Thursday 19 November 2009

Injury Update 19/11/09


From football365.com
Rafa Benitez has a problem: he won't be able to blame injuries this weekend if it all goes wrong for Liverpool again.

Steven Gerrard has already declared himself fit for action against Manchester City and the word in the papers is that Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera and Alberto Aquilani may also play.

Torres was pictured back in training on Wednesday afternoon and it seems likely that he will, at the very least, be on the bench this weekend. Well, maybe.

Meanwhile, The Times reports that 'Aquilani is being lined up for his first starting appearance for Liverpool having had the carrot of a potential place in the Italy World Cup squad dangled in front of him'.

The final decision is apparently dependent on two things: Aquilani 'coming through Liverpool's two remaining training sessions unscathed' and the fitness of Benayoun and Riera.

'The pair had been expected to be out of action for up to a month with hamstring tears, but the club are optimistic that they will be fit enough to feature against City less than two weeks after they were injured,' Barrett reports.

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes expects Gareth Barry to shrug off a groin problem and face Liverpool on Saturday.

Barry, who was close to joining the Reds from Aston Villa last summer before moving to Eastlands in May, suffered some discomfort following England's defeat by Brazil in a friendly last week.

Hughes said: "Gareth came back from the international with a little bit of soreness but it should not be a problem for the weekend."

The good news for Manchester United is that Nemanja Vidic is reported to have come through unscathed from 60 minutes of action for Serbia in their friendly with South Korea last night.

The bad is that The Sun is reporting that Rio Ferdinand is out for the rest of the year.

'The England centre-back has been told he needs another six weeks of rest and physio work before his back will be strong enough for Premier League football. Rio had hoped to be back by the start of December. But by the time he plays again, he will have missed at least 15 matches,' it reports.

Rather disconcertingly it also describes United's medical team as 'baffled' by Ferdinand's continuing injury woe and claims that 'one theory being looked into now is that he might need his hip realigned'.

Ouch to that.

Relief for Arsenal with the news that Kieran Gibbs has only suffered bruising to his foot.

According to The Independent, 'Gibbs will miss Saturday's game away at Sunderland. He will be fit to play against Standard Liège next week but given that Arsenal only need a single point from their two remaining Champions League games to qualify it is likely that he will be rested with a view to him being ready for the Chelsea match on 29 November.'

Such is the length of Arsenal's injury list that it's darn hard work keeping up with who is on it let alone how long they are expected will be on it, but the Press Association has taken a look and reckons that Denilson's 'recovery has gone well and should be available when domestic action resumes at Sunderland', Theo Walcott's 'knee problem is expected to have cleared up by the end of the month - which could come just in time for the clash with Chelsea' and Carlos Vela 'could be another whose recovery is sped up for the trip to the Stadium of Light'.

On the down side, Abou Diaby is predicted to be out for a few weeks with his thigh problem. It is, of course, debatable whether Diaby's absence could ever be described as a downer.

Chelsea full-back Ashley Cole is hopeful he will face Wolves on Saturday despite suffering from a depressed fracture of the tibia.

Cole originally picked up the injury in the Champions League win over Atletico Madrid last month and required a pain-killing injection to take on Manchester United before the international break.

However, Cole has been training normally with Chelsea this week and has been made a protective shinpad to wear in matches.

"I started training for the last two or three days and I'm feeling better," Cole told Sky Sports News.

"I've had a special shinpad made for my shin and hopefully I'll be selected for Saturday.

"I've had a week's rest now, so it feels a little bit better and I've got to wear a shinpad to cover the knock.

"I've been playing with it and it did affect me a bit, but now I'm over it and I hope the shinpad can help.

"Hopefully, I'll be in the squad or the team on Saturday."

Meanwhile, Chelsea captain John Terry also took part in training on Wednesday after being forced to sit out England's defeat by Brazil due to a minor injury.

