A number of notable players are set to miss the next round of Premier League fixtures in midweek.
With so many matches to play in a condensed period of time, injury lay-offs are unfortunately inevitable, as Premier League managers have found to their cost over the past week.
There is scheduled to be a full round of games between Tuesday and Thursday and most managers will have to rotate their squads to compensate for injuries.
Here is the latest team news news ahead of Gameweek 20.
Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Kevin De Bruyne limped off with a hamstring injury just before the hour mark during Manchester City’s 2-0 victory over Aston Villa last Wednesday.
“The doctor said after reviewing the scan Kevin will be out for four to six weeks. It’s a big blow, but we have to move forward,” said Pep Guardiola.
De Bruyne looks certain to miss City’s upcoming five Premier League matches against West Brom, Sheffield United, Burnley, Liverpool and Tottenham, while the game against Arsenal on Sunday 21 February will probably come too soon.
If De Bruyne recovers in four weeks, he could be back in contention to play against West Ham on Saturday 27 February and for the Manchester derby on Saturday 6 March.
“We’re going to miss him a lot,” Guardiola added “He’s almost irreplaceable with the quality he has. He was nominated the best player in the Premier League last season so we know how good he is.”
Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
Jamie Vardy has played through a niggling hip injury for much of the campaign and appeared to be in discomfort when he hobbled off late on in Leicester’s 2-0 win over Southampton last week.
Leicester were able to nurse Vardy through their next game against Chelsea but he didn’t look entirely comfortable and was unusually ineffective.
Prior to Leicester’s FA Cup win over Brentford, Brendan Rodgers revealed that he would require surgery to correct the issue.
“We’ve been managing him over these last number of months and he’s been fantastic, but we have a window now that allows him to have a minor operation on his hernia,” Rodgers said.
Following Leicester’s win over Brentford, though, Rodgers issued an encouraging update, saying: “He’s in recovery now. The earliest he can get onto the pitch is a week to 10 days.”
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
It has been a tough season for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but he looked somewhere near his best against Newcastle in midweek, scoring twice in a 3-0 win against Newcastle.
However, the Arsenal captain was left out of the matchday squad against Southampton in the FA Cup on Saturday as the holders exited the competition with a 1-0 loss.
Mikel Arteta revealed that Aubameyang is not injured but instead is dealing with a personal issue which may keep him out for Tuesday’s game against Southampton again.
“I don’t know,” said Arteta, when asked whether Aubameyang would feature. “He needs to address that issue, we’ll see how it evolves.
“We’re here and we have to support him and he needs to take the time that is needed because that is a priority at the moment.”
Kyle Walker (Man City)
Kyle Walker had to be taken off early on in City’s 2-0 win over Aston Villa following a collision with Jack Grealish by the touchline.
The 30-year-old missed City’s 3-1 win over Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup on Saturday as a result, but Guardiola is hopeful that he will be available to face West Brom on Tuesday.
“Kyle had a big impact kick in his hip, but just a kick, so is not available tomorrow but we wish he is available for the next game,” Guardiola said.
Matt Doherty (Spurs)
Matt Doherty was left out of the Tottenham squad for their 3-1 victory over Sheffield United and Jose Mourinho namechecked the Irishman as one of the three payers currently suffering from “small problems”.
Mourinho said: “Matt Doherty, he was not involved at Sheffield United, I’m not sure he will recover [to play against Wycombe Wanderers on Monday].”
Doherty has been in competition with Serge Aurier since his summer move from Wolves and Mourinho revealed that the Ivorian was also struggling with an illness.
Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
Crystal Palace’s hopes of securing a shock result against Manchester City at the Etihad suffered a major dent when Wilfried Zaha was left out of the squad.
The Eagles have won only two of their previous 16 Premier League matches without Zaha in their starting line up and were thrashed 4-0 by City in midweek.
It is unclear whether Zaha will be fit enough to return for Tuesday’s match against West Ham after suffering a knock against Arsenal in Gameweek 18.
“Wilf, unfortunately, picked up a knock in the game against Arsenal,” Roy Hodgson confirmed. “The turnaround has been quite quick, and we haven’t been able to turn him around in time.”
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3przb8F
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