Our early team news summary rounds up all the latest Gameweek 23 injury updates ahead of the pre-match press conferences on Thursday and Friday.
Any new quotes we’ve heard on Wednesday, either pre-Europa League or post-Champions League, are included here.
ARSENAL
Piero Hincapie (muscle) and Riccardo Calafiori (muscle) were still missing from training ahead of Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash in Italy.
Max Dowman (ankle) was the only other absentee.
Arteta mentioned just over a week ago that Calafiori and Dowman were looking at “weeks” out – although he also said that about Cristhian Mosquera, who returned in Gameweek 22!
There were no obvious fresh concerns from the midweek win over Inter.
ASTON VILLA
Amadou Onana (muscle) and Jadon Sancho (illness) have returned to the Aston Villa squad ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Europa League clash with Fenerbahce.
However, John McGinn (knee) won’t be involved – and he could be out for “weeks”.
“We are waiting because he’s still visiting some doctors to have a decision what to do. It could be for some weeks or it could be, it depends on the doctor and him how he’s feeling, to be less.” – Unai Emery on John McGinn, speaking on Wednesday
Boubacar Kamara (knee), Ross Barkley (knee) and new boy Alysson (unspecified) also remain sidelined. Reports suggest Kamara could be out for the season.
And Emi Martínez, who seems unable to string together successive starts, will also not be present in Turkey. There are no details on his injury but he has been struggling with a recurrent calf issue of late.
“Emi Martínez is not (available), Kamara is not, John McGinn is not, Alysson is not, Barkley is not.” – Unai Emery, speaking on Wednesday
BOURNEMOUTH
Andoni Iraola said after Monday’s draw at the Amex that he wasn’t expecting anyone back for the visit of Liverpool.
Justin Kluivert (knee), David Brooks (ankle), Enes Unal (muscle), Tyler Adams (knee), Ben Gannon-Doak (hamstring) and Will Dennis (ankle) look set to remain out, then.
Joining the injury list is Marcus Tavernier (hamstring), who Iraola said “will be out for some time” after pulling midway through that Gameweek 22 clash with Brighton.
Iraola repeated the “some time” estimate for Julio Soler, who also sat out the all-south-coast clash.
BRENTFORD
Frank Onyeka is back available after his involvement in the Africa Cup of Nations came to an end.
Jordan Henderson missed out last weekend with an ankle injury but he was already back on the grass ahead of Gameweek 22, so there’s a good chance we might see him this weekend.
Josh Dasilva, Fábio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo are on the sidelines due to knee injuries.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
We await word from Fabian Hurzeler to see if Mats Wieffer remains out with a toe injury. The midfielder-cum-right-back hasn’t been seen since Gameweek 18.
The same goes for Maxim De Cuyper, who missed out in Gameweek 22 due to illness. Georginio Rutter was only fit enough for substitute duty in that match, also due to a bug.
Adam Webster (knee) and Stefanos Tzimas (knee) are on the longer-term injury list, while Solly March (knee) is working his way back from his own lengthy lay-off and could soon be back in first-team training.
BURNLEY
Scott Parker said last week that Joe Worrall was “close” to recovery after returning to the grass, although he didn’t feature against Liverpool.
Parker also added ahead of Gameweek 22 that Zian Flemming could be back for this weekend’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Mike Tresor (ankle), Josh Cullen (knee), Jordan Beyer (hamstring), Connor Roberts (Achilles) and Zeki Amdouni (knee) are on the injury list.
CHELSEA
Cole Palmer wasn’t involved in Wednesday’s win over Pafos but Liam Rosenior insists his absence was precautionary.
“Precautionary. He felt something really, really minor in the game against Brentford. Actually, quite early in the game. So, credit to him to keep going through it. But I don’t want to risk any players at this stage, especially players of Cole’s quality. He’s got a really good chance to be involved and start the game on Sunday. And we’ll keep preparing him for that.” – Liam Rosenior on Cole Palmer, speaking after full-time on Wednesday
Filip Jorgensen and Reece James were both subbed off at half-time in that match. James’ withdrawal was just minute management but Jorgensen is a new concern.
