We’ve already heard from 12 managers on Tuesday and a further three on Christmas Eve.
We’ve had two press conferences today: Fulham’s Marco Silva and Aston Villa’s Unai Emery.
The key updates are below, with a few nuggets from elsewhere also included in this article.
- READ MORE: Will we get FPL team news over Christmas?
As for the other three managers, Mikel Arteta and Oliver Glasner provided updates after their midweek EFL Cup quarter-final. Embargoed sections from both were released today and can be found below.
Beyond that, Pep Guardiola said he would “do TV instead” of a press conference – and quotes from that were released on Boxing Day, too.
ARSENAL
The embargoed section of Arteta’s presser contained updates on Gabriel Magalhaes (knee) and Kai Havertz (knee).
“Quite close. I think it will be a matter of days, if not weeks. Let’s see in the next step how he responds to that. Again, he’s a player that we missed a lot, a player that brings the team into a different dimension. So, I’m really happy to have him back very soon.” – Mikel Arteta on Kai Havertz
“We’ll have to wait and see [if we see him back in the next week]. He hasn’t trained yet, he’s still doing his rehab. But hopefully as quickly as possible because we know the situation that we have in the backline.” – Mikel Arteta on Gabriel Magalhaes
MANCHESTER CITY
Jeremy Doku (leg), Rodri (muscle) and John Stones (thigh) were namechecked by Pep Guardiola in his TV interview, with Rodri seemingly close to a return.
“Rodri is much, much better. Available or not, we’ll decide today.” – Pep Guardiola
“Doku and John still aren’t there but soon they’ll be back.” – Pep Guardiola
FULHAM
Marco Silva didn’t provide much of a clear-cut update on Harry Wilson (knock), who came off on Monday.
It doesn’t sound too serious but the Fulham boss stopped short of passing him fit.
“It was a big knock on the knee and it was painful. We are still assessing him and we will make a decision after the next session. I’m hopeful he can be available again because he’s been crucial for us and is full of confidence.
“We have an idea and a plan. We know the profile of our players, who recovers quicker, who needs a bit more time, and we have the data to support those decisions.
“But many things can change after each game. Knocks, recovery, availability – you have to adapt. The most important thing now is West Ham, because it’s the next one.” – Marco Silva on Harry Wilson, via the Fulham website
Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) and Rodrigo Muniz (hamstring) remain out, while Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze are away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Everything of note on Chris Richards (foot) had already been reported on Tuesday night but in the embargoed section from the same evening, Oliver Glasner said that no other injured played would return over Christmas and New Year.
“We have now an injury with Chris [Richards]. We hope that it’s not so serious.
“Everything else, we came through these five games quite well, but also that’s what it has to be, as I mentioned, so no injured player will come back the next two weeks when we have these five games [against Tottenham, Fulham, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Macclesfield].
“That means we have 16, and if Chris is missing 15, plus a few from our Academy. This group, we have to go through it all together, and we will go through it.” – Oliver Glasner
ASTON VILLA
Tyrone Mings (hamstring), Ross Barkley (knee) and Pau Torres (calf) remain out.
Evann Guessand is now away to the Africa Cup of Nations, too.
“We have the same players. We are training and we were playing last week, only adding Guessand after he left with his national team.
“Players who were injured are still injured. Other players are ready and hopefully tomorrow as well, in normal process to play.” – Unai Emery, via the Villa website
Harvey Elliott only missed out due to illness against Manchester United but it’s not clear whether Emery is included in the ‘injured’ quote above – not that the surplus-to-requirement loanee would likely feature anyway.
BRUNO LATEST
In the second section of Ruben Amorim’s Christmas Eve presser, released from embargo on Thursday night, the Manchester United boss gave a vague timeline on Bruno Fernandes (hamstring).
“In three weeks, we’ll have Amad [Diallo], Nous [Mazraoui], Brian [Mbeumo], [the] return of Bruno, Kobbie Mainoo.” – Ruben Amorim
KONATE DOUBT?
Since Arne Slot’s press conference on Tuesday, Ibrahima Konate has not been seen in training. There may be a perfectly innocent explanation for this but it’s worth pointing out that he was reportedly met by a medical chief on his arrival at the AXA Training Centre on Tuesday.
