QPR have a handful of doubts in defence ahead of Tottenham’s visit to Loftus Road. Gabriel Paulista faces two-to-three weeks out with a hamstring injury, but Wojciech Szczesny and Nacho Monreal could feature following late fitness tests. Elsewhere, Ron Vlaar and Steven Gerrard could return to action in the FA Cup, whilst West Brom duo Callum McManaman and Stephane Sessegnon remain touch and go.
Chris Ramsey is sweating on the fitness of three of his players ahead of the R’s London derby against Spurs. The former Tottenham head of development revealed that Nedum Onuoha, Mauricio Isla and Darnell Furlong are all doubts for Saturday:
“We’ve got a few knocks. Nedum has got a big cut on his face. Isla’s knee is sore. Furlong has a sore calf.”
Meanwhile, Sandro was brought off at the 55-minute mark as a precaution against Arsenal as QPR manage his return from a knee injury. Ramsey is optimistic the combative Brazilian will last longer than 60 minutes against the Lilywhites:
“Hopefully Sandro will be able to last longer than an hour tomorrow – it’s part of his conditioning process. He had to come off because we didn’t want to risk him getting injured again. He is growing in stature.”
Spurs, on the other hand, have no such worries, with Mauricio Pochettino confirming he has a fully-fit squad to choose from for the trip to Loftus Road.
Arsene Wenger confirmed in his Friday presss conference that January signing Gabriel Paulista will be sidelined for two-to-three weeks after he sustained a hamstring injury at Loftus Road in midweek. The Gunners boss also revealed that both Nacho Monreal and Wojciech Szczesny are undergoing late fitness tests, with the latter set to line up between the sticks for the Gunners’ FA Cup clash against Manchester United if he’s given the all-clear:
“Gabriel has a little hamstring injury and will be out for two to three weeks. He will not be available for the weekend or West Ham or Monaco. Monreal has a test today, everybody else will be available – the same squad who played against Queens Park Rangers. [Szczesny] has a test today. If he gets through that test he will play on Monday night. Wojciech is used to playing in big games and he’ll take that as a big challenge to show his quality. He works very hard in training.”
There are questions marks over the availability of West Brom duo Callum McManaman and Stephane Sessegnon for the Baggies’ FA Cup encounter with Aston Villa. McManaman remains a doubt despite training during the week, while Sessegnon has been given time off in light of unspecified personal issues.
Tim Sherwood is optimistic that Aston Villa captain Ron Vlaar will recover from his calf injury in time to face West Brom – the Dutch centre-back will complete a late fitness test ahead of the West Midlands derby. Aly Cissokho and Kieran Richardson remain benched for the Villains, but, in more positive news, Nathan Baker is said to be “a couple of weeks” away from returning to action:
We will wait until the very last minute with Ron. We are hoping he will be fit and add to the squad.
Mamadou Sakho was back in training yesterday ahead of Liverpool’s cup clash with Blackburn. Steven Gerrard has been nursing a hamstring injury since the 3-2 victory over Tottenham in Gameweek 25 but could be passed fit for the last eight match-up. Brendan Rodgers said the Merseyside talisman is set to be assessed in the next couple of days but cautioned that a player’s status is a non-factor when it comes to team selection.
“We’ve still got a couple of days to go yet with Steven, he’s obviously with the rehabilitation team. So we’ll assess it in the next couple of days.The team is playing very well, but it will be important just to get Steven back and available for selection – that’s the most important element. He’s very much a team player; if he was on the bench because the team is in good form and playing well, everyone respects that. I’ve shown in my time here that if players are performing well – irrespective of status or price – they play. Simple as that. But, for me, the most important thing in the first case is having Steven available. He’s an outstanding player still and to have him back will make our squad a better squad.”
