list just before the break but a second scan in the last fortnight revealed relatively good news, and he should be back before the November hiatus.
“The second scan was good news. There were different scales of time he could be out; it’s the shorter time. We hope he will be back during this period of games we have before the next international break, we don’t know exactly when that will be.” – Eddie Howe on Lewis Hall
Wissa has had his first session on the grass, meanwhile, but will be eased back.
“We have seen Yoane back on the grass – well, the first time on the grass – which is great to see. I think his knee has reacted pretty well to that work so far. It will now be a case of trying to step him up gradually. In terms of timelines, it is similar to what I said last time – nothing has changed.” – Eddie Howe on Yoane Wissa
Eddie Howe said he had a minor concern over Joelinton (groin) after international duty but he thinks the Brazilian will be fine.
“I think everyone has come back okay. We were a little bit concerned over Joelinton, but he seems to have come back okay. Hopefully he will train today.” – Eddie Howe
The above quote implies that Lewis Miley (calf) is fine, too.
Jacob Ramsey (ankle) was back in training before the break and comes into contention.
When discussing Nick Woltemade’s workload up top, Howe revealed a problem for Will Osula (ankle).
“We continue to take it on a game by game basis.
“Will Osula’s done very well when he has come onto the pitch. He is nursing a slight ankle injury at the moment so he is not 100% training with us at every moment. When he steps on the pitch, he will be fit.
“Anthony Gordon has played up there, so we do have options, but of course, we’d welcome Yoane to be fit and available and share that load with Nick. But so far, Nick has carried that burden really well.” – Eddie Howe on his striking options
BOURNEMOUTH
David Brooks has picked up a hamstring injury while on duty with Wales, so he joins Enes Unal (knee) on the sidelines.
“We have had very bad news with Brooksy. He finished the game against Belgium with a small muscle injury. We did an MRI and there is an injury there, so he will be out.
“It’s small, it’s not a big muscle injury but when you get an MRI there is something there, obviously there is a muscle injury in the hamstring. I hope the recovery goes as fast as we can but definitely he is out of this game and it’s going to be difficult also for the next one. Even if it’s not a big muscle injury, there is something there.” – Andoni Iraola on David Brooks
Julio Soler remains with his national team for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup.
As for other internationals, Marcos Senesi was among five players who returned late from their national teams. The defender trained on Thursday and will do so again today, however, with Iraola hopeful his midweek exertions won’t be a factor in Gameweek 8.
”Yesterday was the last ones arriving, five players: Marcos, Amine, Petrovic, Velko and Alex Jimenez. The only one who really played significant minutes was Alex Jimenez and he didn’t have also a long travel, so it’s not the worst.
”Marcos didn’t play the second game, he played full the first game, but at the end for us, it’s more important if they play the second game or not.
“He will have jet lag? I suppose he will because when we go away in pre-season, I need some days to recover normally! It takes something from you but he trained yesterday, he is going to train today, so I hope he is available and ready to go.” – Andoni Iraola on Marcos Senesi
Adam Smith (hamstring) has trained and could be involved.
“Adam has been training quite normally with the team. I don’t think he has the rhythm still, normal after some weeks out, but I think he could help us. We will see today, and I have to make a decision also for the squad. He has been training, he is probably not 100 per cent, but he is quite close.” – Andoni Iraola
ASTON VILLA
Ollie Watkins (knock), Jadon Sancho (illness) and Emi Buendia (head) look set to be available for Sunday’s trip to north London.
“Tomorrow we train again and normally he will be ready for Sunday.” – Unai Emery on Ollie Watkins
Tyrone Mings (ankle) is training and close to a return, too.
That only really leaves Youri Tielemans (calf), who has reportedly had a setback and could be out until after the November international break.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Randal Kolo Muani (dead leg) played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly over the break and is now available for selection.
”Kolo Muani has trained now for two weeks with the team, so that’s good. He looks better and better, he’ll be in contention for the squad for tomorrow, so that’s positive.” – Thomas Frank
Spurs could be further boosted by the return of Dominic Solanke (ankle).
“Dom’s progressed well after the surgery, he’s been on the pitch… I actually don’t know if it was today, but he definitely was the two days before that. So the detail is he’s progressing and he’s going forward, so that’s good.
“I think the good thing is it’s positive that he’s progressing now, but he’s still training on his own, so I don’t want to be too excited or too negative either way. So, I’m actually taking a little bit day-by-day and week-by-week to see how quickly he progresses. Dom is a naturally fit player. There’s some players that naturally get that fitness up to a high level, but of course we also need to take into consideration he basically hasn’t trained with the team since July. That’s not to say it will take three months to get up to pace. It’s just it will take a little bit of time to get up to pace. How long? I don’t know.” – Thomas Frank
Radu Dragusin (knee) and Koto Takai (foot) have also been on the grass recently, too.
James Maddison (knee) and Dejan Kulusevski (knee) are still unavailable, while Yves Bissouma was stretchered off with an ankle injury while featuring for Mali over the break and faces a few weeks out.
We await an update on Ben Davies (muscle), who limped out of Wales’ defeat to Belgium.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, Matheus Cunha and Amad Diallo were all absent from training on Thursday but they’d merely been given extra time off to recover after returning from international duty.
“Diogo [Dalot] didn’t play the last game [with Portugal], he was here [yesterday]. Bruno played 62 minutes, [so] we gave [him] one more day [to recover].
“We try to balance everything to have everyone ready. But they are ready, the guys are returning from national teams. They are ready to play.” – Ruben Amorim
The other absentees from the training ground were the three flagged players: Ayden Heaven (unspecified), Lisandro Martinez (knee) and Noussair Mazraoui (unspecified). Heaven picked up an issue when playing for England under-20s over the break.
