Ahead of Matchweek 28 in the Premier League plenty of the big boys have released some interesting injury news with stars out for Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City.
Below we round up the latest injury news, which could be very handy for your Premier League Pick ‘Em selections this weekend.
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Okay, now to the injury news…
In another big blow for Man City and Aymeric Laporte, the Frenchman will be ruled out for another three to four weeks after injuring his hamstring in their UEFA Champions League win at Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Laporte has missed a huge chunk of the season so far and Pep Guardiola was sad to see his star center back unavailable once again this season.
“Three weeks out more or less, a month. Unfortunately this happens after four or five months out. Life is not easy and always in the world the people who survive are the ones who cope with the bad moments. It is what it is. Accept it, work hard to come back as soon as possible,” Guardiola said.
When asked about Laporte’s latest injury and the impact not having their main man in defense has had on their non-existent title battle with Liverpool, Guardiola was in a buoyant mood as he replied to Laporte’s injury being the big difference between Man City and Liverpool. “Absolutely,” said Guardiola. “A manager needs the players to rotate, to be fresh. The manager depends on the quality of our players.”
Fernandinho and Nicolas Otamendi will now be the first-choice pairing at center back for the rest of this month as City have the League Cup final against Aston Villa on Sunday, plus the second leg against Real Madrid and big Premier League games against Man United and Chelsea.
Leroy Sane will make a big step on his recovery from the knee injury he suffered in August, as he will play for City’s U23 side against Arsenal on Friday.
“I don’t want to put targets on him, we want him to play the game then speak with him, (about) how he felt,” Guardiola said.
Frank Lampard has started every news conference in recent weeks by listing off the injuries.
That list is getting longer ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Bournemouth on Saturday (Watch live, 10 a.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com).
“[Christian] Pulisic is injured. [N’Golo] Kante injured and Tammy Abraham is injured. We are trying to find a solution with Tammy. It’s the same,” Lampard confirmed.
Abraham’s injury is one which has got worse over the past few weeks as he’s been in and out of the team while he struggles to overcome the ankle issue.
“I don’t know, we need to see. I speak to the doctors every day about it but we are not actually clear on that one. At the minute he’s not doing anything active for the next couple of days. So I don’t know. And I don’t know how long that will be,” Lampard added.
The one positive for Chelsea is that Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be on the bench again as he continues the final stages of his nine-month recovery from an Achilles injury.
“Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] is in the squad again tomorrow. It would mean a lot for him. It is a lonely place to be injured. With the ability that he has got he is one of the most exciting English midfield players,” Lampard said.
Moving on to Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Xherdan Shaqiri are all recovering well but the trio will not play against Watford this Saturday (Watch live, 12:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com).
Klopp revealed that Milner could return for the FA Cup fifth round clash at Chelsea on Tuesday.
“[They are] all coming closer, much closer. Hendo is running, Millie is running and even more. It was not enough for this game now, but we will see – especially with Millie – what we can do for Tuesday,” Klopp said. “I’m not sure about Hendo, and Shaq not yet, but they are all coming closer.”
With Liverpool four wins away from winning the Premier League, Klopp will not rush any players back and risk long-term injuries.
That said, with the FA Cup last 16 clash and the second leg of their UEFA Champions League last 16 tie against Atletico Madrid coming up, Klopp can now start looking at other trophies to win given their 22-point lead atop the table.
