We’ll get team news from 16 Premier League managers today as the Gameweek 37 pre-match press conferences continue.
For the headline injury news from the four press conferences that took place on Thursday, click here.
This is a ‘live’ blog, so we will add the key quotes as and when they arrive. Hit refresh for the latest updates.
FPL GAMEWEEK 37 TEAM NEWS: KEY INJURY UPDATES
- Manchester United: Bruno + Rashford train, Shaw setback, Mount out
- Newcastle United: Late call to be made on Trippier, positive Schar update
- Arsenal: Doubts over Saka + Tomiyasu
- Chelsea: James in full training, Sanchez only partially training, five still out
- Manchester City: A fully fit squad for Guardiola
- Tottenham Hotspur: No fresh concerns but six still out
- Brighton and Hove Albion: Pedro a doubt, Lamptey could return
- Liverpool: No team news updates in Klopp’s press conference
- Aston Villa: Zaniolo, Tielemans + Moreno not far away
- Wolverhampton Wanderers: Neto still not ready to be involved
- West Ham United: Aguerd + Mavropanos still out, Paqueta trains
- Crystal Palace: Lerma back in training but won’t be risked
- Bournemouth: Kelly, Tavernier + Adams return
- Fulham: Lukic out, everyone else fit
- Luton Town: Ogbene returns
- Sheffield United: Holgate ineligible, Ahmedhodzic banned
FPL GAMEWEEK 37 TEAM NEWS: FRIDAY’S PRESS CONFERENCE TIME
MANCHESTER UNITED
Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Bruno Fernandes (wrist), Scott McTominay (knee) and Marcus Rashford (unknown) have returned to training.
Mason Mount has been injured again and is out for the Arsenal game, while Luke Shaw (muscle) has also suffered a setback.
“I hope I have players [back and available], yeah. Yeah, there are players that did train this morning. Bruno was on the pitch and Scott McTominay was back on the pitch, so there are some players returning.
“Rashy, of course, he trained this morning as well, and we have to see how he recovered from this. But I think it looks quite good and I hope he can tomorrow make the next training and then see if he is available for Sunday.
“But also I have to report that unfortunately, yesterday, Mason Mount fell out [of contention]. So he will not be available for Sunday.
“Luke Shaw had a setback in his process as well but there is still a hope and he will fight to be available for the [FA Cup] final.” – Erik ten Hag
Lisandro Martinez (calf) has been back in training this week but looks set to be held back.
“Yesterday, Licha came to me and he wanted to play on Sunday against Arsenal, but he is not ready yet. He needs a little bit more time to go through the process.” – Erik ten Hag
Of Manchester United’s other injured players, there is only Tyrell Malacia (knee) and Harry Maguire (wrist) who are confirmed as out until after Gameweek 38.
Willy Kambwala (unknown), Raphael Varane (muscle) and Victor Lindelof (hamstring) are among the names who could still play some part in 2023/24.
Anthony Martial (groin) has been back in parts of training over the last week, too.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Kieran Trippier (calf) has been back in team training this week and Eddie Howe will make a late call on his inclusion in the squad to face Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
“He’s getting closer. He’s trained this week for the first time with the group, which has been brilliant. You could really see the strength of the group returning, some key figures back. Really pleased, he’s trained well, as well. It’s been a good week for him, so we’ll make a decision today in terms of whether he’s involved tomorrow.
“I think he’s desperate to be involved, he’s been desperate to contribute for a few weeks but I think he knows, he’s experienced enough to know, he’s had to manage his injury to make sure that there’s no reoccurrence of that calf because that could be really difficult if that did happen to him. But from what I’ve seen in training this week, I think he looks really good. He’s refreshed, he’s had some time away as well in his training before this week, which I think has really helped him mentally and can help any player with that change of scenery, and I think he’s ready to go.” – Eddie Howe on Kieran Trippier
“When you’re in my shoes I think you have to get all the information in, you have to see where Kieran’s at with his injury, with his fitness, and then you have to try and pick the best team to win the game. And that’s what I’ll do.” – Eddie Howe on whether the performances of Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento make it a tough decision to bring Kieran Trippier straight back in
Having said last Friday that Fabian Schar (hamstring) would likely miss the rest of 2023/24, Howe offered a more positive update on the Swiss defender this morning.
