Fantasy Premier League managers could be faced with some tough decisions this weekend, with a number of star assets battling injury issues. And they will be aiming to navigate any setbacks ahead of Saturday’s deadline.
The Premier League action gets underway on Saturday when Arsenal make the long trip north to take on Newcastle at St James’ Park in the lunchtime kick-off.
Liverpool and Manchester City are then in action at 3pm, with Tottenham hosting Aston Villa on Sunday ahead of Chelsea’s visit to Manchester United. And Express Sport is on hand with the FPL injury news.
Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne has been hampered with injury issues once again this season after missing the first half of the last campaign following hamstring surgery.
The Belgium international hasn’t featured since City’s 0-0 Champions League draw with Inter Milan in September due to a thigh problem and is likely to be out until after the international break.
City boss Pep Guardiola was asked earlier this week to confirm when the player would be available. And he explained: “I would like to tell you, and especially I would like to know it, but I don’t know right now.
“He feels better in training, but to go to the level we need in competition, when he kicks the ball, sometimes he still has pain. We need players to come back but it is what it is. Hopefully that can happen after the international break.”
Martin Odegaard
FPL managers have had to turn their attention away from Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard since early September after he injured his ankle while playing for Norway.
And he looks unlikely to feature against Eddie Howe’s men, with Gunners boss Mikel Arteta explaining this week: “He’s been on the grass for a few weeks, but there is still a few boxes to tick.
“How fast we can do that last stage of the rehab is a question we’ll have to answer once we have players around him and he starts competing with the team. He hasn’t done that yet.”
Arteta then admitted he was hoping the midfielder would return before the international break, with The Standard reporting that Odegaard was aiming to feature against Inter Milan in the Champions League next week.
Gabriel Magalhaes
Another FPL favourite is Odegaard’s Arsenal team-mate Gabriel. The Brazilian was forced off during the second half of the Gunners’ draw with Liverpool last Sunday, but could return to the fold this weekend after Arteta played down the significance of the issue.
“We are still assessing him,” stated the Spaniard. “It doesn’t look bad at all. It was much better the next day. Hopefully he’ll be fine. He has done some tests.”
Eberechi Eze
Eberechi Eze is one of the most talented attacking players in the Premier League but has underwhelmed his FPL owners this season after returning just one goal and one assist. And managers may have to finally dump him after he came off with a hamstring injury during Crystal Palace’s Carabao Cup victory over Aston Villa in midweek.
But after that clash, Palace boss Oliver Glaser was unable to shed any light on whether the winger will be fit for the trip to Wolves as he admitted: “Ebs is too early. He wanted to [come off]. He signalled to us. He said it wasn’t possible to continue.
“I hope that it’s not too serious but I don’t know. It’s not the best information that I got today that Ebs had to leave the pitch.”
Micky van de Ven
Another popular FPL pick to sustain an injury in the Carabao Cup was Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven. The Netherlands international lasted less than 20 minutes as Spurs defeated Manchester City and was in tears as he was forced to leave the pitch.
And FPL managers will be hoping that Ange Postecoglou can reveal the full extent of the issue before the deadline, with the Australian explaining after the match: “Micky felt something in his hamstring. I haven’t got the full update on him but he definitely felt something and we’ll see how he is.”