And a quick word on Fulham. It's believed that Danny Murphy should be fit for the game with Birmingham this weekend having missed the last five games with a knee injury.
Only a quick post tonight due to my well known laptop issues, but tomorrow I'll sum up my Week 12 thoughts & get a Week 13 Preview up. It may not be until the evening though (around 7pm UK time).

My own issues are: what to do with Drogba? We're getting no news & I don't trust The Sun! Will Duff play on Saturday after playing extra time? Possibly not with Murphy back. Will Jason Roberts start 2 games? Do I keep O'Hara & Alexander? 3-5-2 or 3-4-3?

Cheers,
AM

30 comments:

Mike B said...

I'm having an absolute nightmare deciding on this weeks players.

I'm starting to realise that perhaps going all out double gamers might be a big mistake.

My original line up was to include Dunn, Duff, Bullard and maybe Murphy. I now think that i'd be extremely lucky if they got to play both games with the exception of Dunn who i think will do well.

I don't like any of the double game forwards, and the defenders aren't much better.

So it now looks likely that i'm going with mainly single gamers, i'll probably only pick Bullard, Dunn and a defender up.

Drogba is the big question all of us will have on Saturday morning, what the hell do we do with the big man? If that rib is broken it wouldn't supprise me at all if it took a number of weeks to heal, and having such a bad last round, i can't afford a zero this week. I'm 90% sure that i'm gonna be brave and drop him and face the consequences if there's nothing wrong with him.

We'll see on Saturday morning if i had the balls :P

I'm definately getting on Joe Cole this week, and probably Eduardo. Plus i'll be looking at Aquilani closely, if we can get these players before their value goes through the roof, it'll leave some very nice spare cash for other positions.

This is my pre saved line up at the moment...

Given
Verm, Alexander, ______
Arshavin, Dunn, Bullard, Fabregas, Cole
Eduardo, Benitez

Any thoughts on a defender for 6.61? I'm at a loss, i'm currently holding Baird, but don't want to be.


How's everyone elses team looking at the mo?



RealSoni.

Kellz said...

Just go with heitinga for around 6mil

Mike B said...

Yeah i was thinking him or Givet, not sure who will be more productive of the two.

Anonymous said...

Is Geovanni a better pick than Hunt and Cahill?

SF

Anonymous said...

murphy is a good pick

Doctor Teeth said...

Good post, Mike B. As for your team, I wouldn't field both Arsh and Fabs...too many eggs in one basket and Sunderland on the road is no picnic. I'd use that money for Dempsey or a striker up front...perhaps also use a bit of it to upgrade your third defender to Samba. You could probably afford Defoe up front and Samba in the back, not knowing at what price you hold Arsh.

Mike B said...

I got him at 14.30 Doctor.

And i think you're right, it's overkill having him in there aswell as Fabs and EDS. I got a hunch he's gonna be pushed forward more and get a ton of SOT's though (i've thought that every damn week though lmao). I'm gonna bite the bullet and go for one more double gamer though i reckon. Dempsey i think is a good call.

Thanks for your thoughts people.

Kellz said...

Its killing me with my 8 DG selection I have 5-7mil left in the bank, guess its not all about spending its the picks

Anonymous said...

Tentative lineup for this weekend:

Schwarzer
Vermaelen / Heitinga / Paintsil
Fabregas / Dempsey / J. Cole / Rodwell
Saha (or Drogba) / Benitez / Eduardo

Amazed that I could splurge on a GK this week and still squeeze so much quality into my lineup.

Not entirely sold on Joe Cole, but he doesn't get many better chances than home vs. Wolves.

Anonymous said...

Right now I have:

Given
Verm/Alexander/Hughes
Etherington/O'Hara/Demspey/Dunn/Bullard
Drogba/Saha

I could switch keepers with 2.54 mil left (Given is at 6.10 for me). I also am not so sure on Saha and might go someone else. If Drogba is out for more than 1 week I might go Anelka and Zamora upfront. I have had Etherington for 3 game weeks and Dempsey and O'hara for 2, I like them all and will probably stay. Dempsey is a good pick this week, since he is a really streaky player and he has been on recently. Not super sure on Saha either.