“Yeah, unfortunately, he picked something up. Devastating for him because he’s really impressed me in his time. Not just the game at Charlton, but how he’s trained. Rob Sanchez came on, made a fantastic punch with one of the few balls they put into our box. And hopefully Filip can get better really, really quick.” – Liam Rosenior on Filip Jorgensen, speaking after full-time on Wednesday
Malo Gusto (unspecified issue), Jamie Gittens (illness), Estevao (illness) and Enzo Fernandez (illness) all recovered to feature against the Cypriots.
Tosin Adarabioyo (hamstring) is out for “weeks”, joining Romeo Lavia (quad) and Levi Colwill (knee) on the sidelines. Mykhailo Mudryk (suspended) also remains unavailable.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Having already lost Marc Guehi to Manchester City, rumours suggest that Jean-Philippe Mateta also wants out of the club. We await to hear from outgoing Palace boss Oliver Glasner on that; he admitted it was a possibility last Friday.
Daniel Munoz (knee) is due back for a Gameweek 23 return, at least. Ismaila Sarr is also back from international duty.
Rio Cardines (groin), Daichi Kamada (hamstring), Cheick Doucoure (knee), Caleb Kporha (back) and Eddie Nketiah (hamstring) have been out for some time.
EVERTON
Reports suggest Jack Grealish could be out for “months” with a foot stress fracture. Everton acknowledged the midfielder has sustained an injury but didn’t provide a timeline.
Michael Keane is also still unavailable: he serves game three of a three-match ban.
In better news, the usually reliable El Bobble says that Jarrad Branthwaite (hamstring) is back in full team training. The same source suggests that Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (hamstring) has resumed light training.
Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye are back from the Africa Cup of Nations, too.
Carlos Alcaraz (unspecified) and Tim Iroegbunam (knock) were the only other names on the injury list in Gameweek 22. Neither was in training as of last Friday.
FULHAM
Speaking after the last-minute loss at Leeds United, Marco Silva feared that he had lost Sasa Lukic and Emile Smith Rowe to injury.
Lukic is the biggest concern and wasn’t sighted in training on Tuesday – but Smith Rowe was.
Rodrigo Muniz (hamstring) and Kenny Tete (hamstring) were also spotted on the grass, although Muniz isn’t expected back competitively until mid-February.
Calvin Bassey, Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze are back from international duty.
LEEDS UNITED
Speaking last Thursday, Daniel Farke said that Daniel James (hamstring) was his only absentee for Gameweek 22.
However, a day later, Leeds lost Anton Stach (adductor) and Jaka Bijol (hamstring) to injury. Farke confirmed after the win over Fulham that Bijol would be out for 3-5 weeks but that he hoped to have Stach back this weekend.
LIVERPOOL
Alexander Isak (ankle), Conor Bradley (knee), Giovanni Leoni (knee), Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring) and Jayden Danns (hamstring) remained unavailable ahead of Wednesday’s win in Marseille.
Ibrahima Konate, meanwhile, missed out due to personal reasons.
Federico Chiesa did travel to France but unexpectedly wasn’t involved in the matchday squad.
“Two or three minutes after you guys left yesterday, he stepped out of the training session. We took him with us because we don’t expect it to be a long-term injury. Because we stay here tonight, we are here a bit longer. We thought it was good for him to have his treatment over here and we were hoping that maybe he would have been fit in time. But he wasn’t. He tried in the warm-up and he wasn’t able to play. That’s why he wasn’t on the bench.” – Arne Slot on Federico Chiesa, speaking after full-time on Wednesday
Mohamed Salah is back from the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON): he played 90 minutes in midweek.
There were no apparent injuries emerging from the Stade Velodrome.
MANCHESTER CITY
Matheus Nunes wasn’t involved in Norway on Tuesday: he was still sidelined with the illness that saw him miss the Manchester derby.
Nico Gonzalez also hadn’t recovered from the issue that kept him out of both the EFL Cup semi-final last Wednesday and Gameweek 22.
