The Weekend Team News

There’s plenty of updates for Fantasy managers this morning after a hectic day of press conferences. Ahead of the Third Round of FA Cup action later today, Emmanuel Adebayor has recovered from the cramp that forced him off against United in midweek. Daniel Sturridge will return within a fortnight. Mesut Ozil faces a late fitness test before the north London derby. Yohan Cabaye is ruled out of Newcastle’s game with Cardiff, Ravel Morrison could return for West Ham, Sunderland stopper Kieran Westwood needs shoulder surgery, whilst Manuel Pellegrini expects City’s injury worries to lessen soon:

Adebayor Fit Following Cramp Bout
Tim Sherwood had plenty of injury news in yesterday’s media briefing. The Spurs boss revealed Andros Townsend, Jermain Defoe and Lewis Holtby have recovered from recent injuries and are “in contention” for the north London derby. Erik Lamela, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Kyle Naughton join the likes of Paulinho, Jan Vertonghen and Younes Kaboul on the sidelines – the new Spurs boss admitted it “will be a while” behind the latter two return to defence. Sherwood also rolled out an update on Emmanuel Adebayor after the Togo international was stretchered off against United in midweek, revealing the forward is in his plans to face his former club:

“I spoke to Ade after United and he said he cramped up in all areas, but thankfully it has settled down and he’s ready to perform.”

Ozil Back in Training for Gunners
Arsene Wenger has confirmed Nicklas Bendtner, Kieran Gibbs and Aaron Ramsey will all miss the derby clash with Tottenham later today. The Gunners boss revealed Olivier Giroud has recovered from the ankle problem that kept him out of the midweek win over Cardiff but is now “90%” likely to miss out through illness. Mesut Ozil requires a late fitness test but, despite his manager suggesting he expected the German to miss out, Ozil was later pictured in first-team training. Wenger went on to dismiss any notions of rest and rotation:

“I will only rest the players who are on the fringes of injuries or are very tired. But that will be very restricted to a minimal number of players. I just consider that it is our next game – we are Arsenal Football Club and we want to win the next game, that is vital for us. In this case I consider it a top level Premier League game, that means I have to play a team who has a chance to win a top level Premier League game.”

Distin and Jagielka Still Sidelined for Toffees
Roberto Martinez has confirmed he will be without the services of first-choice central defensive pairing Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka for today’s showdown with QPR. The Toffees boss is expected to partner Antolin Alcaraz with John Stones in the centre of defence once again and will assess the fitness of Tony Hibbert before deciding whether to ring the changes.

Cabaye and Krul Concerns for Pardew
The selection worries continue for Newcastle after Yohan Cabaye was ruled out of the game against Cardiff. The Frenchman has been snapped up by over 300,000 FPL managers in the last week but they’ll be hoping his absence is just a “cup injury” after his manager admitted:

“Yohan Cabaye’s injured. He picked up an injury on Wednesday, I’d have liked to have subbed him, but I didn’t have any left… I’m a little bit concerned about my goalkeeper. He’s doubtful. “

Morrison and Carroll Back in Training for Hammers
Sam Allardyce has revealed Ravel Morrison has returned to training after missing out through a groin strain. The midfielder could feature against Nottingham Forest this Sunday, though the likes of Andy Carroll, Winston Reid, James Collins, James Tomkins, Ricardo Vaz Te and Mark Noble are all out for the injury-hit club. Big Sam rolled out an update on Carroll’s progress – the forward has now returned to first-team training and will be eased back into the fold once his fitness is up to scratch:

“Andy will be assessed after every training session and he’ll be out training with the lads on Friday, which he has done for a few days now. Andy playing football is something we have to take big care about, because he is fit from the injury but not match-fit. If he or any player plays too many games too soon, it can only promote more injuries – not in the same area but in different areas in terms of muscle fatigue and strains. I have to be very careful about when I play him and how often I play him. As soon as we can, he’ll start from the bench and we’ll arrange games behind closed doors to get his match-fitness up, as we will sooner or later with Ricardo Vaz Te and Winston Reid, who are both getting closer to training. Andy is the nearest at the moment.”