I am most definitely going with a 3-5-2, though may drop Bullard for another middie. Could donwgrade Hughes too. I have 5 DGers at the moment, which could change.

I agree with AM (and Neal), that the best DGers are in the midfield.

Would Anelka playing 120 minutes yesterday factor into Chelsea playing time?

bean said...

with Vela fit, I doubt Arshavin will be pushed foward, but who knows.

bean said...

not sure many are really interested in Aquiman at the moment, but looks like Rafa doesn't want to rush him into the starting lineup:
http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N166507091119-1107.htm

bean said...

I think it would be wise to wait until at least tomorrow (friday) or saturday to drop Drogba. I can't find the nerve to drop him with 'The Sun' as a source. But I do think that any Chelsea players that are a doubt, or nursing an injury, won't be risked against the bottom dwelling Wolves with Arsenal coming up next week..

bean said...

and an away match at Porto on Wed.

Mike B said...

Did some digging and found this re Drogba...




http://www.sport-ivoire.ci/?p=1&id=10304

Apparently this translates to...

"Chest injury. Scans he underwent after the Man Utd clash gave him the all-clear and allayed fears of broken ribs. He did not face Guinea on 14/11 but stayed with the Ivory Coast squad, hoping to be fit for the friendly against Germany on 18/11. He has not sufficiantly recovered from his bruise and hematoma and the Ivory Coast coach decided not to risk him."


No mention of Broken ribs, just bruising and bleeding (which could be caused by a rib break).


Maybe he won't play a part this weekend unless neccassary, but with Arsenal coming up i'm sure they'll want him playing.

Anonymous said...

diamanti anyone?

Anonymous said...

Myhill(3+) & Drogba(10+) fit to play this weekend?
Any good replacement if doubt?

Rgds.
Ajani

Mike B said...

Regarding Diamanti, i would have him in a shot if i knew he would start, i'm actually still holding him at a slight discount at the moment! When i get home from work he's gone for Eduardo though.

He's just too much of a risk for me, especially in a double game week where any single gamer you pick simply has to perform.

Mathew said...

for now,
Given
Verm / Heitinga / ____
Dempsey / Dunn / Bullard / ____
Drog / Zamora / Defoe

I will only replace drogba one hour before the deadline.. just to be safe..

Only 12M left.. anyone?? Should i just take Mokoena and spend it on my defend?? appreciate your opinion!

Mathew said...

for now,
Given
Verm / Heitinga / ____
Dempsey / Dunn / Bullard / ____
Drog / Zamora / Defoe

I will only replace drogba one hour before the deadline.. just to be safe..

Only 12M left.. anyone?? Should i just take Mokoena and spend it on my defend?? appreciate your opinion!

wannastop said...

Mathew, how about J.Cole+Baird?

Anonymous said...

Which option is the better one:
Givet+Geovanni
or
Samba+Hunt?

SF

Anonymous said...

givet and geovanni i think...

Bojan said...

Carlo said that Lampard,Drogba,Deco and Ballack won't play against Wolves... A Cole is ready

wannastop said...

Looks like Drogba is only out for one week. Tough decision, drop or take a one week hit?

shadowgex said...

im pretty darn happy with my team:

myhill

alexander samba gardner

arshavin dunn dempsey jcole

berbs anelka eduardo

with the exception of gardner (whose only in there to fill that last defender spot), i like my team a lot. Had to drop RvP, but doing so allowed me to pick up anelka and upgrade givet to samba (who has a lot of potential over the DG)

Anonymous said...

is Billy fit to play ???

Ruki said...

bily is still banned

Bradley said...

Billy's still serving his 3-match suspension for his RC vs. Villa. For the official suspension info:

http://www.thefa.com/TheFA/Disciplinary/SuspensionLists.aspx

Anonymous said...

tq Mike B about diamanti

but..i'll gamble him..HAHAHA
not have any feeling about other DGers Fwd other than Zamora..


MBasil

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