Frimpong, Gvardiol & Rodri: FPL injury news for Gameweek 2 and Man City v Tottenham
The latest FPL injury news and updates on whether Isak, Wissa or Eze might play this weekend.
The first week of the new Fantasy Premier League season, and we’ve all avoided the temptation to make a bunch of panicked, knee-jerk transfers… right? Of course, sometimes transfers are a necessity, even as early as Gameweek 2, and with a number of players out our doubts this weekend, we’re here with latest FPL injury news to help you make some informed decisions.
Jeremie Frimpong, Joško Gvardiol and Kai Havertz are among the FPL-relevant players who may miss time, and we’ve got the latest updates on all of them ahead of the Friday deadline – as well as updates on the likelihood that players such as Alexander Isak, Eberechi Eze and Yoane Wissa get on the field of play.
THIS WEEK’S EXPERT FPL ADVICE:
We won’t go into detail about the more long-term injury absentees such as James Maddison, Jarrad Branthwaite or Levi Colwill, but here’s what we know about the Premier League players whose weekend seems to be in doubt.
Jeremie Frimpong and Joško Gvardiol among FPL injury doubts
Jeremie Frimpong: The Liverpool squad is mostly in good health ahead of their trip to St. James’ Park – a match with a bit of temporary needle in it, if ever there was one – but there’s bad news about Frimpong, the high-ceiling wing-back signed from Bayer Leverkusen. A hamstring injury means he’ll be out until after the coming international break, which takes place over the first weekend of September. He’ll miss two matches. Conor Bradley may be his understudy, with the Northern Irishman now back in training following a muscular injury, but don’t be surprised if he doesn’t get the full 90 minutes against Newcastle.
Joško Gvardiol: The Croatian full-back is among several injured players in the Manchester City squad – we’ll get to the others shortly – and like Frimpong is not expected to feature for the rest of the month thanks to an unspecified knock. He’s not expected to miss more than those two games, based on what we know, but frankly that isn’t much…
Phil Foden & Rodri: Last week, Pep Guardiola suggested that both Foden (ankle) and Rodri (groin) would be ready to see at least some game time against Wolves – in the end, neither was even on the bench. Now, ahead of their game against Tottenham Hotspur, Guardiola has once again insisted that they are both “ready for tomorrow”, but keep your pinches of salt handy. Savinho remains out.
Kai Havertz: There’s still some doubt about how long Kai Havertz will be sidelined due to a knee cartilage problem. Recent reports suggest that if Arsenal’s medical team are happy with his progress over the next fortnight, then he may be back after the international break – but there is a chance that surgery is required, and that would mean a lengthy spell on the sidelines. For now, we recommend selling Havertz and keeping a close eye on the form of Viktor Gyökeres, whose minutes won’t be done any harm by recent developments.
Ben White: A late addition to the list of doubts, Mikel Arteta just told the press “let’s see” with regards to the full-back’s availability. White missed training during the week, likely due to the after-effects of the injury that forced him off in the second half against Manchester United on Sunday. It doesn’t sound like it will be too serious.
Carlos Baleba: A fair few FPL managers have the Cameroonian in their squad as a cheap way to get at some defensive contribution points, but he is still recovering from a knee injury. Fabian Hürzeler said he is “positive” about Baleba’s recovery, but that he “couldn't let him play for 90 minutes” last week. It sounds like he’ll feature this weekend but may not play the entirety of the game once again, so perhaps he’s best as a bench rider for Gameweek 2.
Antonee Robinson: There’s still no clarity on when the American full-back will be back in action for Fulham, with Marco Silva confirming last week that he wasn’t back to full match fitness after undergoing surgery on a knee injury back in May. We await further updates, but best not to sign him just yet.
Lewis Hall: Although not flagged as an injury doubt on the FPL app and website, Hall missed last week’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa as he gets back to full match fitness after the foot injury which cost him the second half of last season. Eddie Howe hasn’t given us much to go on as yet, largely because journalists refuse to ask him any questions about anything other than Isak, but he did say that “as far as I know, everyone’s alright” for this weekend - but then we didn’t really have a heads up that Hall would be out last week, so who knows?
Justin Kluivert: The Dutchman missed Bournemouth’s opening game of the season with a calf injury and midweek updates suggested that he was not yet back in training. We’re still waiting for Andoni Iraola’s press conference, but it seems unlikely that Kluivert will feature.
Will Alexander Isak, Eberechi Eze or Yoane Wissa play this weekend?
Alexander Isak: It’s not just injuries that create selection headaches at this time of year, of course, and Alexander Isak is one of a few players that won’t feature due to ongoing transfer stand-offs. Howe has confirmed that a sudden and remarkable U-turn has not taken place and that Isak won’t play against Liverpool. Could you imagine?
Yoane Wissa: There’s some plausible doubt about whether Wissa will play this weekend – the Congolese forward was left out against Nottingham Forest as he pushed for his own transfer to Newcastle, but with that deal on the rocks after Brentford rejected a reported £40m, there may be some chance of Wissa playing. Keith Andrews has now told the media that Wissa has rejoined first-team training and that it was now possible he would be involved against Aston Villa, although the Irishman also stated that he would delay the decision until Saturday.
Eberechi Eze: The Crystal Palace attacking midfielder missed the midweek Conference League match against Fredrikstad as he prepared for a medical ahead of his move to Arsenal. With the Gunners playing on Saturday, it’s extremely unlikely (but not impossible) that Eze will be ready to play against Leeds United in the evening kick-off, but bet against it. Marc Guéhi should feature for Crystal Palace, with any transfer involving him further away.