On a weekend of significant injury scares, Bukayo Saka (£10.0m) and Cole Palmer (£10.5m) were the two most high-profile casualties.
Palmer pulled out of the Chelsea XI before kick-off in the Gameweek 2 curtain-raiser, while Saka was taken off early in the second half of Arsenal’s thumping win over Leeds United.
First, in this article, the injury latest on the pair.
After that, we’ll look at when we might get more information on the premium midfielders, how close they are to falling in price – and how this double injury blow could reshape FPL squads.
We’ll detail some of the best replacements in a follow-up article.
SAKA + PALMER INJURY LATEST
FPL pre-season: Palmer uncertain for Gameweek 1, Saka returns 3
The BBC reports that Saka will be out for “up to four weeks” with the hamstring injury he sustained on Saturday.
That’s nowhere near as bad as last season’s hamstring issue, which kept him out for over three months.
Nevertheless, if this new timeline is accurate, it’ll be enough to rule him out for Gameweek 3 and potentially for Gameweek 4, too. Even Gameweek 5, which takes place on September 21, would be a close-run thing.
As for Palmer, the Chelsea number 10 reportedly has a scan on Tuesday. The usually reliable Si Phillips says the “initial belief” is that the midfielder could be out for about 4-6 weeks. He does, however, stress that the aforementioned scan will give a much more accurate timeframe of recovery.
If it is a six-week absence, that may put him out until after the October break – or at least the Liverpool match in Gameweek 7 just before it.
ANY SENSE IN WAITING FOR MORE INFORMATION…?
FPL notes: Arteta on rotation, Saka's fitness + Merino
With Saka, you’re unlikely to get a concrete update from Mikel Arteta, let alone a definitive timeline.
The Arsenal boss is one of the more guarded managers in the league when it comes to team news. The club photographer is often in on the ruse, seemingly instructed not to snap any injury doubts on the training ground to keep the opposition manager guessing.
Any timeframes on the winger are likely to come from outside the club (like the BBC’s), accurate or not.
As for Palmer, there’s every chance that the results of Tuesday’s scan slip out.
Enzo Maresca tends to be more forthcoming with injury updates, too, so he may share information in the pre-Gameweek 3 press conference on Thursday/Friday.
….OR KEEPING EITHER PLAYER?
In truth, though, Arsenal’s fixtures will make many Saka owners’ decisions all the easier. Liverpool and Nottingham Forest were two of the better defences last season (not that the Reds have started convincingly this time around), while even the two potential comeback games are against Manchester City and Newcastle United.
It’s time to cash in and revisit the winger in Gameweek 7.
As for Palmer, the fixtures aren’t as bad – but the really good stuff doesn’t happen until Gameweek 9 anyway. There probably won’t be a defence as generous as West Ham United’s for a while.
If you can hang on to hear more information about Palmer on (hopefully) Tuesday and aren’t going to be priced out of any moves (see below), then it’s maybe worth doing so. Any form of absence, however, even a four-week one, and he’s for the chopping block.
There’s no team value tied up in any Palmer price rises, and he eats up over 10% of your team’s budget. Couple that with his indifferent form in 2025 (Club World Cup excepted), and he’s not exactly screaming, ‘Keep me on the bench for three or four Gameweeks’.
HOW CLOSE ARE SAKA + PALMER TO FALLING IN PRICE?
According to LiveFPL’s price predictions, neither player is currently forecasted to fall on Monday night.
A rush in sales could change all that, of course, so it’s worth checking back as the day goes on.
Price Change Predictions
PEDRO ON PENS?
Best £7.5m+ forwards for FPL 2025/26
Viktor Gyokeres (£9.0m) may have taken his Gameweek 2 penalty even if Saka had been on the pitch. But with the winger out, and fellow taker Martin Odegaard (£8.0m) also a doubt, there are fewer challengers to the Swede from 12 yards.
The big question: who deputises for Palmer on penalties if he’s out? Christopher Nkunku (£6.0m) did this last year but is now surplus to requirements.
Enzo Fernandez (£6.5m) has taken them before for the Blues but not since December 2023.
Could Liam Delap (£6.4m) or Joao Pedro (£7.5m) inherit the responsibility, then? Both were on spot-kicks for their respective clubs last season, with Pedro the more experienced: he has taken 19 in his career, scoring 18 of them.
A CHANGE IN FPL APPROACH: 3-5-2 OUT, 3-4-3 IN?
You’d expect Palmer, Saka and other flagged players to be towards the top of the transfers out column for Gameweek 3.
No surprise to see misfiring forwards like Ollie Watkins (£9.0m) and Jarrod Bowen (£7.9m) near the summit, either.
But the presence of Marc Guiu (£4.5m) in the below table might indicate where the Saka/Palmer funds are going.
Assuming relatively few managers are going up from Palmer/Saka to Mohamed Salah (£14.5m), any replacement is going to be cheaper. Even moving from Palmer to the pricey Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) is going to pocket you £1.5m.
And with plenty of managers rolling a transfer in Gameweek 2, there’s the option of making a second move for free.
Guiu up to Igor Thiago (£6.0m), Pedro, Richarlison (£6.6m) or Chris Wood (£7.6m) will be doable for many, then.
Alternatively, keeping someone like Guiu as bench fodder and upgrading a £5.5m midfielder in the process is another ploy. Palmer and Elliot Anderson (£5.5m) to, say, Bryan Mbeumo (£8.0m) and Brennan Johnson (£7.0m) brings more balance to the midfield, on paper.
price change predictions