“I don’t think he’ll figure tomorrow. Let’s wait and see about next week but he’s certainly improving and feeling good.” – Eddie Howe on Fabian Schar
Jamaal Lascelles (knee), Sven Botman (knee), Joe Willock (Achilles), Matt Targett (Achilles) and Lewis Miley (back) are out for the season.
Sandro Tonali is banned until August, too.
Howe was also asked if Martin Dubravka would continue between the sticks now that Nick Pope is fit.
“I think if both goalkeepers were 100% fit, that’s a very difficult call. But I think Nick is still building himself back to his very best levels and again, similar to the outfield players [like Miguel Almiron and Joelinton], building his robustness through training.
“So, I think that last week was for me very clear: Martin deserved to play and Nick’s still finding his rhythm from a long-term injury. Now, Nick’s had a really good training week, I have to say, I think he’s been really good this week. He’s been the Nick Pope that we had seen for the majority of his time at Newcastle, so he’s certainly in a really good place and building his strength back up.” – Eddie Howe
ARSENAL
Bukayo Saka and Takehiro Tomiyasu are “doubts” for Sunday’s clash with Manchester United.
Tomiyasu wasn’t sighted in training on Thursday, while Saka was pictured – not for the first time, admittedly – with heavy strapping.
Mikel Arteta was asked about those two players specifically in his press conference.
“A few doubts, tomorrow we can resolve because we have another training session. So, we will have to wait and see.
“A few names… yes, [Saka and Tomiyasu].” – Mikel Arteta
CHELSEA
Reece James (hamstring) and Lesley Ugochukwu (hamstring) are back in full training ahead of Double Gameweek 37.
Mauricio Pochettino says James is a “maybe” to be in the squad to face Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
“We need to see today but maybe he can be available to be in the squad.
“It’s not easy always when you come from a long term injury. The most important thing is that he can be available and can be part of the squad, and then if he can play 5, 10, 15, 20 [minutes] or half an hour, I think it’s going to be amazing.” – Mauricio Pochettino on Reece James
Robert Sanchez (illness) is still only listed as in “partial team training” in the latest injury bulletin, however.
Carney Chukwuemeka (knee) has since been sighted on the grass, too, but remains unavailable this weekend.
Romeo Lavia (thigh), Wesley Fofana (knee) and Enzo Fernandez (groin) are out for the season, while Ben Chilwell (knee) is still on the injury list.
Pochettino was also asked if Marc Cucurella was the only one who could play the inverted full-back role, giving a rambling response that included a mention of Malo Gusto.
“I think it’s always the momentum of the team, the characteristic of the player, you know? I think with inverted full-back or not, I think playing with the full-back in a different position, higher in the pocket in the halfway half space, I think that what we find is a group of players that feels really well. I think the team is feeling well and I think it’s not about the names that are going to be on the pitch. I think when you start to evolve and step up and start to work in the priorities, I think every single proposition or possibility to try to do in the pitch a different tactical work, I think always is a thing that is going to be positive.
“I think what we saw that this type of situation can help in different way because we miss some players in the position, or to cope with a lack of full-back in the right side because Malo and Reece [were out] and then to compensate – that is always about our creativity, like all coaching staff, you know to try to design the best strategies for to help the team to achieve what we want.
“It’s true that, being fair, all these types of situations that you are going to apply on the pitch, you need the right attitude, a good balance, the profile of the player, the characteristics and things like this. When all is there, after you can try everything and for sure it’s going to work. Without this, without the right attitude, right approach, good legs, physicality, technical profile, it’s always difficult to apply tactics and then wait for it to work well.” – Mauricio Pochettino
MANCHESTER CITY
The City team news is nice and straightforward: not one of their players is injured.
“No, everything is fine.” – Pep Guardiola on whether he had any injury concerns this weekend
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
In his press conference, Ange Postecoglou said that Spurs did not have any new concerns from Sunday’s defeat to Liverpool.
“No, nothing from last week.” – Ange Postecoglou on if there were any new injury worries
But later in the day, there were suggestions from the Brazil camp that Richarlison had suffered a calf injury that would keep him out of this summer’s Copa America. By extension, and if true, this spells bad news for the rest of this season.
