As always seems to be the case over international breaks, the illness and injury flags are slowly stacking up in Fantasy Premier League (FPL).
The pre-Gameweek 31 press conferences on Thursday and Friday will hopefully tell us more about the condition of the Premier League players who have picked up issues over the international fortnight but for those Fantasy managers thinking of making early transfers or wanting to hear the latest in advance of the end-of-the-week pressers, we’ll round up what we know already here.
ARSENAL
The Gunners have had a decent run on the fitness front for most of 2022 but some new concerns have arisen in the last week or so. The latest news is mostly positive, however.
Gameweek 30 absentee Gabriel Martinelli recovered from coronavirus to play a quarter of an hour for Brazil at the back-end of last week, so barring any new issues will be available to face Crystal Palace on Monday.
Football London also reports that Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf), who hasn’t kicked a ball in over two months, is expected to be in contention for that trip to Selhurst Park.
Bukayo Saka, meanwhile, dropped out of the England squad after testing positive for coronavirus last Thursday. Providing he produces negative test results early this week, he should be out of isolation well in advance of the trip to Selhurst Park. The Covid protocols were even confusing national team boss Gareth Southgate:
“I’m lost on the rules really. I can’t sit here and give a medical download of all that. I’m not quite sure why he is out because I think you can carry on now with normal life.
“I think people have an ethical responsibility if they’re positive to stay away from others and stop the spread but by the normal rules of life he could carry on. Football rules are a bit different but I’m in a maze of confusion frankly.” – Gareth Southgate on Bukayo Saka
Emile Smith Rowe missed England’s win over Switzerland on Saturday with a minor problem but was pictured back in training on Monday.
The biggest concern for Arsenal right now is Aaron Ramsdale, who Mikel Arteta previously ruled out for “weeks” with an oblique muscle problem that led to his absence in Gameweek 30. We’ve not had an update since on the goalkeeper, who was pulled out of England’s squad with the issue.
ASTON VILLA
Lucas Digne‘s hamstring injury was short-lived as he returned to training with the France national team days after missing out against Arsenal. He was also on the bench for the friendly against Ivory Coast on Friday.
Kortney Hause (abdomen) should recover in time for Gameweek 31, while Marvelous Nakamba is set to resume first-team training this week after well over three months out with a knee problem.
BRENTFORD
Christian Eriksen sat out Gameweek 30 because of a positive Covid-19 test but has since featured for Denmark, scoring within two minutes of being introduced against the Netherlands on Saturday.
Saman Ghoddos was the second Brentford player to miss the defeat to Leicester City because of the virus but he subsequently withdrew from Iran’s squad.
The Bees had no injury problems entering the international break.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Tariq Lamptey pulled out of the England under-21 squad late last week with an illness, so the right-back has just over a week to recover as Brighton get set to face Norwich City.
Adam Lallana could be in contention for that fixture, with his hamstring injury described as “minor” by boss Graham Potter, while Adam Webster (groin) was also poised to return to training after a six-week absence.
“Lallana has a minor hamstring issue, so good news but obviously not ready for the game. We will need to think about how much time he gets in terms of training time before introducing him into a game. Adam Webster has made progress. Hopefully, he will be training with the team next week.” – Graham Potter, speaking after the Gameweek 29 loss to Spurs
BURNLEY
Sean Dyche last faced the media ahead of Gameweek 29 and expressed hope that the international break would “benefit” Ben Mee (calf), Matej Vydra (elbow) and Erik Pieters (knee).
Johann Berg Gudmundsson (calf) is a longer-term absentee, however, and Nathan Collins is suspended for Gameweek 31.
CHELSEA
Andreas Christensen (muscle), Callum Hudson-Odoi (Achilles) and Reece James (muscle) all missed Chelsea’s final match before the international break, an FA Cup win over Middlesbrough, although the fact that Thomas Tuchel said that the trio were involved in some sort of training ahead of that game and were in a “tight race” to feature sounds positive for their Gameweek 31 chances.
Tuchel got his wish when James pulled out of the England squad, while Christensen missed out on both of Denmark’s matches over this break.
“He is still in individual training, otherwise, we would have brought him to Lille and we would have brought him here for sure.
