FPL team news: Gameweek 13 injury updates on Raphinha and Gray

We’ve got all the confirmed team news so far for Gameweek 13 of Fantasy Premier League (FPL) in our first injury round-up of the pre-match press conferences.

Thursday is a relatively quiet day, with just five Premier League managers facing reporters. Brendan Rodgers will also deliver his pre-Gameweek 13 briefing after full-time in Leicester City’s Europa League clash with Legia Warsaw but we may not hear much of that until tomorrow.

So we’ve got updates on players from Arsenal, Brighton and Hove Albion, Everton, Leeds United and Southampton in the article below, along with all we know on Phil Foden, Diogo Jota and Ben Chilwell.

A total of 14 top-flight head coaches, including Thomas Tuchel, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, will talk to the media on Friday to provide us with more information on any outstanding issues.

Don’t forget to keep checking our Predicted Line-ups page and Injuries and Bans tab, which will be gradually refreshed between now and Saturday’s FPL deadline.

LEEDS UNITED

Marcelo Bielsa has revealed that Raphinha has recovered from the illness that forced him to miss last Sunday’s defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.

There’s positive news elsewhere, with Rodrigo (heel) and Jamie Shackleton (match fitness) also declared available and longer-term absentees Luke Ayling (ankle), Patrick Bamford (ankle) and Robin Koch (pubis) – all of whom were spotted on the training ground this week – nearing a return.

“Ayling will probably be able to play with the under-23s on Monday as he is healthy now. Shackleton is also healthy. Raphinha and Rodrigo are also available.

“The ones who are finishing their periods of recovery are Koch and Bamford.” – Marcelo Bielsa

EVERTON

Demarai Gray (muscle) remains a doubt for the clash with Brentford but the severity of the injury that forced him from the field of play in Gameweek 12 isn’t as serious as first feared.

“He was doing a light training session today, very light, so we will see if he can be available but maybe we don’t have too much time. It was OK, it was less than what we were expecting.” – Rafael Benitez on Demarai Gray

Richarlison is suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the season last weekend, so Cenk Tosun or Salomon Rondon will deputise up top.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (thigh/toe), Yerry Mina (hamstring), Andre Gomes (calf), Mason Holgate (suspended) and Tom Davies (knee) are sidelined but Abdoulaye Doucoure (foot) is on the cusp of a return.

“Doucoure has been training today so is one player that maybe could be available of [the injured contingent].” The others are getting closer but still not available.” – Rafael Benitez

ARSENAL

Granit Xhaka (knee) and Sead Kolasinac (ankle) are the only two Arsenal players definitely ruled out of the visit of Newcastle United, with Mikel Arteta saying in Thursday’s press conference that there was no other injury news to report and that “everybody is fine so far”.

“He is training and pushing himself and all the staff so hard like he always does. He is in a good place, he is evolving well and hopefully, we can have him a little bit earlier [than January].” – Mikel Arteta on Granit Xhaka

“Normally in this period, injuries start to come, suspensions… we already have a few players close to that, so everybody has to be ready because it’s going to be key, the contribution that they can make to sustain the level and results.” – Mikel Arteta on fixture congestion

SOUTHAMPTON

Jack Stephens (knee) is nearing a return after the best part of three months out, although this weekend’s trip to Anfield may come too soon.

“He’s back in training, first week since a long time. This is good. If he’s ready for the weekend, I’m not sure. It’s good that he’s back.” – Ralph Hasenhuttl on Jack Stephens

Stuart Armstrong (calf) remains sidelined, meanwhile, but Nathan Redmond and Moussa Djenepo are in contention to return after missing Gameweek 12 for personal reasons.

“Stuey [Armstrong] is out with a calf injury. Moussa [Djenepo] is back in training and Reddy [Nathan Redmond] also.”- Ralph Hasenhuttl

BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION

Graham Potter confirmed that Enock Mwepu (groin) has returned to training this week and has “a really good chance” of making the squad to face Leeds.

“He’s recovered well, he’s trained this week. We need to see how he is tomorrow but I think he has a really good chance of being in the squad. We’ll look at his game time and see how much he can play. He’s been training with us this week, so he’s available.” – Graham Potter on Enock Mwepu

Steven Alzate (ankle) and Danny Welbeck (hamstring) are making good progress in their rehabs but remain out.

Robert Sanchez is back from suspension and will, presumably, reclaim his place between the posts after a rare run-out for Jason Steele last weekend.

“We believe in Robert a lot, we know his quality but we also know Jason’s quality. We’re very lucky. Two different goalkeepers, at different stages of their careers, but both are really, really important for us.

“No blame for Rob [for the red card at Newcastle], no negativity for that. It’s part of his experience and development as a player. We’re all behind him and he’ll come back stronger for it.” – Graham Potter

EUROPA/CONFERENCE LEAGUE PRESSERS

Rodgers, Antonio Conte and David Moyes all faced the media yesterday ahead of tonight’s European ties.

Moyes confirmed that the Hammers had “chosen” not to include Michail Antonio in the squad for the clash with Rapid Vienna ahead of a busy week of Premier League football.

“Michail [Antonio] is not here, no. We chose not to bring him today, and apart from that, Lukasz [Fabianski] isn’t here. Those two haven’t come. 

“We’ve got a busy week coming up next week, when we’ve got three games and it’s a full Premier League week for everybody, so we want to give Mich every chance of being ready and being in good condition for it.” – David Moyes

Conte and Rodgers revealed that Cristian Romero (muscle), Giovani Lo Celso (knock), Dane Scarlett (ankle), Youri Tielemans (calf) and Ricardo Pereira (hamstring) all remained sidelined, however.

“We are waiting for another scan. I think his injury is a bit serious and we have to wait. I don’t know now the time he needs to recover. It’s an injury that’s more serious than Lo Celso and Scarlett.” – Antonio Conte on Cristian Romero

“Youri is still a little bit of time away, but he’s progressing well. [He’ll be back] maybe within the next couple of weeks.

“Ricardo won’t be available. That hamstring [issue] is lingering a little bit, so he will be out for a few weeks also. We’ll just continue to monitor that, but otherwise the squad is the same.” – Brendan Rodgers

FODEN/CHILWELL/JOTA

We’ll get more concrete updates on Phil Foden (knock) and Ben Chilwell (knee) on Friday, with both players seeing FPL flag changes yesterday evening.

Foden’s “75% chance of playing” status came about because he missed Manchester City’s win over Paris Saint-Germain, with the club initially reporting a “lack of match fitness” before their manager faced the media ahead of kick-off to provide a little bit of – but not too much – clarification.

“Phil had a problem in the last game against Everton, did not recover. Yesterday in training, he didn’t feel good, and he’s not able to play.” – Pep Guardiola

Jack Grealish (knock) and Kevin De Bruyne (Covid-19) were also absent.

Chilwell, as has been well documented, suffered a knee injury in Tuesday’s win over Juventus and since our last update, media reports suggest he could be set for a lengthy period on the sidelines.

N’Golo Kante (knee) picked up a less serious injury in that Champions League tie, a match that Kai Havertz (hamstring) missed out on.

Diogo Jota was among the substitutes for Liverpool last night, along with the fit-again Divock Origi and James Milner, after making a swift recovery from a knock to the knee in Gameweek 12.