FPL injury news – Man Utd trio out, Arsenal’s boost, Man City dilemma

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Fully into the second half of the season, Fantasy Premier League gears up for several double and blank gameweeks on the horizon, starting on Saturday ahead of the 11.00am morning deadline. Arsenal and Manchester City are the only two teams that play twice this week, once against each other, which is where the majority of transfers will be directed towards today. Here, Express Sport looks at the current state of play within the game and the injury news that could affect managers’ decisions.

Man Utd trio out

After many moved to Manchester United players for their GW22 double and favourable fixture run of Leeds and Leicester before a blank, Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes owners were rewarded with points while Casemiro and Antony holders lamented the lack of returns. Both Brazilians will miss the next two games through suspension and injury respectively, as boss Erik ten Hag confirmed.

“I don’t expect [that Antony, Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay will be available],” Ten Hag told a press conference. “But we have some days — I don’t expect it and if I can oversee it until now I don’t see any new problems coming up. Barcelona? I think same answer. I can’t say for 100 per cent but I don’t expect it.”

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Arsenal boost

Getting to three Arsenal players should be FPL managers’ priority this week, with a double first before another double in GW25 and a confirmed fixture in blank GW28. Many will be moving to Eddie Nketiah, though new owners should be aware that Gabriel Jesus has stepped up his recovery and could impact the striker’s minutes beyond GW25.

“Gabi’s doing really well. He’s already been outside a little bit,” Mikel Arteta said in his pre-match press conference. “It’s still early stages and he keeps pushing everybody every single day but we need to respect timelines and processes but he’s doing really well.

“No, he’s still too far from that [a timeline]. You see now when you put loads through that knee and get some movement and actions, they’re not as controlled as the ones he has been doing. [You have to see] how the knee reacts and whether he’s comfortable to move to the next stage.”

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Pep Guardiola’s dilemma

While Pep Guardiola did not mention any injuries during his explosive press conference, with a double their assets are an intriguing option. Outside of Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne was left out of the starting lineup for the 1-0 defeat to Tottenham, while Riyad Mahrez was substituted off before the hour mark.

Guardiola has only dropped De Bruyne against teams that play a five-at-the-back system, offering hope to owners as they are facing two sides that use a back four. Mahrez and Jack Grealish have been the Spaniard’s preferred options out wide and they could be set to continue against both Aston Villa and Arsenal this week.

Injury round-up

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp explained that his injured stars are getting closer to returning, as the Reds have a favourable upcoming double gameweek in GW25. “The players are back in training, still at different stages,” Klopp said. “Diogo [Jota] is the closest. He trains now normal, already for two days. So another three days of training possible for him [Diogo]. I think he’s in contention for the squad, I would say but we have to wait a little bit.

“Bobby [Firmino], next [match, against Everton], I don’t know. We have to see how that looks, how he deals with training intensity, stuff like this. Then we’ll make a decision [on his involvement]. Virgil [van Dijk], I don’t think is that close already but we will work on that.” Klopp also admitted that Thiago had missed training on Thursday with a hip issue, but he could return in time for the Merseyside derby on Monday.

Everton could be without Dominic Calvert-Lewin to face their local rivals as Sean Dyche admitted that the Toffees are monitoring him, though £3.9m enabler Nathan Patterson has returned to training ahead of their double gameweek in GW25.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe confirmed that Alexander Isak has returned to the squad after the Swedish striker suffered a concussion that kept him out of the 1-1 draw with West Ham. Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling has had a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury, though Graham Potter does have Joao Felix available again after suspension.

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