Premier League Injury Update - Gameweek 18
Content Editor at Free Super Tips, Alex was born in the shadow of Old Trafford and is an avid Man Utd fan. After graduating from university he combined his love of football, writing and betting to join FST and now closely follows goings-on in all of the top European leagues.
Stoke vs Manchester United – Sat 26th Dec – 12:45
Hamstring injuries are the order of the day for Stoke as they come into this match against Manchester United. Marc Muniesa, Geoff Cameron, Peter Crouch, and Stephen Ireland are all expected to miss the match with hamstring problems, with Shay Given being the odd one out in the physio’s office with his knee injury.
Matteo Darmian and Jesse Lingard are suffering from their own hamstring injuries for Manchester United, and they join Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia, and Luke Shaw on the sidelines. Darmian might be back in time though.
Manchester City vs Sunderland – Sat 26th Dec – 15:00
Samir Nasri is the only long term injury concern for Manchester City, with his hamstring tear keeping him out until April. Fernando and Pablo Zabaleta should both be back in time to face Sunderland, with club captain Vincent Kompany joining them a few days later.
Lee Cattermole is hoping to be back in action after his back injury for Sunderland, but Seb Larsson is still a few weeks away from a return to action.
Aston Villa vs West Ham – Sat 26th Dec – 15:00
Micah Richards is a doubt for Aston Villa due to his knee injury. Other than that Aston Villa are largely unchanged with regards to injury, with Jordan Amavi’s ACL knee injury keeping him out for a long time and Gary Gardner still waiting to make his first appearance of the season after the shocking tackle he was on the end of in pre season.
West Ham are impatiently waiting on the return of their key players from injury. Manuel Lanzini is expected to be back for West Ham’s next match, as is Andy Carroll. Dimitri Payet is due to return at the start of January with Winston Reid and Victor Moses following him back into action a couple of weeks later. Diafra Sakho is out until March though.
Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace – Sat 26th Dec – 15:00
Lee Tomlin is hoping to return for Bournemouth’s Boxing Day clash with Crystal Palace. The same can’t be said of Junior Stanislas, Josh King, Christian Atsu, Max Gradel, Callum Wilson, and Tyrone Mings though, who are all out for between a week and four months.
Kwesi Appiah is the long term injury problem on Crystal Palace’s side of the fence, with his ACL injury keeping him out for a while. Connor Wickham has picked up a knock and might be out of action, whilst Yohann Cabaye and Dwight Gayle are also expected to miss out. Bakary Sako is hoping to be fit in time to take to the pitch though.
Chelsea vs Watford – Sat 26th Dec – 15:00
Guus Hiddink has a fairly easy start to life in terms of squad selection. Eden Hazard is a slight doubt for Chelsea and out of favour striker Radamel Falcao is expected to miss a couple more weeks. Other than that the Dutch manager has a clean bill of health as he looks to salvage Chelsea’s season.
Injury list mainstay Joel Ekstrand is inching ever closer to a first Premier League match. He’s expected back at the beginning of January. Apart from that Watford are looking good, with only Sebastian Prodl a slight doubt for their trip to Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool vs Leicester – Sat 26th Dec – 15:00
Liverpool have a number of key players looking at making a return against Leicester. Daniel Sturridge, Simon Mignolet, and Dejan Lovren are all hoping to make the fitness grade. Martin Skrtel, James Milner, Jordan Rossiter, and Jon Flanagan are all a week or three away from being back though, whilst Joe Gomez and Danny Ings probably won’t play again this season.
Leicester star man Jamie Vardy is down as a doubt, but let’s be honest, he’s likely to demand to play despite his small hamstring injury. Danny Drinkwater is still a week or so away from a return, while Jordan Schlupp and Matthew James are a month off a recovery.
Swansea vs West Brom – Sat 26th Dec – 15:00
Angel Rangel and Wayne Routledge should both have recovered from minor injuries in time for Swansea to host West Brom. Franck Tabanou and Macedo Lopes are both hoping to follow them out of the physio’s office next week.
Ben Foster is the only confirmed absentee for West Brom, although the club are hopeful that his ACL knee injury will have finally recovered by the start of the new year.
Tottenham Hotspur vs Norwich – Sat 26th Dec – 15:00
Harry Kane is hoping to be back to full fitness after picking up a minor knee niggle, whilst Danny Rose and Ryan Mason are both expected to be back for Tottenham Hotspur. Alex Pritchard will be out until February though, and the extent of Clinton N’Jie’s knee injury is unknown.
Norwich are hoping to welcome Matt Jarvis back into the team following his knee injury. Andre Wisdom is the only other injury concern, and he’s expected to miss out with his hamstring problem.
Newcastle vs Everton – Sat 26th Dec – 17:30
Newcastle remain at the top of the injury table. Papiss Cisse and Jamal Lascelles are both doubtful for Everton’s visit, and apart from that Newcastle just have the eight players out injured. Mike Williamson, Rolando Aarons, Steven Taylor, and Emmanuele Riviere are all expected back within a few weeks. The same can’t be said of Craig Good, Tim Krul, Massadio Haidara, or Gabriel Obertan though, who are out for between three months and seven months.
Everton’s Steven Naismith, James McCarthy, and Phil Jagielka are all close to a return following a spell on the sidelines. Bryan Oviedo and Stephen Pienaar are still a few weeks off though, whilst Tyias Browning is going to miss the rest of the season.
Southampton vs Arsenal – Sat 26th Dec – 19:45
Maarten Stekelenburg is hoping to be back between the sticks for Southampton. Apart from that it’s the usual suspects on Southampton’s casualty list, with Jay Rodriguez expected back at the end of January, Fraser Forster following at the start of February, and Florin Gardos expected to miss most of the season.
Arsenal continue to impress despite their extensive injury list. Santi Cazorla is the only long term injury, and he won’t be back until March. Mikel Arteta could be back for Saturday’s game, whilst Alexis Sanchez, Francis Coquelin, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, and Danny Welbeck are all back at various points in January… hopefully.