Chris Brunt is out of West Brom’s home clash with Arsenal. Theo Walcott faces a late fitness test for the Baggies showdown. Jonny Evans may require surgery on an injured foot. David Luiz is making good progress from a hamstring injury, Steve Kean’s injury worries mount up, while Ledley King is set for further knee surgery this summer:
Chris Brunt has been ruled out of Roy Hodgson’s final match in charge of West Brom this Sunday. The midfielder, who has been in decent Fantasy form of late with a goal and 5 bonus points in his last two games, has undergone surgery to have his tonsils removed – he has been struggling with tonsillitis for the past six weeks now, according to Baggies assistant boss Keith Downing. Peter Odemwingie is still battling to overcome the hamstring injury that kept him out of last week’s trip to Bolton, while Jerome Thomas is also a doubt for the visit of Arsenal with flu.
Theo Walcott may be set for a return for the Hawthorns trip. Arsene Wenger revealed this afternoon that the winger is set for a fitness test tomorrow ahead of Sunday’s vital clash. With a win enough to secure third place, the Gunners boss is desperate for Walcott to be available, with Gervinho failing to impress on the right as a recent replacement.
Reports suggest that Jonny Evans’ foot injury may be more serious than first thought. The United centre-half has missed out on his side’s last two matches after sustaining the injury in the 4-4 draw against Everton in Gameweek 35 – he is thought to be unlikely to feature at Sunderland this weekend. While the club had initially thought a rest would help the injury heal naturally, Evans is showing little sign of making progress, with surgery over the summer now a possibility.
David Luiz is making good progress from a hamstring problem ahead of Chelsea’s game against Blackburn. While the centre-half is unlikely to feature from the start, he is said to be in contention for a possible sub appearance against the relegated outfit – he hasn’t played since the middle of last month and Roberto Di Matteo is keen to afford him some game time, with the Champions League Final against Bayern Munich just over a week away. Luiz is thought to have missed training today, along with Gary Cahill and John Obi Mikel – the latter was unavailable for Tuesday’s trip to Liverpool due to injury.
Steve Kean is sweating on the fitness of a couple of key players for the Chelsea encounter. Paul Robinson and David Dunn are both nursing ankle problems and remain doubts for the match, while the Blackburn boss also revealed Bradley Orr is out – the defender has undergone Achilles surgery. Kean is hoping Gael Givet will be ready for the weekend; the defender was taken off at half-time against Wigan on Monday with hamstring and groin problems.
Ledley King could be set to feature for Spurs in Sunday’s crucial home game with Fulham. The centre-half has missed the last three Gameweeks with his ongoing knee problem after a training ground collision worsened his condition – Harry Redknapp admitted King is set to go under the knife again after the season comes to an end:
For the sake of the club and the team, he has tried to play on, but he has been playing in pain and his movement’s not been as good. Hopefully, we’ll get his knee cleared out in the summer and he will be right again. I’m sure the chairman respects everything he has done for the club and we’d love to keep him around.
Owen Coyle has admitted he is considering how to utilise Chung-Yong Lee for Bolton’s vital trip to Stoke this weekend. A victory for the Trotters and a defeat for QPR at City would ensure the Lancashire outfit’s survival and, with the Korean impressing as a sub in last week’s draw with West Brom, Coyle is keeping his options open:
He came through 70 minutes the other day in a practice match and he’s fit. Whether he’s at the point where he can start games is difficult because we wouldn’t want to do anything that could harm his long term well-being. But for that brief period against West Brom you could see his quality and if he continues to improve as he has done then we’ll have to see what can happen against Stoke.
The Bolton boss is also checking on the fitness of Nigel Reo-Coker and Martin Petrov; the latter limped off with ten minutes left against the Baggies but is thought to be nursing no more than a knock.
