With rest and rotation rife, the number of new injuries has been fairly minimal over Saturday and Sunday’s fixtures so far:
Aston Villa
Leandro Bacuna was subbed off due to injury on 88 minutes as Paul Lambert’s side got the better of Bournemouth yesterday. The Villa boss revealed Fabian Delph missed out through injury but is optimistic the midfielder – along with Gabby Agbonlahor – will be fit for next Sunday’s trip to Arsenal:
Fabian pulled up yesterday. He had a little bit of an achilles problem. Gabby was the same with his hamstring. Hopefully those two will be back next week.”
Chelsea
Andre Schurrle was omitted from the Blues squad to face Bradford with a back problem, Jose Mourinho has confirmed. John Obi Mikel was subbed off midway through the second period after sustaining a head knock.
Leicester
Liam Moore lasted just 25 minutes of Saturday’s cup win at Spurs before being withdrawn with an ankle injury, according to the club’s official website.
Foxes boss Nigel Pearson rolled out an update earlier this afternoon:
“It’s an ankle problem. We’ll see [how long he’s out for]. It was a bit unfortunate for him. I think he did it in a block that he made initially and Liam is disappointed too because he gave away the penalty. He has had to be patient for his chance to get back into the side, and I feel for him that he wasn’t able to get a full performance in.”
Man City
Eliaquim Mangala missed City’s shock home loss to Middlesbrough due to a groin problem, Manuel Pellegrini has confirmed.
Man United
Chris Smalling missed Friday evening’s goalless draw against Cambridge after picking up a knock in training.
Southampton
Shane Long could be set for a stint on the sidelines for the Saints. The forward lasted just 12 minutes as a substitute during Saturday’s loss to Palace before being forced off with a rib injury. After the match, Ronald Koeman admitted he fears the worst:
“I spoke to the doctor and he thought he will have fractured one or two ribs and that’s very painful. It’s a pity because we don’t have that number of players to go with all the injuries that we have. I don’t know (how long he will be out for). Normally three, four, five weeks.”
West Brom
Stephane Sessegnon was withdrawn on 67 minutes of the Baggies 2-1 win over Midlands neighbours Birmingham. The Benin international was the victim of a tough challenge from the hosts’ Paul Robinson and, unable to continue, was replaced by Chris Baird.
Boaz Myhill was handed a rare chance to impress between the posts by Tony Pulis at St Andrews but the keeper was forced off with an injured finger as his manager went on to say:
“He will need an X-ray to see if it’s dislocated. He will need some stitches.”
Weekend Suspensions
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s moment of madness towards the end of Swansea’s cup loss at Blackburn has proven costly. The playmaker is now set to miss the next three Gameweeks (sou, SUN, wba), with reports today confirming that Garry Monk won’t be appealing the decision.
The Swans are also without Kyle Bartley for their weekend trip to St Mary’s after he was dismissed for denying a goalscoring opportunity at Ewood Park, whilst Sunderland’s Jack Rodwell will miss Saturday’s home clash with Burnley – the midfielder collected two yellow cards during the weekend goalless draw against Fulham.