Timo Werner (hamstring), Ben Davies (hamstring), Destiny Udogie (thigh), Fraser Forster (foot), Manor Solomon (knee) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) are out for the rest of the season, however.
Postecoglou revealed that the club have been working with Oliver Skipp at left-back, following his runout in that role off the bench in Gameweek 36.
“We have been working with Skippy the last few weeks. When we lost Destiny and Ben, left with Emerson who is not really a left-back, we were looking around at options and in training we have just been using him in that space. I thought he did do well when he came on.
“I guess the way we play with full-backs, certainly with some of the positioning, he wouldn’t be too unfamiliar with some of the positions he would need to take up as midfielder. He is an option for us and I think we need another option because we have three games this week and we only have Emerson as a back-up full-back at the club.” – Ange Postecoglou
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Joao Pedro is the latest injury concern for the Seagulls.
The striker suffered an ankle issue in training and Roberto De Zerbi is unsure whether he’ll be fit to face Newcastle.
“Joao Pedro has a problem with his ankle. It’s sad news for us.
“Today it happened and I don’t know if tomorrow he can play or not. I am sad for that because Joao is important for us, especially in this moment when Julio Enciso and Ansu Fati are not at the top of their level of condition.” – Roberto De Zerbi
Adam Lallana was added to the Brighton injury list last week, while Pervis Estupinan (calf), Evan Ferguson (ankle), Jack Hinshelwood (foot), Solly March (knee) and Kauro Mitoma (back) are unlikely to feature again this season.
James Milner (muscle) has been out since late January.
Jan Paul van Hecke (hamstring) has also been an absentee in the last two Gameweeks, with Roberto De Zerbi initially unsure how long he’d be out. Dutch media suggest he’s unlikely to play in what remains of 2023/24 but it’s unclear how reliable this is.
In more positive news, Tariq Lamptey could be on the bench after recovering from an unknown issue.
“Tariq Lamtey [could be back] but he can’t start the game. Maybe one part of the game. Tomorrow we will see if he can come on the bench or not.” – Roberto De Zerbi
LIVERPOOL
Jurgen Klopp’s press conference was short on injury news.
We do know that Ben Doak (knee), Thiago Alcantara (muscle) and Joel Matip (knee) remain out.
Diogo Jota (hip) might not be far away from a return, based on the previous short-term estimate from his manager.
He was not in team training as of last Friday, however.
“It’s just like that we play once a week and we just look at who looks in the best moment, and Jarell is one of them. That’s how it is and we don’t play with three centre-halves or whatever, so it means we have to make a decision and Jarell is training really well and we have a lot of training sessions, he is training really well. That doesn’t mean Ibou [Konate] or Joey [Gomez] wouldn’t train well, but Jarell trained really well and that’s how it is and that’s why I make these kind of decisions. That’s the best situation to have, I can just sit there and look at it.” – Jurgen Klopp on Jarell Quansah’s Gameweek 36 start
“A great game [from] both [against Tottenham]. It’s not like this that I go back and think, ‘OK, what did we all do wrong here and there?’ But if I regret one thing a little bit it’s that Harvey didn’t play often enough maybe.
“Cody, he knows that for a while he was not in his best moment, we had a conversation there.
“After that talk, he stepped really up and it’s really good to see how physically strong [he is]. He’s a good footballer. He plays right wing, left wing especially, and centre. Smart again, full of confidence, physical strength. [It’s] a good moment, good for him, good for us.” – Jurgen Klopp on Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott
ASTON VILLA
Emi Martinez (hamstring) returned to action against Olympiacos on Thursday.
Doubts remain over Youri Tielemans (groin), Nicolo Zaniolo (unknown) and Morgan Rogers (unknown), who either sat out Gameweek 36 or were injured during it.
All three missed the clash in Greece, as did Alex Moreno (unknown).
“Each day is going to be very important because some players are with a small injury, some are having pain and there’s not a date when they will come back.
“Like Zaniolo, he’s close but until he’s feeling comfortable with his pain then he’s not available to play. Hopefully, he can progress the next days.
