We’re hoping to hear from 12 Premier League managers on Friday as the Gameweek 28 team news continues to arrive.
You can find all the key injury updates in this article, which will be refreshed throughout the day.
For the headline news from Thursday’s eight pressers, check out this round-up here.
KEY GAMEWEEK 28 INJURY NEWS FROM FRIDAY
- Liverpool: Frimpong available, Wirtz set to miss out
- Arsenal: No fresh worries, Havertz expected to train, “let’s see” on White
- Manchester City: Doku back in training, Pep on Ramadan, no other obvious concerns
- Chelsea: Estevao + Cucurella still out, Fofana banned, James fine, Essugo back in training
- Manchester United: Mbeumo pictured in training, Mount + de Ligt latest
- Newcastle United: Livramento + Miley looking at March returns, Howe hopeful on Ramsey
- Brentford: Kayode + Dasilva back in training, Hickey a doubt
- Bournemouth: Cook out till April, no fresh concerns
- Everton: Alcaraz out for 3-4 weeks, O’Brien back from a ban
- Crystal Palace: Glasner hopes Lacroix can start again
- Fulham: Kevin out, Lukic, Chukwueze + Robinson back in training
- Nottingham Forest: Pereira hopeful Ortega isn’t injured, Sels to return on Monday
FRIDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES
🚨 Friday's FPL Press Conferences!
🔴 9am – Slot
🍒 9.30am – Iraola
⚫️ 9.30am – Howe
🍬 10.15am – Moyes
🔵 12.30pm – Guardiola
🐝 1.15pm – Andrews
⭕️ 1.30pm – Arteta
🧿 1.30pm – Rosenior
⬜️ 1.30pm – Silva
👹 1.30pm – Carrick
🕐 TBC – Glasner + Pereira pic.twitter.com/hyX4M8rZJj— Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) February 27, 2026
LIVERPOOL
Jeremie Frimpong (groin) is available for Gameweek 28 but Arne Slot expects Florian Wirtz (back) to miss out.
“Jeremie is [fit], he trained with us a few times this week so he is available. I don’t expect Florian to be available, so that is a disappointment. Every time a player is not available, it’s a disappointment, and it’s also something I didn’t expect after last week, but that’s sometimes how things can evolve and unfortunately, this time not in a positive way.
“No, [I don’t have any idea how long Wirtz will be out]. At this moment in time, no. Usually when I say that, I do know that and I don’t want to share it! Now, I honestly don’t.
“Unfortunately, last week and this week he’s not available and that’s indeed a disappointment for him but definitely also for us because he played really, really, really, really well lately.” – Arne Slot
Alexander Isak (ankle) will likely be out until April, while Wataru Endo (foot) is on the long-term injury list with Conor Bradley (knee) and Giovanni Leoni (knee).
Youngsters Stefan Bajcetic (hamstring) and Jayden Danns (hamstring) have also been on the sidelines for months but Danns rejoined training this week.
Milos Kerkez is “completely fit”, with his late substitution last weekend just about freshening things up.
Away from team news, Slot was asked about Mohamed Salah‘s Premier League goal shortage.
“We also know, even in my time, this has happened before. I’m not exactly know if it happened nine games in a row but I’ve had these questions earlier. He didn’t score for three, he didn’t score for five or I don’t know the exact numbers. But I also know that in the end, he always starts scoring again.” – Arne Slot on Mohamed Salah
ARSENAL
Mikel Arteta says he has no fresh injury concerns, suggesting – surprise, surprise – that Bukayo Saka is okay after he hobbled out of the north London derby.
Kai Havertz (muscle) is expected to train on Saturday but Arteta was less committal with Ben White (niggle).
Max Dowman (ankle) will play for Arsenal under-21s tonight after his return to training.
“No [fresh injuries] so far. We are waiting for tomorrow, the last training session, to try and understand if we have one or two available from last week.
“Yep, we are hopeful [some players can return]. Max will play some minutes tonight with the under-21s. Kai will train tomorrow and Ben, let’s see.” – Mikel Arteta
Mikel Merino (foot) is out longer term.