John Stones (thigh), Oscar Bobb (hamstring), Ruben Dias (hamstring), Josko Gvardiol (leg), Mateo Kovacic (ankle) and Savinho (thigh) are all still out.
Phil Foden was in the travelling party and played for 70 minutes, however, despite Guardiola confirming that he’d broken bones in his hand.
Bernardo Silva, Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo were either suspended or ineligible to play for City in Europe but will be available in Gameweek 23.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Noussair Mazraoui should be available after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, although he has yet to rejoin his teammates.
Shea Lacey will be back from a one-match ban after being sent off in the FA Cup third round.
Matthijs de Ligt (back) has been out since early December; Michael Carrick said last week that his recovery has “been a little bit slower than what they thought previously”.
And Joshua Zirkzee is also sidelined. The player himself said at the weekend he would be out for a fortnight.
Zirkzee, de Ligt and Mazraoui were all absent from training photos on Wednesday.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
The Magpies have a concern over Bruno Guimaraes (ankle) after he hobbled off in first-half injury time on Wednesday.
“Yeah, a little bit sore. It’s an ankle problem. A little bit of swelling in his ankle, having just seen him. We hope it’s not serious. Difficult to know. I think Bruno’s the type of player that never wants to come off. He always wants to play. So, the fact that he has come off is a worry for us. We’ll do everything we can to get him fit as quickly as possible.” – Eddie Howe on Bruno Guimaraes
Fabian Schar (ankle), Jacob Murphy (hamstring), Emil Krafth (knee) and Tino Livramento (hamstring) all remained sidelined for that win over PSV Eindhoven.
Dan Burn (rib) and Will Osula (ankle) missed out too but they are closing in on comebacks, having returned to training this week.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Forest have a concern over Igor Jesus (knock) ahead of Thursday’s clash with Braga. The Brazilian striker hasn’t travelled to Portugal but could still do so on the day of the game.
“He’s got a bit of a knock, which is unfortunate. We’re going to have to make a call on that one. He’s not with us at the moment. We’ll see how it settles down overnight.” – Sean Dyche on Igor Jesus, speaking on Wednesday
Chris Wood (knee) and John Victor (knee) remain out.
Loanee Oleksandr Zinchenko is available again, having been ineligible to face his parent club last weekend – but he’s likely surplus to requirements. Indeed, he’s been deselected from the Europa League squad.
SUNDERLAND
Arthur Masuaku (ankle) and Bertrand Traorè (knee) will remain out until well into February after sustaining injuries whilst at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Speaking of that tournament, Chemsdine Talbi and Habib Diarra return this weekend following their involvement in the AFCON final.
Aji Alese made his return from a long-term absence for the under-21s last Friday.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Spurs have a concern over Lucas Bergvall after he was substituted in the win over Borussia Dortmund with an ankle injury.
Joao Palhinha missed out in Gameweek 22 and again against the Bundesliga outfit with an unspecified issue.
Xavi Simons also played through the pain barrier against Dortmund with a swollen ankle.
Ben Davies (ankle), Richarlison (hamstring), Rodrigo Bentancur (hamstring), Mohammed Kudus (thigh), James Maddison (knee) and Dejan Kulusevski (knee) are still on the sidelines.
Micky van de Ven couldn’t feature on Tuesday due to a Champions League suspension.
Radu Dragusin, new signing Conor Gallagher, Mathys Tel and Yves Bissouma were ineligible for European competition, too.
WEST HAM UNITED
The supposedly wantaway Lucas Paqueta missed out on the Hammers’ trip to Tottenham Hotspur. The official line ahead of Gameweek 22 was that he was in “treatment” for an unspecified injury.
Elsewhere, El Hadji Malick Diouf is back from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Veteran goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has been sidelined for a while with a back injury.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (hamstring) and Toti Gomes (hamstring) are on the sidelines, although the former is back on the grass doing individual work.
Tawanda Chirewa sat out Gameweek 22 due to illness.
