Isak, Hall, Mateta & Gakpo: FPL injury news for Gameweek 28Isak, Hall, Mateta & Gakpo: FPL injury news for Gameweek 28
Isak, Hall, Mateta & Gakpo: FPL injury news for Gameweek 28 | Getty Images
The latest FPL injury news ahead of Gameweek 28 - including updates on Alexander Isak, Lewis Hall, Jean-Philippe Mateta and more.
Gameweek 28 of the Fantasy Premier League gets underway on Saturday with an 11:00 GMT deadline ahead of Nottingham Forest’s game against Manchester City – but there are an awful lot of FPL players who will be sweating over the availability of injured players.
Alexander Isak, Lewis Hall, Jean-Philippe Mateta, Cody Gakpo and Kaoru Mitoma are among the popular players who are either out, doubts or have been reported to be dealing with injury issues over the past week, and we’ve got the latest updates on all of them to help you make the right transfer decisions.
Two players who will definitely miss out are Anthony Gordon and Matheus Cunha, who will respectively serve three and four-match suspensions for violent conduct, but we’ll be focussing on injury issues here – and if you’re looking for some advice on how to handle your transfer dealings in the wake of all those fitness issues and suspensions, don’t forget to check out our resident FPL expert’s latest advice column by clicking here.
Alexander Isak
Newcastle don’t play until Monday, but Isak – owned by more than half of FPL players at the time of writing – has been a doubt after coming off before 90 minutes were played in the FA Cup defeat to Brighton last weekend.
Isak has been training this week, at least, with Eddie Howe hinting earlier in the week that some minor discomfort was all that encouraged him to take the Swedish striker off, and “at the moment” it sounds as though Isak will play. It’s the same with Kieran Trippier, too.
Lewis Hall & Sven Botman
Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends for Newcastle fans. As well as losing Gordon for three games, they will be without left-back Lewis Hall for the rest of the season due to a serious ankle inury.
Even worse, Sven Botman, who had been closing in on a return to fitness, has suffered a recurrence of a persistent knee injury and may require surgery. He will be back “in around eight weeks”, so that’s him off the transfer shortlist for the rest of the season, most likely. Probably Newcastle’s other defenders, too…
Jean-Philippe Mateta
Perhaps none of this week’s injury risks took a harder hit that Crystal Palace striker Mateta - he took Milwall goalkeeper Liam Robert’s boot right to the side of the head after a horrendous challenge, and wound up in hospital requiring stitches to his ear. Fortunately, he avoided a more serious head injury but he will now “rest and recuperate” for a few days before rejoining the team, per a club press release. He will not be considered for selection against Ipswich Town, unfortunately for his many FPL owners, and it is hoped that he will return in time for the FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham.
Cody Gakpo
To the frustration of many FPL players, the Dutch forward has been yellow flagged and in and out of the squad for a few weeks now – and it will be yet another “close call” as to whether he’ll play this weekend, according to Arne Slot. He wasn’t in training on Thursday, apparently, but could be involved today. It doesn’t sound like he’ll start, if he does make the match day squad, so he’s a player to consider selling.
Dominic Solanke & Dejan Kulusevski
The striker’s absence earlier in the season means he isn’t in all that many teams right now, but he’s still a striker plenty of players will have under consideration – he picked up a “knock” in midweek, and Ange Postecoglou said it’s “too early to tell” whether Solanke will play. Poetically describing the injury as “a knee to the backside” and “a bit sore”, Postecoglou seemed genuinely unsure whether the former Bournemouth forward will feature. The Spurs coach doesn’t usually mince his words when it comes to injuries, so we advise against bringing Solanke into your teams for now.
Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero have “a chance” to play, should you be casting around for defenders to replace Hall, but Dejan Kulusevski is “unlikely” to play again until after the March international break, according to a club statement.
Kaoru Mitoma
The Japanese winger has been on fine form but a yellow triangle next to his name will have worried quite a lot of player – unnecessarily, as it turns out. Mitoma “just had cramp” and “will be an option” according to Fabian Hürzeler, who normally isn’t too forthcoming when it comes to injuries, so we have no doubt that the winger will be involved. There are no new injuries in the Brighton squad, either, which makes a change.
Related topics:Alexander IsakDejan KulusevskiFantasy Premier LeagueAnthony GordonMatheus CunhaKieran Trippier
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