Late Fitness Check - Week 12

We are now approaching my favourite time of the season when the Premier League ramps up a notch & the games begin to come thick & fast. With fantasy managers having ample opportunity over the next six weeks to consolidate, challenge or comeback there are plenty of double game weeks’ between now and the New Year. But first we need to negotiate this last international minefield which has decimated some of my best-laid plans with a host of injuries to key players. Manchester United took a few big hits [di Maria, Carrick, Blind, Shaw & De Gea] adding to an already extensive list while the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool & West Ham have lost some of their influential stars. Ahead of this busy period Premier League managers will be looking to protect their squad – minor niggles & fatigue could factor – and players may be sacrificed for the greater good. Thoughts immediately sway towards those involved in Africa Cup of Nations duty [Yaya Toure, Wilfried Bony, Papiss Cisse ETC] good luck this weekend – you may just need it!

Chelsea – vs – West Brom

After two weeks of working with the clubs physio Diego Costa is back up to full speed & his inclusion must be given some serious consideration but bear in mind the striker is currently sitting on four yellow cards & a one game ban is likely before the New Year. Andre Schurrle recovers from illness & Ramires [groin] is not in “very good condition but [he] is improving” however the Chelsea coach did confirm the midfielder is available. Cesc Fabregas [hamstring] returned to training on Friday & provided he suffers no adverse reaction then he will make the match-day squad. Nathan Ake is ruled out because with a hamstring strain.

Jonas Olsson is still having problems with an ongoing Achilles issue so misses the trip to Stamford Bridge but Craig Gardner returns from suspension & Silvestre Varela will be available following his recovery from groin surgery. Sebastien Pocognoli [hamstring] will have a late fitness test but is considered a doubt for the game.

Everton – vs – West Ham United

Roberto Martinez has a number of concerns heading into this weeks’ game at Goodison with no fewer than 11 players at risk or expected to miss out. James McCarthy, Darron Gibson, Steven Pienaar, Kevin Mirallas, Leighton Baines & Seamus Coleman will all face a late fitness test although realistically only two or three may feature – McCarthy [knee] is yet to train, Baines is rated as “touch & go” while Coleman needs stitches checked in an Achilles injury. Arouna Kone, Bryan Oviedo, John Stones, Antolin Alcaraz are all long-term absentees while Gareth Barry [ankle] has just returned to the group.

Sam Allardyce faces a similar predicament although his problems are nowhere near as extensive – Stewart Downing [knee] & Diafra Sakho [back] both picked up problems while on international duty & are rated as very doubtful. Enner Valencia is still struggling with a leg injury picked up against Aston Villa but his chances are good along with Winston Reid [dead leg] who suffered a minor setback in training. Guy Demel is closing in on a return but lacks match-fitness while Alex Song is all but ruled out because of a knee issue. Andy Carroll is approaching full fitness & could start if needed but wouldn’t complete the 90 minutes.

Leicester City – vs – Sunderland

Nigel Pearson is close to having a full strength squad as the international break provided Wes Morgan with the ideal opportunity to rest an ongoing foot problem – Liam Moore is also back to fitness having missed the England under-21 game in France because of illness. Richie de Laet has recovered from a minor back problem while back-up goalkeeper Ben Hamer is available again following surgery on a dislocated finger. Matthew Upson is progressing well but won’t be risked & Dean Hammond is struggling with a calf strain which means he’ll miss out this weekend.

Sunderland welcome midfielder Lee Cattermole back from suspension while teammates Ricardo Alcaraz & Sebastien Coates also come into the reckoning – although the pair have been out a while & a place on the bench would be realistic. Steven Fletcher trained on Thursday for the first time since injuring his ankle with Scotland but Giaccherini & Billy Jones are still a little short – hopefully the pair can join the main group next week. Patrick van Aanholt [dislocated shoulder] is ruled out.

Manchester City – vs – Swansea

City have been boosted by the return of Captain Vincent Kompany who trained on Thursday, the Belgium was absent from the recent internationals with a minor calf strain & had been expected to miss out. David Silva has started light training & may make the UCL game against Bayern but Edin Dzeko & Aleksandar Kolarov will miss out. Frank Lampard & Eliaquim Mangala have recovered from their recent problems – Yaya Toure will be assessed following Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Garry Monk will welcome Wayne Routledge & Nathan Dyer back into the squad after the pair missed the win over Arsenal last time out because of groin injuries - Jonjo Shelvey also completes his one game suspension giving the manager a selection headache. Only Frederico Fernandez [calf] is struggling so the Swans should be pretty much near full strength but those arriving back late from international duty will need to be checked.

Newcastle United – vs – Queens Park Rangers

United are struggling defensively as captain Fabricio Coloccini fails to recover from a calf problem & teammate Steven Taylor [knee] is rated as very doubtful – their absence could open the door for Mike Williamson – himself just back after a month out. Mehdi Abeid is not expected to recover in time from a foot injury – the player was effectively ruled out for around 14 days last weekend – but he could play with a pain-killing injection. Still no sign of Cheick Tiote [calf] or Davide Santon [knee] who is undertaking triple fitness sessions in order to hasten a return – Aarons, Siem de Jong, Good, Obertan & Gutierrez are all out but striker Emmanuel Riviere is expected to recover from a minor knock.

