Arsenal’s Francis Coquelin is set for an extended spell on the sidelines. Liverpool face a wait over the hamstring problem that forced Philippe Coutinho off during Saturday’s win at City, whilst Louis van Gaal hopes to have Wayne Rooney back for United’s Champions League showdown against PSV.
Arsenal
Earlier today, Arsene Wenger confirmed that Francis Coquelin will be sidelined for a number of weeks with the knee injury that forced him off on 14 minutes at West Brom last Saturday:
“I’m always a bit cautious because we had lots of bad surprises on the scans, but it is at least two months. I can’t say more than that but certainly for the next two months we will play without Coquelin. We have players who can play in this position like Mathieu Flamini, but also Calum Chambers, who has been educated as a central midfielder. So this is a good opportunity for other players to show us they can do the job.”
Wenger also has concerns over Mikel Arteta, who followed Coquelin into the treatment room at the 49-minute mark due to a calf strain. On a more positive note, Aaron Ramsey returned to training this morning as he steps up his rehabilitation from a hamstring injury. The Welshman is expected to be available for tomorrow evening’s encounter with Dinamo Zagreb.
Bournemouth
The Cherries were without a trio of new absentees for the Swansea clash. Despite playing for Paoland over the international break, Artur Boruc is contending with a groin injury, Tokelo Rantie returned to South Africa to attend to his sick mother, while Lee Tomlin is nursing a groin complaint.
Liverpool
Philippe Coutinho was substituted in the 68th minute against Manchester City after pulling up with a hamstring issue. The Brazilian midfielder will undergo a scan to hone in on the root of his discomfort, but Jurgen Klopp is optimistic that he just experienced cramp:
“I hope we got there early enough. It was a little bit of cramp. He felt something. I hope that’s all it was because everybody can see that he’s very important to us. He’s in really good shape in this moment and I hope we could react early enough.”
Elsewhere in the Liverpool camp, Jordan Henderson revealed that he’s closing in on a return to action having missed the previous 11 Gameweeks because of a foot injury:
“I’m getting there. This is one of the longest periods of time I’ve been out for and that has been tough for me. Hopefully I’m not too far away now.”
Manchester United
In the wake of the Red Devils’ late triumph over Watford at Vicarage Road, Louis van Gaal offered an update on this fitness of his squad. Phil Jones and Ander Herrera both left the field prematurely and have been ruled out of Man United’s midweek Champions League encounter. The Dutchman is confident that neither has suffered a serious injury, though:
“Jones and Herrera, I think, are not available for Wednesday. My first impression is that they are not too heavy but the problem is that we have to play Wednesday already. Jones had a twisted ankle and Herrera a hamstring injury.”
On the attacking front, Wayne Rooney is expected to recover in time to start against PSV Eindhoven in midweek, but Anthony Martial is a major doubt due to his foot complaint:
“Rooney is ill, and that is a matter of days, not weeks. I expect that he shall play Wednesday, but you never know, I do not know the development of the illness. Today he is at home, we gave him a day off to heal the illness; tomorrow he comes and I can say more. Martial is another problem, his foot, it is not as heavy as the media have written but we have to wait and see if he can play Wednesday.”
Van Gaal also went on to explain that James Wilson was not selected because of a swollen knee and a lack of match fitness, while Marcos Rojo suffered from jet lag on his return from international duty:
“Wilson had a swollen knee after training. I did not play [Marcos] Rojo also because when you have jet-lag you cannot play. Wilson did not play for six weeks, so you cannot play in the Premier League without match rhythm; you have seen with Memphis that in the second half he was less [effective]. I had Rashford on the bench, a fantastic talent, but Wilson has more experience in the league.”
Newcastle United
Cheick Tiote lasted just 20 minutes against Leicester City before being substituted with a groin injury. Steve McClaren bemoaned the Ivorian’s early withdrawal but remained optimistic of a positive prognosis:
“That was a big blow for us. We are not making excuses, but we have obviously already got Colback out. Once we lost Cheick, there were not a lot of midfield options. With Tiote there, we felt quite stable, especially because Vurnon (Anita) was probably the only one out of the whole group who did their job. We will have a look at Cheick in the next few days, but hope it is not too serious.”
Norwich City
Russell Martin was absent from the matchday squad at Chelsea by virtue of undisclosed personal reasons, while Alexander Tettey picked up a thigh problem during the international break.
Stoke City
Xherdan Shaqiri experienced a tight hamstring in the first half of the Potters’ road clash with Southampton, prompting Mark Hughes to replace the Switzerland international 20 minutes after the break:
“He had a little tightness in his hamstring to be fair, and that was the reasoning behind taking him off when we did. He wanted to go out and play the second half but it was important that we protected him a little bit, which is what we did. I was really pleased with what he offered us once more today. You can see each game he plays that he is adapting and showing the undoubted qualities he possesses.”
