Mesut Ozil misses Arsenal’s goalless draw at the Britannia with a foot problem. Chelsea await results of Diego Costa’s shin injury, whilst Man City sweat over Aleksandar Kolarov’s weekend withdrawal.
Arsenal
By virtue of a foot problem, Mesut Ozil was omitted from the Gunners’ squad to face Stoke City and stayed in the capital. Although the league’s assist leader (16) wasn’t fit enough to travel, Arsene Wenger believes Ozil will recover in time for Chelsea’s visit in the upcoming Gameweek:
“He had an inflamation on his foot and yesterday morning we looked and he was not very well. He was not 100 per cent at Liverpool so I decided to leave him out. I think he should be back for next Sunday.”
Wenger previously explained that Ozil minimises his training during the week to ensure that he’s in prime condition for matchday, so it’s perhaps not surprising that he won’t take any chances with the player’s fitness. Given that Ozil is expected to make the Blues clash, his 55% ownership will be content holding a player that’s drawn just three blanks since Gameweek 7, considering that Chelsea have now conceded five times in their last two league outings.
Bournemouth
Tommy Elphick – who made just five starts at the beginning of the campaign before requiring surgery on a chipped ankle – is nearing a return to action, according to Eddie Howe:
“Tommy is making good progress. He has been training for 10 days but it has been small steps. He is a matter of weeks away. When you have had an operation, you have to make sure you really feel right before you get pushed.”
Elsewhere in the Cherries camp, Joshua King is recovering well from a hamstring complaint but will be eased back into contention to avoid a setback:
“The beauty of the signings we’ve made enables us to get Joshua back fit and right rather than pushing him through necessity, which I felt we were doing around the Christmas period just because we had a lack of options. Hopefully, Joshua will be back in the not too distant future and 100 per cent right.”
Chelsea
After scoring Chelsea’s opener against Everton, Diego Costa was replaced at the 80-minute mark due to injury. During his post-match interview, Gus Hiddink confirmed that Costa was sent to the hospital to undergo a scan:
“He’s in hospital and they will check with a scan. We don’t know the results yet, I hope it’s not too bad. It’s on his shin. We hope Diego will come out of the hospital in good health. He was in a lot of pain.”
According to reports, scans showed that the former Atletico Madrid man suffered bruising and not a fracture, but Chelsea are yet to comment on whether he’ll be passed fit for the Arsenal encounter.
With four goals in as many league starts under Hiddink, Costa has snapped out of his early-season malaise and furnished us with a viable challenger to the likes of Harry Kane and Olivier Giroud at the upper end of the market. Only Aleksandar Mitrovic tallied more shots inside the box (nine) than Costa (seven) across the last two Gameweeks, so his 7% ownership will hope for a speedy turnaround. A spell on the sidelines could bring Loic Remy in from the cold, though, with Radamel Falcao still sidelined though injury.
Crystal Palace
Bakary Sako – who’s made just one appearance since Gameweek 14 due to injury – was ruled out of Crystal Palace’s trip to Manchester City with another knock.
Meanwhile, Alan Pardew explained that Connor Wickham was replaced in the 66th minute at the Etihad because the ex-Sunderland frontman is not yet ready to last the distance following his three-match injury layoff.
Everton
Despite being stretchered off at the 71-minute mark against Chelsea, Bryan Oviedo should be fine for Everton’s home tie against Swansea City next weekend. Roberto Martinez asserted that the full-back’s problem is a minor one that is unlikely to trouble him:
“Bryan’s injury is not serious and he should be ok. We will assess him over the next 24 hours. It was more a knock rather than anything else. We expect that Bryan will be ok.”
In the absence of Seamus Coleman – who’s contending with a calf injury – Oviedo was deployed in the right-back berth at Stamford Bridge, allowing John Stones to revert to centre-back alongside Phil Jagielka. Those Fantasy managers who are looking to invest in the Toffees’ defence ahead of three enticing home match-ups (SWA, NEW, sto, WBA) will be interested by these developments, then, though Oviedo’s classification as a midfielder limits our options amongst Martinez’ backline.
Manchester City
Aleksandar Kolarov left the field just seven minutes into the second half against the Eagles with a calf injury. Manuel Pellegrini expanded on the Serbian defender’s situation in his post-match presser, insisting that they won’t understand the severity of his issue until today:
“I had to make the substitution because Aleks Kolarov was injured and we needed tall players for set pieces. We’ll see on Monday. Aleks had a kick in his calf – we don’t know if it’s a muscle injury or just a kick.”
Regardless of Kolarov’s prognosis, his and Bacary Sagna’s ownerships will be scouring the market for replacements now that Pellegrini has started to rotate his full-backs. With Vincent Kompany consigned to the treatment room, Nicolas Otamendi represents the only secure route into a Sky Blues rearguard that’s conceded just one goal in four matches and now embarks on an agreeable trio of fixtures (whu, sun, LEI).
Manchester United
The Red Devils’ injury travails deepened as Ashley Young was forced off in the 52nd minute at Anfield with a knee problem. Considering that the inexperienced Cameron Borthwick-Jackson is next in line for that left-back berth, prospective Chris Smalling investors might be deterred in spite of a favourable schedule (SOU, STO, che).
Newcastle United
By way of a hamstring injury, Paul Dummett was subbed off in the 57th minute against West Ham United last weekend. Steve McClaren is optimistic that the Tyneside native was merely struggling with a tight muscle:
“It’s a hamstring, but hopefully it’s just a little bit of tightness.”
Stoke City
Following a tackle he received in the opening exchanges against West Bromwich Albion two weeks ago, Geoff Cameron was sidelined for Stoke’s back-to-back home fixtures. The USA international expressed his frustration at not being able to play but vowed not to rush his comeback:
“It’s hugely frustrating to be out at the moment, especially through a really bad challenge that occurred in the first five minutes or so of the West Brom game. I tried for the Liverpool game and had to come off at half time. It just felt a little bit too much for me and that has hindered me a bit. I tried to train for the Norwich game earlier in the week but it wasn’t right, and I decided to make the decision of not wanting to risk anything. It’s better to miss a game or two now and come back fit and ready to go rather than playing through the pain-barrier week after week and then ending up with something more serious down the line.”
West Bromwich Albion
Tony Pulis confirmed that James Morrison could face up to two months on the sidelines with the hamstring complaint he picked up in the Baggies’ draw at Chelsea last week. As for Darren Fletcher – who suffered a cut on his knee in the first half against Southampton – the West Brom boss awaits the results of a scan.
“We’ve had two blows. We lost Fletcher today and Morrison on Wednesday at Chelsea. James has a ruptured hamstring, which is obviously a massive blow for him and us because he’s a quality player. Darren’s knee ‘opened’ up so we will see how that is. He will need a scan on that before we know how bad it is.”
