Palmer, Cunha, Frimpong: FPL Gameweek 4 injury news - and will Liverpool's Isak play?

The first international break of the season is finally over and Premier League football returns this weekend – and that means another deadline for Fantasy Premier League players and another raft of injury issues to navigate.

Cole Palmer, Yoane Wissa and Jeremie Frimpong are among the players heading into the weekend’s football with dreaded red and yellow triangles next to their names, while there are also question marks over the whether new signings such as Alexander Isak and Xabi Simons will feature this weekend.

We’ve got all of the latest selection updates injury news for Palmer and all the rest of the most important FPL players with problems below, along with our resident expert’s notes.

Cole Palmer among key FPL players with injuries to shake off

Cole Palmer: Palmer has missed the last two matches and the international break after aggravating a pre-existing groin injury, and was expected to be touch-and-go heading into Chelsea’s game against Brentford this weekend.

Enzo Maresca revealed on Friday that Palmer was back in training and that the club “will try” to get him fit for Saturday’s match, but didn’t sound overly optimistic about his chances. It’s probably not worth selling if you still have him, but hold off on buying him back if you don’t.

Yoane Wissa: Only a handful of FPL players have picked Wissa so far due to the stand-off between him and former team Brentford which saw him miss the first three games of the season, but the Congolese forward is likely to be a popular pick once he starts playing – that won’t be this weekend, however.

A knee injury sustained on international duty means that he will miss the game against Wolves and could remain sidelined for weeks to come. Hold your powder and wait until he’s fit and established in the Newcastle team. Another new signing, Jacob Ramsey, is also out until October with an ankle injury, but Nick Woltemade should be ready to make his debut.

Jeremie Frimpong: The Liverpool full-back has missed the last two matches with injury but is set to return to the line-up this weekend, with Slot confirming that the Dutchman was available for selection – but not whether he would start, with Conor Bradley also fit and Dominik Szoboszlai have deputised to brilliant effect against Arsenal. Perhaps wait a week before bringing him into the fold, but Frimpong has a very high FPL ceiling.

Matheus Cunha: The Manchester United forward limped out of the game against Burnley two weeks ago and later withdrew from Brazil’s international squad due to an apparent hamstring injury – but while a social media post by Cunha suggested that he could well be ready to play some role in this weekend’s Manchester derby, it has now been confirmed by Ruben Amorim that he will miss out. Altay Bayindir will start in goal, should you wish to try something fancy in net.

William Saliba: The Arsenal defender went down after just five minutes of the 1-0 defeat to Liverpool before the international break, and unconfirmed reports initially suggested that he would miss up to four weeks with a sprained ankle - but things look rather brighter after Mikel Arteta announced that Saliba was back in training and that he had a “decision to make” over the Frenchman’s fitness. Ben White could return as well.

Ola Aina & Omar Marmoush among stars to pick up international break injuries

Ola Aina: 28-year-old right-back Aina suffered a serious hamstring injury while on international duty with Nigeria and will be unavailable for as long as three months, a serious blow early in Ange Postecoglou’s reign at Nottingham Forest. New signing Nicolo Savona could deputise and may be a bargain at £4.5m if Postecoglou can keep Forest’s defence tight.

Rayan AÏt-Nouri: One surprising update from Pep Guardiola’s pre-match press conference was the news that left-back AÏt-Nouri is out for the Manchester derby. The Algerian had sat out international duty to rest a pre-existing ankle injury but his condition appears to have required more time than originally thought.

Joško Gvardiol, Rico Lewis, Phil Foden & Omar Marmoush: In other Manchester City injury news, of which there is plenty, Omar Marmoush could be out for some time due to a knee injury picked up while playing for Egypt and won’t face Manchester United - Guardiola has confirmed that he will miss “a few weeks”. Rayan Cherki remains out and John Stones is a major doubt, but Gvardiol is available once more and Lewis, who was flagged as a doubt on the app, seems likely to be fine. Phil Foden is fully fit as well.

Ismaïla Sarr: Although the Crystal Palace winger’s hamstring injury isn’t believed to be overly serious, initial reports suggest that he will miss this weekend’s match against Sunderland along with midfielder Adam Wharton. It doesn’t sound likely to be a long lay-off, however, and Régis Le Bris has yet to confirm media reports concerning Sarr’s absence.

Jørgen Strand Larsen: An Achilles tendon issue saw the Norwegian striker miss Wolves’ last match and the international break and he has now been ruled out of this weekend’s game against Newcastle, the team that tried and failed to sign him over the summer. Vitor Pereira told the press that Strand Larsen has yet to return to training, but didn’t say how long he might be out for.

Iliman Ndiaye: Budget-enabling Everton man Iliman Ndiaye is also a late doubt, with David Moyes telling reporters that the Frenchman has “a knock and we don't know how he'll be for tomorrow.” Moyes was hopeful that Vitalii Mykolenko would be OK to play, at least.

Will Alexander Isak play against Burnley?

Alexander Isak: £125m man Isak is unlikely to start for Liverpool this weekend, with Slot suggesting that he would ease the Swede in after he missed most of pre-season training while he forced his move away from Newcastle. Isak managed around 20 minutes from the bench for Sweden, but is not expected to be any more than a late sub against Burnley this weekend.

Xavi Simons & Randal Kolo Muani: Xavi Simons is the more likely of Spurs’ two late signings to start – he has had a full pre-season and game time under his belt and it will come down to Frank as to whether he wants to be patient with his new playmaker or throw him straight in against West Ham. Expect Kolo Muani to be restricted to the bench as he has not played a match since July.

Alejandro Garnacho: Maresca told the media during his press conference that he was hopeful that the Argentine winger would gets some minutes this weekend, but having missed so much of pre-season there is no realistic chance that he starts against West Ham.