Confirmation came on Friday morning that Kevin De Bruyne will miss around three months of the Premier League season with a knee ligament lesion suffered in training earlier this week.
While bad news for De Bruyne himself and the legions of Fantasy Premier League managers who owned him – the Belgian was the second-most owned midfielder before the start of the season and has suffered over 500,000 sales in the past week as a result – the unfortunate lay-off will likely mean increased pitch-time for Ilkay Gundogan, with David Silva and Bernardo Silva among City’s other players who are comfortable in the centre of the park.
Pep Guardiola revealed in his press conference that David Silva has returned to training in recent days, having missed the win over Arsenal with a leg injury.
Further potentially significant news for Manchester City assets actually came in David Wagner’s press conference on Friday. The Huddersfield Town boss confirmed that Zanka will miss out on the trip to the Etihad with a muscle problem, while Jonathan Hogg is a doubt with a hip issue.
Meanwhile, Maurizio Sarri ruled Cesc Fabregas out of tomorrow night’s match against Arsenal while confirming that Mateo Kovacic would not be ready to play the full 90 minutes – but could feature off the bench.
That will likely give Ross Barkley another week in the Blues’ midfield alongside the reborn, all-action N’Golo Kante and Jorginho.
Eden Hazard, meanwhile, may push for a start after his cameo – and assist – in the 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town last weekend.
The left-back spot continues to cause trouble for Unai Emery, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles ruled out for six to eight weeks. Sead Kolasinac also remains out, but Nacho Monreal has at least returned to training and could reclaim the left-back spot. Emery talked up Stephan Lichtsteiner‘s chances in that role though, so the uncertainty continues.
There was little to report from Jurgen Klopp’s press conference on Friday, but Joel Matip could re-enter the centre-back equation on Monday night for the trip to Selhurst Park. Dejan Lovren remains out, however.
Mauricio Pochettino didn’t elaborate on which of his remaining returning World Cup players (namely Kieran Trippier) would be involved this weekend, though Son Heung-min is of course now unavailable due to his participation in the Asian Games.
Spurs’ opponents Fulham face another headache at centre-back, with Alfie Mawson (knee), Denis Odoi (suspended) and Tim Ream (knock) absent. Joe Bryan has, at least, been passed fit to play at left-back, meaning Ryan Sessegnon will likely be spared defensive duties.
Nemanja Matic and Antonio Valencia are back in training but won’t be ready to feature for the Red Devils on Sunday, though Jesse Lingard appears to be available for selection – despite the possible misinterpretation of Jose Mourinho’s press conference comments by the club’s social media department.
United’s opponents, Brighton and Hove Albion, will be missing Bruno through a hamstring injury. Martin Montoya is in line to make his debut in place of the veteran right-back, who joins Florin Andone and Jose Izquierdo on the treatment table.
Victor Camarasa, Harry Arter and Kenneth Zohore are in contention for Cardiff City for the Gameweek 2 curtain-raiser against Newcastle United, who will be without DeAndre Yedlin (knee) for the match in south Wales.
Burnley’s extra-time efforts on Thursday night shouldn’t have much impact on their starting XI, with only Joe Hart, Stephen Ward and Jeff Hendrick completing the full 120 minutes of the players who started at St. Mary’s last weekend.
Eddie Howe and Manuel Pellegrini were coy on the chances of their clubs’ new signings (namely Jefferson Lerma, Carlos Sanchez and Lucas Perez) appearing in the match between Bournemouth and West Ham this weekend, though there appear to be no lingering injury worries for Marko Arnautovic.
Richarlison, meanwhile, has shaken off his knock to be passed fit for Everton’s game against Southampton, though new signings Yerry Mina and Andre Gomes won’t feature.
The Saints could be without Mohamed Elyounoussi (tight hamstring), although Stuart Armstrong is expected to be involved.
Leicester City, Crystal Palace and Watford haven’t reported any new fitness concerns, though Wolverhampton Wanderers could be without Diego Cavaleiro for their Gameweek 2 match at the King Power Stadium.
A more detailed analysis of the injury news, manager press conferences and predicted line-ups can be found in our Team News section.
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