QPR arrive at St James’ Park with a relatively clean bill of health – Sandro [hamstring] has returned to training leaving only Adel Taarabt [groin] as the only other short-term injury within the squad – Alejandro Faurlin & Jermain Jenas [both ACL] remain sidelined. Rio Ferdinand will be available from GW13 as he completes his three game domestic ban for misconduct.

Stoke City – vs – Burnley

Stoke will welcome Glenn Whelan [broken leg] back after a full week of training although it’s hard to see the midfielder starting having missed over a month. Phil Bardsley & Eric Pieters are expected to overcome minor knocks but Marc Wilson [hamstring] is very doubtful - however Hughes will give the defender every chance. Robert Huth [calf] remains out while Dionatan Teixeira is expected to be another 10-14 days. Peter Odemwingie is long-term.

Steven Reid will return to the squad having recovered from a groin strain but Sean Dyche confirms Matty Taylor is still “some weeks away” following Achilles surgery. Chelsea loanee Nathanial Chalobah will be assessed following his enforced withdrawal for England under-21s midweek although the problem is only thought to be minor – Scott Arfield is another after picking up a problem in training on Tuesday but he should fine. Sam Vokes is getting closer but the Clarets refuse to give any definitive date on his return.

Arsenal – vs – Manchester United

Wenger will welcome back midfielder Mikel Arteta & striker Olivier Giroud for the visit of Manchester United although the Frenchman will not be considered for a start after his recovery from a broken ankle. Danny Welbeck will face a late fitness test after tweaking his hamstring with England on Tuesday but Theo Walcott is all but ruled out having failed to train on Thursday – late fitness test. Debuchy & Laurent Koscielny could return to full training in around 3 weeks but Mesut Ozil is out until the New Year.

The injuries keep on mounting for Louis van Gaal as five more players were added to the list during the last fortnight however which the exception of Danny Blind [MCL] most should return this weekend. The Dutch midfielder will have another scan on his knee in 10 days with his likely absence to be around 2/3 months. David de Gea [dislocated finger], Michael Carrick [groin] & Angel di Maria [foot] have all been passed fit but Luke Shaw [hamstring] is a doubt. The rest of the United squad remains relatively unchanged - Rafael, Phil Jones & Falcao are all training to varying degrees but the manager has insisted they are still way short of fitness – Jonny Evans is the closest & could feature for the under-21s this week. Chris Smalling completes his domestic suspension but Rojo, Lingard & Ashley Young are still some way behind the others.

Crystal Palace – vs – Liverpool

Palace welcome the return of skipper Mile Jedinak who completes a one game ban while James McArthur is confident of overcoming a calf injury affording Neil Warnock the luxury of an almost fully fit squad. Kevin Doyle will be assessed following his withdrawal from the Republic of Ireland squad because of a groin compliant.

Liverpool were dealt a huge blow midweek as Daniel Sturridge – who had recovered from a calf strain – suffered a recurrence of his previous thigh injury which will keep him out until the New Year. His absence will certainly help the chances of Rickie Lambert with Rodgers already promising the former Saint more game time in the coming weeks - Mario Balotelli is carrying a hamstring injury which will be assessed. Jose Enrique is back in training & could make the squad but Mamadou Sakho is a doubt –Suso remains sidelined. Jordan Henderson who was rested for England as a precaution midweek should fine. No return date for Jon Flanagan who is recovering from knee surgery.

Hull City – vs – Tottenham Hotspur

Nikica Jelavic & Michael Dawson have returned to training & will be added to the Tigers squad which is hoping to arrest an alarming slump in form [only one win since August] while Allan McGregor is back in contention. Curtis Davies trained for the first time on Thursday & providing he has no adverse reaction to his recent back problem the defender will be included – Alex Bruce [hamstring] is probably 7-10 days away with Robert Snodgrass out for the season. Abel Hernandez, Elmohamady, Mohamed Diame & Sone Aluko will be checked following their late return from international duty.

Pochettino admitted Spurs had a number of question marks ahead of Sundays’ game but failed to identify which players would be assessed although Aaron Lennon [hamstring], Andros Townsend [hamstring] & Danny Rose [chest] have all picked up injuries recently. Kyle Walker is back training with the main group with a return pencilled in for early December. Kyle Naughton is ruled out through suspension.

Aston Villa – vs – Southampton

Defensive problems for Paul Lambert as Philippe Senderos [calf] will definitely miss out while teammates Ron Vlaar [calf] & Nathan Baker [knee] are rated as extremely doubtful. Jores Okore could make his first competitive start since recovering from a ruptured ACL with Ciaran Clark & Chris Herd also vying for a place at centre-back. Alan Hutton [ankle] returns to the squad but Christian Benteke is still suspended – it could be the New Year before we see Fabian Delph or Libor Kozak again.

The news however is slightly better for the Saints as Dusan Tadic returned to training on Friday, the Serbian picked up a minor knock on international duty but will travel to Villa Park on Monday. Koeman also remains “hopeful” over the fitness of Morgan Schneiderlin [groin] but Steven Davis [hamstring] is big doubt “If the game was tomorrow [Saturday] then Steven would not be fit.” Jay Rodriguez [ACL] suffers a small setback in his recovery & has been forced to rest for a week or so but it won’t impact greatly on his return to action which should be in January. James Ward-Prowse & Sam Gallagher are ruled out.