Sturridge Nears Reds Return
Liverpool assistant boss Colin Pascoe rolled out a welcome injury update yesterday afternoon. The Welshman confirmed he expects Daniel Sturridge, Joe Allen and Jon Flanagan all to be available for selection within a fortnight’s time as the Merseysiders’ treatment room finally begins to empty – with a Gameweek 22 home clash against Villa looking likely for their returns:

“He’s out there training and continuing his rehab. He’s looking good, but we’ve just got to assess it day-by-day and hopefully it won’t be too long. Daniel will hopefully be back within a week or 10 days, Joe Allen within 10 days or a fortnight. There’s Jon Flanagan as well. They’ll all be coming back.”

Jones Sidelined for Baggies
The right-back remains unavailable for selection after picking up a head knock in the New Year’s Day win over Newcastle. Jones was subbed off at the break following a collision with keeper Ben Foster and was the main point of note from Keith Downing’s press conference:

“Billy Jones had a slight concussion after the collision with Ben. He’s also got a nasty cut above his eye so he won’t be involved tomorrow. Victor Anichebe still has an ongoing groin problem. We’ve got a few bumps and bruises but we’ve got a big squad to choose from.”

Young Sidelined for United
David Moyes has confirmed Ashley Young is set to be sidelined with a shoulder injury sustained against Tottenham in midweek. The United boss is uncertain over the length of absence in a day that saw Wayne Rooney pictured leaving hospital after undergoing further tests on a groin injury. With United set to play Swansea on Sunday before a Capital One Cup semi-final against Sunderland on Tuesday, their manager confirmed he plans to rotate his squad over the next two matches, though once again was reluctant to discuss the fitness of Robin van Persie:

“We’ve got a few injuries and one is [from] the challenge the keeper made on Ashley Young. It’s a shoulder injury and we’re not sure exactly how long he’s going to be out yet. We’ve got some other injuries as well that we’ll just need to look at and see how they are over the next few days…Robin’s coming on but we’ll let you know when he’s ready. We definitely will [rotate players] because of the two games. It’s the same for both clubs so there can’t be many complaints but I don’t think it’s right to be asking footballers to play on Sunday and then Tuesday. They did it over Christmas and I totally understand that and the reasons why. But it’s a bit harder to accept at such short notice here.”

Pellegrini Hopeful of Imminent Returns
Ahead of a cup showdown against Blackburn, the City boss confirmed Jack Rodwell has joined Sergio Aguero, Micah Richards and Martin Demichelis on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Pellegrini also expects Stevan Jovetic to remain out for the Rovers clash but is optimistic that the forward, along with rest of his injured players, will soon be available, with a certain Argentine closing in on a comeback, according to his manager:

“I don’t think he will be back against Blackburn but by next week he will be fit, also Martin Demichelis and Micah Richards, then we will see how many days Sergio Aguero must be out.”

Osvaldo Slapped with Three-Match Ban
Southampton’s summer signing from AS Roma is suspended for the next three games after being found guilty of improper conduct during the Gameweek 16 clash with Newcastle. Osvaldo will miss today’s FA Cup match against Burnley and the upcoming league games with West Brom and Sunderland. The Saints will assess Nathaniel Clyne and James Ward-Prowse after both picked up knocks in Wednesday’s home loss against Chelsea.

Poyet Pessimistic on Westwood Chances
Vito Mannone’s chances of retaining the Sunderland keeper’s jersey look to have taken a turn for the better. Black Cats boss Gus Poyet is quoted by the local press as suggesting Kieran Westwood requires shoulder surgery before taking to the field again, going on to say “I can’t see him playing much this season”. Poyet is expected to hand new left-back Marcos Alonso his debut against Carlisle after snapping up the former Bolton defender on loan for the rest of the season.