Jack Rodwell is likely to be out for the season with another hamstring problem. Hatem Ben Arfa reveals he is starting to mature under Alan Pardew, Arsene Wenger is full of praise for Yossi Benayoun, while Martin Jol is hopeful his striker shortage will be lessened for Fulham’s Gameweek 35 match with Wigan:
Jack Rodwell is set to miss the remainder of the 2011/12 campaign after breaking down with yet another hamstring injury in training last weekend. The midfielder has been plagued with the ongoing problem all season and has featured just five time since Gameweek 11 in what has been a hugely frustrating campaign for Everton. The plan of action is now to send Rodwell to Munich-based specialist, Dr Hans Müller-Wohlfahrt – who also treats the Bayern squad – with Toffees boss David Moyes admitting it is highly unlikely Rodwell will feature again this season:
Jack Rodwell has pulled his hamstring again training. He trained Saturday morning and felt his hamstring again. He had a scan. It’s a grade one which is small. But in the circumstances two or three times now. We are trying to send him to Germany for treatment. I would advise him to concentrate on next season because Jack has probably missed six months with hamstring injuries so we have to get him working on whatever work programme they recommend him to do.
Martin Jol will assess his forward options over the next few days, with the Fulham boss optimistic of having one of Andy Johnson or Pavel Pogrebnyak available for the Gameweek 35 home game with Wigan. Johnson has been out with groin and thigh problems, while Pogrebnyak has been suffering from an ankle injury sustained in the Gameweek 31 win over Norwich. Fantasy owners of Clint Dempsey will be hoping that neither are fit for the Latics clash – the US international has led the line in the pair’s absence, grabbing three goals in the last couple of Gameweeks in his more advanced role up front.
Hatem Ben Arfa has admitted his recent displays are a result of a growing maturity to his play on the Newcastle right. Alan Pardew has been the Frenchman’s biggest critic this season, with the winger’s lack of work-ethic affording him few first-team opportunities in the first XI, but the Magpies boss revealed last week he felt â€the penny had dropped†and that Ben Arfa had finally taken his instructions on board. With three goals and four assists in his last six appearances, the former Lyon man has vindicated Pardew’s patience, as he conceded:
I have matured and grown, especially with this long injury but, deep down, I remain the same. However, I am adapting and I am correcting myself to fit into the professional mould because I know I am paid to win matches and not to amuse myself, but learning to adapt doesn’t mean I will forget my instinct.
Andre Santos will start at left-back for Arsenal tonight after Arsene Wenger revealed Kieran Gibbs will miss out for the trip to Wolves due to a groin problem. Gervinho is also unavailable for the Molineux showdown after picking up an ankle injury, though the Gunners boss admitted both were just short-term problems.
Wenger also took time to praise Yossi Benayoun, hinting that the on-loan midfielder affords Arsenal a better balance on the left flank in bigger games. The Israeli has been a bit-part player since arriving from Chelsea but, after starting ahead of Gervinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against City on Sunday, it appears he has given his manager plenty of food for thought, with Wenger telling Arsenal Player:
First of all he knows the job in this [wide] position. He is highly focused in the big games, that is a massive part, because you cannot switch off. So we have a good balance in the team with him and a good focus. And of course he has quality. We have to say that in the games he has started he did extremely well and the team did extremely well as well. That is never a coincidence.
While the FA baffled many of us with their decisions on Shaun Derry and Mario Balotelli yesterday, they have shown a little more leniency towards Anthony Modeste this afternoon. The Blackburn man received a three-match ban for violent conduct in last weekend’s match at West Brom but this can been reduced to one match upon appeal. With Rovers having played against Liverpool last night, Modeste’s ban has now been served, meaning he is available for selection for this Saturday’s crucial trip to Swansea.
The admittedly remote chances of Jose Enrique donning the goalkeeper’s gloves for Liverpool this weekend appear to have diminished after the Reds recalled Peter Gulacsi on loan from Hull ahead of the FA Cup Semi-Final clash against Everton. Brad Jones will, of course, start the match for Kenny Dalglish’s side but, with Pepe Reina and Doni both suspended, the Reds were facing a keeper crisis should Jones have received his marching orders in the Merseyside derby. Gulacsi’s recall now affords them proper back-up on the bench, meaning Enrique can likely concentrate on his left-back duties once again.
