Watkins, Palmer & Guimarães: FPL injury news for Gameweek 24 before Spurs face Man Cityplaceholder image
Watkins, Palmer & Guimarães: FPL injury news for Gameweek 24 before Spurs face Man City | Getty Images
The latest Fantasy Premier League injury news for Gameweek 24 - with news on Ollie Watkins, Cole Palmer and many more.
Another weekend of Premier League football is fast approaching and with it, as always, another deadline for the millions of Fantasy Premier League players around the world – and, with a certain degree of inevitability, there are a host of injury issues floating around to give FPL managers a headache ahead of Saturday’s lunchtime deadline.
Cole Palmer, Ollie Watkins, Bruno Guimarães, William Saliba & Jurriën Timber are among the many key assets who are either out or doubts coming into the weekend, and we’ve combed through the media reports and listened in to the pre-match press conferences to bring you all of the latest updates on their condition – and that of many other fantasy-relevant players carrying knocks and strains.
Ollie Watkins & Cole Palmer among big FPL names nursing injuries ahead of Gameweek 24
Ollie Watkins: The Aston Villa striker limped off with what appeared to be a hamstring injury during the first half of Thursday’s Europa League win against RB Salzburg – and is now a major doubt for the weekend despite Unai Emery’s move to play down the severity of the issue.
Emery told the media that Watkins “felt something, but not a lot” but added that he didn’t know whether the 30-year-old would be available for Villa’s game on Sunday. We suspect there’s a fair chance he misses out or has his minutes reduced. Youri Tielamans, by the way, is now out for around six weeks after an injury sustained last weekend.
Cole Palmer: Palmer’s fitness issues have been a persistent headache for FPL managers this season, but having missed last weekend’s game he made it through the second half of the Champions League win over Napoli – assisting two goals in the process – and seems to be in line to start this weekend. Liam Rosenior has frequently spoken about the need to manage Palmer’s minutes, however, so we wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t get the full 90 against West Ham.
Bruno Guimarães: The Brazilian midfielder was back in the squad for the Champions League draw against PSG, but didn’t make it off the bench after he failed to reach full fitness following an ankle problem. Eddie Howe told the press on Friday that it was “still unknown” whether he would be ready to play against Liverpool on Saturday - it looks like Bruno remains a doubt, and he certainly doesn’t sound likely to play a full match as it stands.
Wiliam Saliba & Jurriën Timber: The Arsenal defensive duo were both rested for Arsenal’s Champions League dead rubber against Kairat Almaty due to what Mikel Arteta described as “slight niggles.” He even went as far as to tell the press on Friday that they were “OK” heading into the weekend, which is perhaps the most information Arteta has ever given us about the fitness of his players. We doubt there’s any cause for concern.
Micky van de Ven & Pedro Porro: Both Van de Ven and Porro are fresh additions to Spurs’ lengthy injury list, but the initial prognosis for the players is quite different – Van de Ven’s issue is minor and he could feature this weekend (although he remains a doubt pending further updates from Thomas Frank) while Porro is out for a minimum of three weeks, according to initial tests.
Manchester United & Liverpool stars also among this week’s injury victims
Patrick Dorgu: Most of his owners will be aware by now, but Dorgu is sadly set to be ruled out for around 10 weeks due to a nasty hamstring injury he picked up after scoring United’s second goal against Arsenal last weekend. A promising run of form after the appointment of Michael Carrick comes to an abrupt and unfortunate end.
Jeremie Frimpong & Ibrahima Konaté: Injuries mean that Frimpong isn’t as widely owned as he might have been this season, but those who were considering taking a punt on him should cool their heels a little longer – a hamstring injury sustained in midweek will keep him out for “a few weeks,” according to Arne Slot. The good news is that Konaté is back after compassionate leave and will return to the squad this weekend.
Jérémy Doku: A fringe FPL asset, perhaps, especially since the arrival of Antoine Semenyo, but it’s worth noting that Pep Guardiola has ruled the Belgian winger out of this weekend’s game against Spurs already. He picked up a calf injury in midweek, and while it’s not clear how long he’ll be gone for, he certainly won’t be involved in Gameweek 24.
Gabriel Gudmundsson & Lukas Nmecha: Budget-friendly full-back Gudmundsson has a thigh strain and is expected to miss this weekend’s game against Arsenal, not that many players would have him in their starting XI anyway. Nmecha will also miss out with a hamstring problem.
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