“There is no doubt about it. He is still in individual training, he needs one more week of rehabilitation and I think we can provide this much better than – it is not the job of the national team to do this.” – Thomas Tuchel on Reece James, ahead of the FA Cup tie against Middlesbrough
Kepa Arrizabalaga and Saul Niguez both missed out against the ‘Boro due to illness, so should be back for Gameweek 31, but Ben Chilwell (knee) is out for the season.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Nathan Ferguson (hamstring) and James McArthur (unspecified) were the only two Palace players sidelined for the cup win over Everton just before the international break, with Ferguson’s original timeline putting him on course for a Gameweek 31 return – but we’ll take that with a pinch of salt after his injury-ridden last two years.
Of more significance on the injury front are fresh issues picked up by the Eagles’ two first-choice wingers.
Michael Olise withdrew from the France under-21 squad with a foot inflammation that left him unable to train, while Wilfried Zaha was unable to face England with the Ivory Coast because of a hamstring strain.
“He’s injured. On a hamstring, when you have a grade two, for me, it’s an injury.
“[Asked how long he will be out] “For that, I am not a doctor. We’ll see with Crystal Palace. Today I release him to go and make some treatment and care with his physio in the club.” – Ivory Coast manager Patrice Beaumelle on Wilfried Zaha
EVERTON
FPL’s cheapest midfielder, Fabian Delph, has rejoined training over the international break after two months out with a thigh problem.
He’s the only previously sidelined Everton asset who is nearing a return in Gameweek 31, with Yerry Mina (thigh) set for a comeback later in April and Andros Townsend ruled out for the season with a knee injury sustained in the FA Cup defeat to Southampton last weekend.
LEEDS UNITED
Patrick Bamford could be out for the rest of the season after scans confirmed that the striker had ruptured his plantar fascia (the sole of the foot).
Bamford will be out for a minimum of six weeks, taking him into May, so a best-case scenario is the injury-ravaged forward returning for the final two or three matches of the campaign.
Even bigger news from an FPL perspective was the club confirming that Raphinha had joined in training after recovering from the illness that kept him out of Gameweek 30 and international duty with Brazil.
Mateusz Klich (concussion) and Diego Llorente (back) have trained this week and, alongside the recently returned Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper, are available to play against Southampton next week.
Illan Meslier is also expected to be fit for the visit of the Saints, despite sitting out training because of severe bruising to his upper thigh and lower torso.
Junior Firpo (knee) and Tyler Roberts (hamstring) are out, the latter for the season.
LEICESTER CITY
No club has more Premier League matches remaining than Leicester City, whose players are now legitimate Fantasy targets for the run-in – albeit with a big rotation risk tag around their necks due to the frequency of fixtures and involvement in the Europa League.
Jamie Vardy (knee) isn’t someone we’ve been able to call on much lately but his miserable start to the year may be coming to an end, with a return to training expected over the break.
“The likes of Jamie, it’s a week to a couple of weeks, so that’s looking much healthier for us.” – Brendan Rodgers, speaking just after the 2-1 win over Brentford in Gameweek 30
“Hopefully Jamie should be back training with us within the next week or so, which is great news, and he might be not be too far away after the international break.” – Brendan Rodgers, speaking before that match
Marc Albrighton (groin) is on a similar short-term timeline to his fellow long-serving teammate but Wilfred Ndidi (knee), Danny Ward (knee) and Ryan Bertrand (knee) could all be out for the season.
LIVERPOOL
Andrew Robertson made a return to national team training on Monday after illness had kept him out of the friendly against Poland, while the foot problem that prevented Mohamed Salah from featuring in the FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest cleared up enough for FPL’s leading points-scorer to start for Egypt against Senegal on Friday.
As for Liverpool’s ‘other’ full-back, the situation around Trent Alexander-Arnold (hamstring) remains a little vague. Jurgen Klopp had previously ruled him out for “weeks”, with the Liverpool Echo – among others – suggesting that the England international is “unlikely” to face Watford in Gameweek 31. A comeback against Manchester City in Gameweek 32 is reportedly the target.
Naby Keita was forced out of the Guinea squad with a knee problem last week, meanwhile.
