Christian Benteke is forced off with a hamstring problem just as long-term injury worry Daniel Sturridge finally escapes the Liverpool treatment room. David Silva is pictured in training for City after missing the weekend home loss to West Ham, whilst Bournemouth and Palace have concerns at centre-half in our latest look at the weekend injuries.
Arsenal
Francis Coquelin was replaced at the break after suffering a knee injury during Arsenal’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea. The midfielder has been ruled out of the midweek Capital One Cup clash against Tottenham Hotspur by Arsene Wenger:
“It is a little knee injury. I don’t know how long it will be – certainly not for midweek. I don’t know yet how long.”
Aston Villa
Tim Sherwood offered up some mixed news on the fitness of two injured Villa recruits. Idrissa Gueye was expected to play on Saturday but is set to see a specialist after suffering a setback in training:
“He’s gone back to France to see a specialist he knows there who he’s confident with, we’re waiting to hear from him today and hopefully he’ll give us some positive news. We thought he was going to play on Saturday but he got injured again in training on Friday with a recurrence of the hamstring injury. It is disappointing because, out of all the players we have brought in, he is the most outstanding one who has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water.”
On the positive front, Adama Traore has returned to light training but is doubtful for the Villains’ midweek home cup tie against Birmingham:
“Traore is getting better. He is starting to run outside now. He has the protective boot off. I am just listening to the experts and taking their advice. He is a young player and we have a long season ahead. We don’t want to ruin him for the sake of bringing him back too early. He’s very doubtful for Tuesday.”
Bournemouth
Tommy Elphick – who’d played every minute of Bournemouth’s debut top-flight campaign prior to Gameweek 6 – missed their home encounter against Sunderland with an ankle injury:
“There’s something just not quite right, so it’s needs a little bit of rest and managing”
Crystal Palace
Scott Dann sat out the Eagles’ 1-0 defeat at Spurs due to a calf problem and will miss their midweek cup tie against Charlton, but Alan Pardew is confident that it’s not a serious injury:
“I don’t think it (Dann’s injury) is too bad. We missed his experience, to be honest. He did his calf yesterday and we will keep him out of Wednesday.”
The Eagles boss is also optimistic that Connor Wickham could return from injury in time for the midweek cup encounter.
Leicester City
Nathan Dyer was ruled out of the trip to Stoke as a precaution by virtue of a knee complaint, whilst Claudio Ranieri has confirmed N’Golo Kante was withdrawn with cramp against the Potters.
Liverpool
According to Brendan Rodgers, Jordan Henderson is set for an extended spell on the sidelines after suffering a foot injury in training:
“It is a big blow because obviously in the last few games we miss a player of that quality. It was just unfortunate. He had a problem with his heel and felt fine, then came in and broke his fifth metatarsal. It is a big blow for us and obviously a big blow for Jordan.”
Meanwhile, Christian Benteke was substituted at the half with a tight hamstring, though his manager insists the Belgian’s withdrawal was purely precautionary:
“His hamstring felt a little bit tight so there was no point in risking it. We had fresh players on the side.”
The Reds boss also explained his decision to hand Daniel Sturridge a shock start alongside Benteke against the Canaries:
“I felt it was important to get him on the field. I thought he did well for the hour that he played. He’s still a way off his full fitness but his presence and stature in the game will always give us hope because he’s got big quality. I think it’s just about games for him, building his fitness and there’s no pressure for him to do that.”
Manchester City
Manuel Pellegrini revealed that David Silva missed the Sky Blues’ 2-1 defeat to the Hammers after sustaining a kick to his calf in the warm-ups, while Eliaquim Mangala came off at the break with a muscle injury:
“David has a kick in the calf. He tried to warm up but he felt his muscle was still stiff so he didn’t play. He (Mangala) was injured, a muscle injury.”
Both Silva and Mangala were spotted in training pictures published on the City website earlier this afternoon, along with Pablo Zabaleta and Samir Nasri.
Manchester United
Red Devils head coach Louis van Gaal expects to be able to call upon Phil Jones’ services in the near future, with the English centre-back stepping us his rehabilitation from a blood clot in his calf:
“I said last week that he was ready to train. And Friday was his first training session with the group. It’s nearly done, but he’s not match fit yet. It’s very early.”
Southampton
Saints boss Ronald Koeman is hopeful that Ryan Bertrand and Jordy Clasie will be back in contention over the next couple of weeks, with the former set to play 60 minutes for Southampton U21s this evening:
“I think we are close to having some players back. The planning for Ryan Bertrand will be that he plays his first 60 minutes on Monday with the Under-21s. Jordy is not as close like Ryan. He will start training with the team from Monday on and maybe takes one week longer. We hope everything is going to go well and that means in one or two weeks both players will be back.”
Sunderland
John O’Shea sat out the Black Cats’ previous match-up because of illness but is fit to return for a home tie against Man City in the League Cup. Likewise, Wes Brown could make his return against Pellegrini’s men. Duncan Watmore missed the 2-0 loss to Bournemouth but recovered to bag a hat-trick against Man City’s Under 21s yesterday.
Tottenham
Mousa Dembele and Ryan Mason are recovering well from their respective knocks and could feature against Arsenal this week. Alex Pritchard, on the other hand, is yet to fully shake off an ankle knock he picked up during the Euro Under 21s so will play no part in the north London showdown.
West Ham
Cheikhou Kouyate was absent from the Irons’ victory over Man City because of a “minor niggle”. Carl Jenkinson was forced off late on in the 2-1 win after picking up a knock.