“Tielemans is close. Álex Moreno has a small injury, some days he will need and maybe he could be available.” – Unai Emery
Jacob Ramsey (foot), Tyrone Mings (knee) and Boubacar Kamara (knee) remain out.
Long-term absentee Emi Buendia (knee) was back in training this week, however.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Tommy Doyle returns, having been ineligible to feature against his parent club in Gameweek 36.
Pedro Neto (hamstring) remains out, however. The midfielder has been back in team training for a while but continues to be held back from the matchday squad.
“Pedro still won’t be involved tomorrow. He’s training but he’s maybe not done enough at high speeds to guarantee that it’s not a risk for him at this point. So, no Pedro.
“Apart from that, we’re pretty good. No new issues.” – Gary O’Neil
Gary O’Neil’s comments above suggest Mario Lemina is fine: he was taken off with hamstring tightness at the weekend but the Wolves boss said then that the withdrawal was more precautionary in nature.
The midfielder’s brother, Noam Lemina, is back in training after a hamstring injury.
Craig Dawson (groin) and Leon Chiwome (ankle) are out for the season.
WEST HAM UNITED
David Moyes confirmed that Konstantinos Mavropanos (unknown) and Nayef Aguerd (ankle) remain out, while reports suggest Kalvin Phillips’ season is over.
Lucas Paqueta has trained all week and “seems okay” after last week’s knock.
“Paquetá seems OK. He trained most of the week. Unfortunately, we’ve still not got Dinos [Mavropanos] or Nayef [Aguerd] back, so they’re our main injury problems at the moment.” – David Moyes
CRYSTAL PALACE
Jefferson Lerma (hamstring) is nearing a return to fitness but will not be risked this weekend. A Gameweek 38 comeback is instead the target.
Sam Johnstone (elbow), Matheus Franca (groin) and Cheick Doucoure (Achilles) remain out, while an update is awaited on Rob Holding (hamstring) after he missed the last three matches.
BOURNEMOUTH
Lloyd Kelly (illness), Marcus Tavernier (hamstring) and Tyler Adams (back) are all available for the Brentford game.
“[Lloyd Kelly] will play tomorrow. I don’t know if he will start but he will play definitely. He will be involved, he has been in training normally and I have no concerns about [his contract coming to an end].
“So, I think we recovered Lloyd Kelly. I think Tyler Adams and Marcus Tavernier will be part of the squad, yes.” – Andoni Iraola
Milos Kerkez serves the final game of a three-match ban, while Ryan Fredericks (calf), Luis Sinisterra (hamstring) and Chris Mepham remain out.
FULHAM
Sasa Lukic will miss the Manchester City with a “small issue in his calf”.
Marco Silva has confirmed that everyone else is available.
LUTON TOWN
Chiedozie Ogbene (hamstring) will return this weekend, having been on the grass since the end of April.
“We’ve got Chieo Ogbene back training with us. He’s been back the last couple of days which is good, so he can come into the squad. Other than that, we’re where we are.” – Rob Edwards
Issa Kabore (ankle), Dan Potts (hamstring), Mads Andersen (calf), Amari’i Bell (hamstring), Jacob Brown (knee), Marvelous Nakamba (knee) and Tom Lockyer (health) remain out.
Andersen and Potts may feature before the end of the season but the others will not do so.
SHEFFIELD UNITED
Much like Jurgen Klopp’s press conference above, Chris Wilder wasn’t asked about injuries in the broadcast section of his own presser.
There are two bits of team news we can bring you: loanee Mason Holgate is ineligible to feature, while Anel Ahmedhodzic is banned.
Oli McBurnie (hamstring), George Baldock (calf), Max Lowe (ankle), Rhys Norrington-Davies (hamstring) and Chris Basham (leg) were all still sidelined in Gameweek 36.
McBurnie, initially ruled out for the season, could yet play a part on the final weekend.
Tom Davies (hamstring), John Egan (leg) and Daniel Jebbison (illness) have been back on the grass recently but may be held back for next season. Jebbison got 45 minutes for the under-21s earlier this week.
5 months, 10 days ago
I have BB active with 1FT and one injury:
1.Van Hecke to Romero FT
2.Save FT and bring in Salah GW38 without hit