There’s team news from four Premier League clubs to bring you this afternoon as the pre-match press conferences for Gameweek 24 get underway.
You’ll be able to find all the injury updates and key quotes in the article below.
We should hear from the managers of the other 16 top-flight teams on Friday.
KEY GAMEWEEK 24 INJURY NEWS FROM THURSDAY
- Brentford: Ajer + Damsgaard not seriously injured but remain doubts
- Leeds United: Bijol + Nmecha out, “a little chance” for Gudmudsson
- West Ham United: Paqueta on his way out, Nuno on Adama, the usual knocks
- Burnley: Flemming + Worrall set to be available, Ward-Prowse could feature
BRENTFORD
Mikkel Damsgaard (knee) and Kristoffer Ajer (ankle) appear to have avoided serious injury despite limping off last weekend.
The two, however, are still doubtful for Gameweek 24.
“That was the main reason I didn’t sleep so well on Sunday night, to be honest. Not so much the result, it was more those two coming off in the way they did. Obviously pretty concerning [but] thankfully they’re both pretty good, really. It’s nothing serious.
“Whether they’ll be available for the weekend or not, I’m not entirely sure on both of them, but if they’re not, they won’t be far off. That tells you it’s not too bad, thankfully, because like I said, I was pretty worried.” – Keith Andrews on Kristoffer Ajer and Mikkel Damsgaard
Josh Dasilva, Fábio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo are all out with knee injuries.
LEEDS UNITED
Jaka Bijol (hamstring) and Lukas Nmecha (hamstring) will miss out this weekend but it sounds like it won’t be long before we see those two again.
“Jaka will definitely miss the Arsenal game. He’s progressing in his rehab, we hope to have him then back probably on the other side of the Nottingham game [in Gameweek 25]. Perhaps there is even a little chance that he is involved already for Nottingham.
“We will also miss Lukas Nmecha. He reported during the warm-up at Everton some problems with his hamstring. This was also the reason why I didn’t bring him on.
“He will definitely miss the Arsenal game but we hope that we have him perhaps already back for Nottingham. Latest, on the other side of the Nottingham game, but there is probably a good chance he is already back [for Gameweek 25].” – Daniel Farke
There’s even a “little chance” that Gabriel Gudmundsson (adductor) makes it back, ahead of expectations, for the visit of Arsenal.
“Gabby Gudmundsson has progressed further on. Much better than expected. He was not in team training yet, so far, but we have two more days and there is perhaps even a little chance that he makes it for this game.” – Daniel Farke
Daniel James (hamstring) has returned to training this week and comes into contention.
“Back in team training, good news with him. And yes, of course, if you’re in team training, then you also have a chance to be selected and you’re also available for the game. With him, we will still take some mindful decisions. He was out for such a long time and of course, he needs a few training sessions but you can see him more or less growing from session to session, from day to day, and it’s good to have him back in training.” – Daniel Farke on Daniel James
WEST HAM UNITED
Nuno Espirito confirmed that Lucas Paqueta is on his way out of the club, even if the deal isn’t inked yet.
“It’s not official yet. We as a club have allowed him to travel to do his medical. Like I said, I think we’ve found a solution that everybody was aware [of]; it’s come to a good conclusion. Lucas was clear, that he wanted to return home. We expect the medical and things to come official. Then we will see.
“You cannot replace Lucas, because he is unique. He is a number ten that has special qualities, you cannot find many players like Lucas in the transfer window. We have to move forward with what we have.
“[Looking internally for solutions] is what we’ve been doing for the last three matches.” – Nuno Espirito Santo on Lucas Paqueta
Adama Traore has joined the Hammers in the last few days and could feature for the first time.
“We didn’t decide [if Adama Traoré will play] yet. We still have tomorrow to decide the squad and the team. Adama is physically okay, and he can become an option.” – Nuno Espirito Santo
Nuno was again little help on the team news front. We’re not aware of any issues, save for the ongoing absence of veteran goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski (back).
“There are always things to assess. Always knocks, always situations that we have to assess. That’s normal.” – Nuno Espirito Santo
BURNLEY
Joe Worrall and Zian Flemming are back in contention after rejoining training over the last week or so. They’ve been missing since the back-end of December.
The Burnley boss added that he has no fresh concerns.
“Both [Zian Flemming and Joe Worrall] should be back and available after training. They have had a full 10 days or a week of training. They are in a good place. Both Flem and Joe will be available, so that is good for us.
“Nothing else, clean [bill of health]. Everyone else is fit, what I can think of now, at the top of my head. Everyone else is in a good place, really.” – Scott Parker
Mike Tresor (ankle), Josh Cullen (knee), Jordan Beyer (hamstring), Connor Roberts (Achilles) and Zeki Amdouni (knee) remain out.
New boy James Ward-Prowse could be involved for the first time, although it sounds like he needs a bit of fitness work after being unused by West Ham for so long.
“He brings a know-how and he has been at this level, professional-wise, as well, in terms of what he represents and what he stands for. I think he’d be a very good addition for us, really. So, we needed some covering there with obviously Josh [Cullen] coming out with a long-term injury and we’ve done that and feel that we’ve recruited someone who’s going to be valuable to us. So, get him up to speed now, see how he is in the coming days in terms of actual work and where he is.
“I think if there’s one word to categorise James, in terms of set plays, it’s an absolute expert. So, it definitely helps in that area, along with other areas as well. I think it’d be really unfair of us or unfair of me to only compliment James’ ability to take set plays. He brings an all-round game to him.
“It was his first day today and obviously we managed that because he’s not played for some time and not been in and around the game. So, you’re managing load and you’re managing exactly where James is.” – Scott Parker on James Ward-Prowse