MANCHESTER CITY
Pep Guardiola confirmed that Jeremy Doku (calf) had returned to training for the first time on Thursday.
“Yesterday make the first training session.
“I don’t know [when he’ll return to play]. We’ll talk with the doctors and officials afterwards.” – Pep Guardiola on Jeremy Doku
Josko Gvardiol (leg) and Mateo Kovacic (ankle) remain out.
Max Alleyne wasn’t involved in Gameweek 27, having hobbled out of the FA Cup win over Salford City a week earlier. We’ve got no details of his issue, if there is one.
Otherwise, there are no other known concerns.
“Yeah, good.” – Pep Guardiola when asked how his squad was
Several players in City’s squad – such as Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Abdudokir Khusanov – are observing the religious period of Ramadan, which involves fasting during daylight hours.
That doesn’t, however, factor into Guardiola’s team selection.
“We have good nutritionists, they adapt to what the team needs.
“I think they’re used to it, they’re not young, and are used to many, many years playing in this period.
“No [I don’t consider it when picking the team]. They know to handle these situations.” – Pep Guardiola on the players in his squad who are observing Ramadan
CHELSEA
Wesley Fofana will sit out the Arsenal game after being sent off for two bookable offences last Saturday.
Estevao (hamstring) and Marc Cucurella (hamstring) remain on the injury list, meanwhile, along with longer-term absentees Jamie Gittens (hamstring) and Levi Colwill (knee).
Dario Essugo is back in training after a month or so out with an unknown issue, however.
Romeo Lavia (quad) is injury-free, too: he played 45 minutes for the under-21s last Friday, was on the bench in Gameweek 27 and then featured in a behind-closed-doors game in midweek.
Reece James is also fine after his substitution last weekend.
“Reece is absolutely fine.
“Romeo Lavia is getting stronger and stronger. We had a mini-practice match in the week, where he looked really good, which is great for him.
“Estevao, unfortunately, Estevao will be out for a little bit longer.
“Jamie is progressing really well in terms of his rehab.
“Cucu is progressing really, really well but he’s not available for Sunday. Hopefully, we get him back in as quickly as possible.
“Levi is doing really, really well with his long-term rehab.
“Dario Essugo is back on the training pitch, as well.
“Hopefully, we can get all of these players back and fit for the run-in of the season.” – Liam Rosenior
Filip Jorgensen was described as “close” to fitness at the back-end of January. He hasn’t featured since.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Bryan Mbeumo hobbled out of Monday’s win over Everton but it did look a lot like cramp, and the winger has since been seen in training. Michael Carrick didn’t mention him on Friday.
Lisandro Martinez sat out that victory at the Hill Dickinson Stadium with a calf issue. Reports suggest he will be out for 1-2 weeks but again, there was no update from the United boss.
We did, however, get the weekly bulletin on Mason Mount (minor issue) and Matthijs de Ligt (back).
“Mason is getting closer, really. He’s on the grass and getting closer, so he’s looking to train and being around it pretty soon. So, he’s getting close.
“We’ve just had to be patient, really, a little bit. He’s a big player for us, Mase, so we’re looking after him and making sure he’s ready for a big finish to the season. The good news is he’s getting really close.
“Matthijs, he’s had a back issue which has been a little bit slower to progress. It’s something that we’ve been working through and he’s getting there. He’s in the right direction but as I said, he’s just a little bit further behind.
“It’s just the nature of the issue in the back. It’s a difficult one to pin down, in some ways, especially time-wise. He’s definitely improving, so that’s a good thing. We’re just working towards that, really. There’s not much more I can give you at this stage.” – Michael Carrick
Patrick Dorgu (hamstring) remains sidelined.
Meanwhile, Carrick discussed his current settled team, with changes few and far between since his appointment – something that has reduced Benjamin Sesko to goalscoring substitute.