MANCHESTER CITY
Ruben Dias isn’t too far away from a return as he recovers from a hamstring injury sustained at the beginning of this month.
A 4-6 week timeline was placed on his comeback when he succumbed to the muscle problem in the FA Cup win over Peterborough United on March 1 but Pep Guardiola looks likely to err on the side of caution in Gameweek 31.
“They told me five or six weeks. I think he will be short [of that] after the international break. They told me it is getting better, his symptoms are very good but the problem is that when he got injured, the doctors told me to be careful – it looks like you are good at Burnley but falling down again means the season is over.” – Pep Guardiola on Ruben Dias, March 19
John Stones pulled out of the England XI on Saturday after feeling muscle tightness in the warm-up ahead of the Switzerland game and although he was back in training on Monday, he was subsequently released as a precaution.
The illness that forced Ederson out of the Brazil squad early last week was thought to only be gastroenteritis, meanwhile.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Luke Shaw returned from illness to feature for England over the international break, while the minor issues that Paul Pogba (foot) and Raphael Varane (foot) picked up on national team duty didn’t stop them from making the matchday squad in France’s 5-0 win over South Africa on Tuesday.
Edinson Cavani‘s stop-start season continues, as he limped out of Uruguay’s win over Chile with a reported calf problem.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Two Newcastle players have returned early from international duty: Fabian Schar and Martin Dubravka.
There was some confusion about Dubravka’s exit from the Slovakia national team, with ‘angina’ initially and worryingly reported. However, there appears to have been a word or two lost in translation along the way, with a mere infection now suggested as the cause.
Schar, meanwhile, suffered an adductor problem in training for Switzerland ahead of the weekend’s clash against England.
Kieran Trippier (foot) and Callum Wilson (calf) were part of a Magpies squad who went away to Dubai over the break but neither player featured in a friendly victory over local side Gulf United and won’t be back in Gameweek 31, with a return to play later in April mooted.
NORWICH CITY
Adam Idah (ankle/knee) and Andrew Omobamidele (back) are still on the sidelines for the Canaries, while fitness issues were thought to be behind the exclusion of Brandon Williams (ankle) and Max Aarons (hamstring) from the England under-21 squad.
Ozan Kabak picked up a leg muscle strain in Turkey’s clash with Italy, meanwhile.
SOUTHAMPTON
Alex McCarthy (hamstring) and Lyanco (hamstring) were the only two players absent for Southampton’s final match before the international break, and neither player is scheduled for a return in Gameweek 31.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Ben Davies (thigh) pulled out of the Wales squad at the weekend but local reports suggest that the withdrawal was merely precautionary due to thigh tightness and that the defender should be available for Gameweek 31.
Oliver Skipp (groin) is expected to remain on the sidelines for the visit of Newcastle, while Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) won’t be back until the middle of April at the earliest and Japhet Tanganga (knee) is out for the season.
WATFORD
Ismaila Sarr looks set to return to Premier League action in Gameweek 31, having recovered from a hamstring injury to first feature in a behind-closed-doors friendly for Watford and then Senegal’s World Cup qualifying play-off against Egypt on Friday.
Jeremy Ngakia (hamstring) had been close to a return in Gameweek 29, so should be fit, while Nicolas Nkoulou built up match-sharpness with a run-out for the under-23s in the middle of March after four months out with a hamstring injury.
WEST HAM UNITED
There have been mixed reports on Jarrod Bowen‘s (foot) recovery. The Athletic were among the outlets suggesting that the midfielder may even struggle to make the two-legged Europa League tie against Lyon that falls either side of Gameweek 32, but the usually reliable club insider ‘exWHUemployee’ more recently indicated that a return for Bowen and Vladimir Coufal (hernia) against Everton in Gameweek 31 isn’t out of the equation.
Angelo Ogbonna (knee) is a longer-term absentee.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Ruben Neves suffered a medial collateral ligament injury in the match against Leeds United in Gameweek 30, with Wolves reporting that he will be out until May.
Nelson Semedo (hamstring) has started modified training, while Pedro Neto (knee) should return to full training this week. Ki-Jana Hoever (hamstring) is further behind in his rehab.
Raul Jimenez‘s suspension meanwhile means that we won’t see him before Gameweek 34.
