Ledley King suffers a hamstring tear and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks. Alejandro Faurlin confirms he is ruled out for the rest of the season, Alan Pardew mulls over a switch to the flank for Hatem Ben Arfa and West Brom’s injury woes rack up:
Ledley King is looking at an extended time on the sidelines after tearing a hamstring. Reports suggest the centre-half could be out for up to eight weeks after suffering the injury in training last Friday and with William Gallas tearing a calf muscle against West Brom last week, Harry Redknapp’s options at the heart of defence are limited. Luckily for Redknapp, Michael Dawson returned to action in the weekend FA Cup win over Cheltenham and is available for selection, in addition to Younes Kaboul and Sebastian Bassong.
Arsene Wenger has dismissed the idea that Thierry Henry could stay on loan at Arsenal until the end of the season. Reports have suggested the New York Red Bulls man could perhaps remain at the Emirates till May, in a deal similar to the one that saw AC Milan retain the services of David Beckham a couple of years back, but it is not a scenario that Wenger has considered:
We have promised that we will send the player back so we have not spoken about that at all. Let’s hope we have the problem. If we have a problem then it means he has done well so I hope we have the problem. But at the moment I can just say no, it is not envisaged at all.
Alejandro Faurlin has confirmed he is ruled out for the rest of the season. The midfielder was stretchered off in QPR’s 1-1 FA Cup draw with MK Dons at the weekend and took to twitter to reveal he has a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Alan Pardew has suggested he is tempted to play Hatem Ben Arfa on the wing after the Frenchman’s wonder goal at the weekend. Ben Arfa was initially fielded up front alongside Leon Best for the game against Blackburn but his impact on the game only flourished when he was moved to the flank after Gabriel Obertan was withdrawn. Although the player is desperate for a “number 10” type of role, Pardew feels Ben Arfa’s performance benefitted from the shift:
It did help him. Before I arrived, there were suggestions that he had played wide and didn’t want to play there. But Hatem has to understand that it’s about the team, and where we think he fits in best is where we are going to put him. But his talent was there for everybody to see today.
West Brom’s injury woes increased at the weekend after Gareth McAuley picked up a calf strain in the FA Cup win over Cardiff. The centre-half limped off before the end of the 4-2 win and with Jonas Olsson also currently sidelined with a calf problem, Roy Hodgson now has nine players on the treatment table ahead of next weekend’s clash with Norwich.
Seamus Coleman suffered a recurrence of a thigh injury in Everton’s win over Tamworth at the weekend. The Irishman has played only 30 minutes since gameweek 15 and was subbed off before the hour mark at Goodison on Saturday when the problem flared up yet again.
Steve Kean hopes to have Chris Samba, David Dunn and Junior Hoilett available for Blackburn’s home clash with Fulham on Saturday. The trio missed Rovers’ 2-1 FA Cup defeat at Newcastle last weekend, with Samba a last-minute call-off, due to ankle and hamstring issues. With Martin Olsson and Gael Givet also returning, Kean’s injury problems appear to be lessening as he looks to plunder a crucial three points against the Cottagers.
FPL have added the newest January acquisitions to the player list today. Thierry Henry comes in at 7.5, Gylfi Sigurdsson has been priced at 5.0 in the Swansea midfield, while Paul Scholes has returned to the Man United squad with a 5.5 price tag against his name.
Man City confirmed this afternoon they have lodged an appeal over Vincent Kompany’s sending off in yesterday’s FA Cup defeat by Man United. The Telegraph’s Mark Ogden has suggested the verdict should be known by 6pm tomorrow evening, with the case being fast-tracked due to City’s Carling Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool taking place on Wednesday.