“We’ve just had quite a big break before the last game and there’s a lot more games in terms of squad and rotations, or having to change things for physical reasons and game to game. I think that comes into play and it’s part of the challenge of managing the group. There’s huge positives to it, with the results we’ve had and playing games mostly. That’s a huge positive but there’s certainly a big awareness of how important everyone in the group is, and it’s something we do have to manage. There’s a balance to it but there’s definitely a big positive to the fact we’re in a good run of form. Even though it’s the same players on the pitch I think game to game we’ve changed things, we’ve tweaked things. Some of the front players have played in different positions. Luke [Shaw], for instance, has played in different roles in possession. So it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s copy and paste and we go again, but there’s certainly a feeling of trying to keep the momentum as best we can as well.“We’re playing well as a team and we’ve been winning games. I’m still not getting carried away and thinking that just carries on. Certainly, within the group – and the forward players have scored a good number as a group so far – Ben [Sesko] has been so good in so many ways for us. It’s really not a drama, believe it or not. It’s not a drama, and it just shows how much quality Ben’s got for what he’s produced over the last few weeks. If and when he starts, whether it’s the next game or the one after, I think it is what it is. He’s doing so many good things, as well as the team, so it’s a good position for us to be in.” – Michael Carrick on his settled side
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Jacob Ramsey missed the midweek victory over Qarabag as a precaution because of a tight hamstring but Eddie Howe is hopeful of his involvement in training today.
“We hope that he will train today. So, yeah, fingers crossed for tomorrow, as well.” – Eddie Howe on Jacob Ramsey
Elsewhere, Tino Livramento (hamstring) is still on track for an early-March return.
“I think Tino will be early March, we think he’s still on track for that. He has done really well. He has been training now – not with us, but separately running – for a period of time. I think he has a really good body of work behind him, so I think when he comes back, he’ll be in a good place. I don’t think it’s too long to wait.” – Eddie Howe on Tino Livramento
Lewis Miley‘s (dead leg/muscle) recovery drags on, with Howe and the medical department proceeding with caution with the young midfielder.
“We’ve just been advised, with Lewis, to be really careful with this injury.
“He has had a couple of injections, I think he has got one more to come. I think I’ve been saying ‘a couple of weeks’ for a while but I think we are looking at a couple of weeks with Lewis. I think if we don’t get the management of this injury right, it could rule him out for the season.” – Eddie Howe on Lewis Miley
Fabian Schar (ankle), Bruno Guimaraes (hamstring) and Emil Krafth (knee) all remain out for longer periods.
Sven Botman (back) and Yoane Wissa (knock) returned for Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League win.
BRENTFORD
Michael Kayode sat out the defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion with a “knock” but has since returned to training. He’ll be assessed before the Burnley game.
“Michael is back in training. We’ll see how he is for tomorrow.” – Keith Andrews
Fellow right-back Aaron Hickey, who limped out of the Brighton match, is a bigger doubt.
“Aaron’s come off obviously with an issue, I’m not entirely sure he’s going to be ready for tomorrow.” – Keith Andrews
Fábio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo are likely out for the rest of the season with knee injuries but another long-term absentee in Josh Dasilva (knee) is back training.
“Josh has been back in the group. We don’t want to put too much pressure on that but equally, we’re very excited to have him back in the group.” – Keith Andrews on Josh Dasilva
BOURNEMOUTH
Andoni Iraola says that midfielder Lewis Cook‘s hamstring injury is likely to keep him out until after the March international break.
Justin Kluivert (knee), Julio Soler (hamstring) and Ben Gannon-Doak (hamstring) remain out for the Cherries, too.
“The three long-term guys [are still out], and now we add Lewis Cook. Lewis Cook, we did an MRI after he felt something the day before the last game against West Ham. He has a hamstring injury and I think he will be out some weeks. I think he will try, but I think it’s going to be difficult if he comes before the international break because at the end, we are talking about two or three weeks and I think it’s difficult and probably he will be out until the break.” – Andoni Iraola
Iraola has no other fresh injury concerns ahead of the visit of Sunderland, at least.
Away from injuries, the Bournemouth boss was asked about Rayan‘s quick adaptation to English football.
“Our job is to try to help him in this adaptation. I think this adaptation takes time and it will take time. Now, he has been so quick to score and to make great plays that it looks easy, but he will have some bad moments also and some bad games and we will need to be a little bit more patient with him. We cannot forget he is 19.