“Licha is near, almost returning to the training with the team. Mazraoui, I don’t know.
“The rest of the guys, the national team [players], they are ready. But, if you saw the games, some players play in Japan, so we need to be careful, to give more time.” – Ruben Amorim
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Douglas Luiz (hamstring), Murillo – only on the bench in Gameweek 7 after recent thigh issues – and Oleksandr Zinchenko (groin) are all fit for the visit of Chelsea.
“We’ve got some good work into them, particularly guys like Douglas, Zinchenko, Murillo. They’ve had two good weeks and are all available for tomorrow. They obviously haven’t played [for a while], but they are all available, which is good.” – Ange Postecoglou
Chris Wood (knee), who came off in New Zealand’s draw with Norway on Tuesday, is the only slight concern but Ange Postecoglou said on Friday that he was not unduly worried.
“With the guys who have come back, Chris Wood was the only one with a little bit of a niggle, with his knee. But I think he should be fine.” – Ange Postecoglou
The returning internationals are otherwise in good nick.
“Obviously, we had quite a few away on international duty but they’ve all come back in good condition and are ready to play.” – Ange Postecoglou
Ola Aina (hamstring) is the only definite absentee as it stands, then.
FULHAM
Antonee Robinson (knee), Rodrigo Muniz (muscle) and Sasa Lukic (groin) will miss the visit of Arsenal.
Samuel Chukwueze (calf) is likely to join them on the sidelines as he faces a scan on an international break injury.
Gameweek 7 absentees Kenny Tete (knee) and Raul Jimenez (hip) face assessment, too.
“Robinson is going to be out, Sasa Lukic is going to be out, Rodrigo Muniz is going to be out. Probably Chukwueze is going to be out. Kenny and Raul, they are doubts – right now, we are not that they can be involved in the squad list.” – Marco Silva
Muniz and Lukic are at least already on the grass.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Kauro Mitoma (knock) and Joel Veltman (calf) have both trained after missing out in Gameweek 7 but Fabian Hurzeler says both players remain questionable for the visit of Newcastle United.
“Both are in training but we still have to assess them as well. There is still a question mark on both. We have to wait today how they are doing and then we can make a decision.” – Fabian Hurzeler on Kaoru Mitoma and Joel Veltman
Brajan Gruda (knee), who dropped out of the Germany under-21 squad last week, is out.
However, Diego Gomez (muscle) should be fine despite hobbling out of Paraguay’s final friendly in midweek.
“Brajan Gruda can’t play tomorrow, so he won’t be available. The other players, including Diego Gomez, we will have to assess today. There’s a high chance that they are an option to start the game and to play the game.” – Fabian Hurzeler
Jack Hinshelwood (ankle), Adam Webster (knee) and Solly March (knee) remain on the injury list.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Oliver Glasner reported no fresh concerns from the international break.
Glasner had previously expressed hope of long-term absentee Chadi Riad (knee) returning to fitness after the October break but his return has been pushed back 1-2 weeks.
Cheick Doucoure (knee) is definitely out, while Caleb Kporha (back) hasn’t featured at all in 2025/26.
BRENTFORD
Aaron Hickey has trained on Friday despite aggravating a knee niggle in Scotland’s win over Greece last Thursday.
The news is much worse for Antoni Milambo, who has suffered a season-ending knee injury while playing for the Netherlands under-21s.
Longer-term absentees Gustavo Nunes (hamstring) and Paris Maghoma (hamstring) are both back in training and closing in on returns. Nunes got through 45 minutes for the under-21s on Tuesday.
EVERTON
Loanee Jack Grealish is out of Gameweek 8: he can’t face his parent club, Manchester City, at the Etihad this weekend.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at least returns from a one-match ban for yellow card accumulation.
There’s good news about Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring) and Merlin Rohl (hip), both of whom are training again.
Nathan Patterson picked up an injury with the under-21s in midweek, however.
“We’ve got Jarrad [Branthwaite] back on the grass, we’ve got Merlin [Röhl] back on the grass. Unfortunately, Patto [Patterson] picked up an injury in the under-21s game in midweek, so we’ve got bits and pieces going on but all the clubs will be the same.
“Everybody is coming back from international duty, trying to get their players back, get them ready, find out what condition they’re in. We’re no different from anybody else.” – David Moyes
There was no update on Michael Keane‘s fitness after the centre-half “got something between the ribs” in the Gameweek 7 win over Crystal Palace.
WEST HAM UNITED
Tomas Soucek is back from a three-match ban following his sending off in Gameweek 4.
Niclas Fullkrug (thigh) looks to have joined George Earthy (hamstring) on the injury list, however. The German striker picked up an injury in training, with the Hammers still awaiting the results of a scan.
“He’s just made a scan, we’re just waiting for the results, then we can say exactly the time he’s going to be out and all these things. Depends on the scan, depends on each player’s own timing. Hopefully it’s sooner.” – Nuno Espirito Santo on Niclas Fullkrug
Everyone else is fit.
“[Otherwise], just George [Earthy] still out. The rest are okay. The players that came from the national teams are okay.” – Nuno Espirito Santo
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Vitor Pereira reported some minor concerns ahead of the trip to Sunderland, including a Hwang Hee-chan injury.
Jeanricner Bellegarde is also struggling with illness.
”We’ll see tomorrow if it’s possible to have the players or not.” – Vitor Pereira
Aside from those two doubts, it’s only Leon Chiwome (knee) who is confirmed as unavailable.
Toti Gomes seems to have got over the illness that kept him out of Gameweek 7, having returned to training over the break.
Matt Doherty (wrist) is also available.
Pereira added that Jorgen Strand Larsen is “trying to help the team” by playing through “pains”.