“He has the big advantage for me that he was used to playing with big pressure. Because to play for Vasco da Gama in Brazil is pressure. Even if you are 19, you are used to having a lot of eyes behind you and looking at your performances. And I think he’s taken the change naturally. He doesn’t feel a lot of the pressure but he will have to learn more about the league, and I think we will have some moments where he’s not going to be making the numbers every, every week.” – Andoni Iraola on Rayan
EVERTON
David Moyes confirmed that Charly Alcaraz will be missing for “probably” three or four weeks after picking up an injury in training on Sunday.
“Charly Alcaraz has got an injury which is probably going to keep him out for three weeks or four weeks, we think.
“He picked it up in the last minute in training on Sunday, so he was a bit unfortunate… because he probably would have started on Monday night if he hadn’t picked up the injury.” – David Moyes
Jake O’Brien is available again after serving a one-match suspension.
Jack Grealish (foot) remains a long-term absentee.
We could see Jarrad Branthwaite at left-back again, which is potentially good news for Michael Keane and less so for Vitaliy Mykolenko.
“Jarrad Branthwaite’s as comfortable at left-back as he is at centre-back.” – David Moyes
CRYSTAL PALACE
Maxence Lacroix (adductor) made a quick return from injury in Thursday’s UEFA Conference League clash with Zrinjski.
Oliver Glasner hopes he can start again.
“That’s the big question – I don’t know. Hopefully, the goal helps a little bit!
“He did very well. Also defending was important, having him, also Jaydee [Canvot] played a very good game today, and we needed his pace, because they’re very quick up front. It will be the same at Manchester – they’re so quick in their attack, and then we need quick defenders, physically strong defenders.
“Right now, it looks okay, but let’s see how the reaction is.” – Oliver Glasner on whether Maxence Lacroix can start again
Elsewhere on the injury front, Jean-Philippe Mateta (knee) and Jefferson Lerma (hamstring) will remain sidelined till mid-March.
Eddie Nketiah (hamstring) will be out until April.
Cheick Doucoure (knee) has been on the grass recently, although it’s not clear how close he is to a playing comeback after being sidelined for 12 months.
“The players will be ready, with now two days of recovery and training, and then we go to Manchester on Saturday.” – Oliver Glasner
FULHAM
Kevin (foot) is Fulham’s only absentee for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur.
Sasa Lukic (hamstring), Samuel Chukwueze (calf) and Antonee Robinson (ankle) have all been in training this week and should be involved.
“Kevin is going to be the only player who is going to be out of the… not be in contention for the game. Sasa, Chukwueze and the others who have been in and out are coming back and in contention. They have had a good week so far. Of course, we have another session before the game and we are going to take decisions but Chuku looks good. Robinson back in the sessions with the team, as well. Let’s see how they are going to react.” – Marco Silva
“It looks something serious and I think he is going to be out. We are waiting but probably he is going to have surgery next Monday and is going to be out for some weeks.” – Marco Silva on Kevin
“We have some solutions. We have Chukwueze, who was playing there; Bobb, who came in last game after Kevin’s injury. We have the two midfielders, Emile [Smith Rowe] and Josh [King], they have played there on the left as well. We still have Sessegnon.” – Marco Silva on who comes in for Kevin
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Vitor Pereira is hoping that Stefan Ortega will be fit to play on Sunday. He needed treatment on a calf issue in Thursday’s match with Fenerbahce but recovered to finish the game.
“I hope not. It was another problem during the game because he felt something in his calf and we had just one sub left.
“If you have a problem with a goalkeeper and he needs to go off, it is a big problem. That is why we delayed the sub of Morgan Gibbs-White.” – Vitor Pereira on whether Stefan Ortega could be a doubt, via Nottinghamshire Live
Matz Sels (groin), John Victor (knee), Willy Boly (knee), Nicolo Savona (knee) and Chris Wood (knee) remain out, with the medical department “working hard” to get the latter fit in time for the run-in.
Sels is set to return to training on Monday.
