KEY GAMEWEEK 28 INJURY NEWS FROM FRIDAYLiverpool: Frimpong available, Wirtz set to miss out<\/a>Arsenal: No fresh worries, Havertz expected to train, \u201clet\u2019s see\u201d on White <\/a>Manchester City: Doku back in training, Pep on Ramadan, no other obvious concerns<\/a>Chelsea: Estevao + Cucurella still out, Fofana banned, James fine, Essugo back in training<\/a>Manchester United: Mbeumo pictured in training, Mount + de Ligt latest<\/a>Newcastle United: Livramento + Miley looking at March returns, Howe hopeful on Ramsey<\/a>Brentford: Kayode + Dasilva back in training, Hickey a doubt<\/a>Bournemouth: Cook out till April, no fresh concerns<\/a>Everton: Alcaraz out for 3-4 weeks, O\u2019Brien back from a ban<\/a>Crystal Palace: Glasner hopes Lacroix can start again<\/a>Fulham: Kevin out, Lukic, Chukwueze + Robinson back in training<\/a>Nottingham Forest: Pereira hopeful Ortega isn\u2019t injured, Sels to return on Monday<\/a>FRIDAY\u2019S PRESS CONFERENCE TIMES<\/p>\n \ud83d\udea8 Friday’s FPL Press Conferences!<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd34 9am \u2013 Slot \u2014 Fantasy Football Scout (@FFScout) February 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n LIVERPOOL<\/p>\n Jeremie Frimpong\u00a0(groin) is available for Gameweek 28 but Arne Slot expects Florian Wirtz (back) to miss out.<\/p>\n \u201cJeremie is [fit], he trained with us a few times this week so he is available. I don\u2019t expect Florian to be available, so that is a disappointment. Every time a player is not available, it\u2019s a disappointment, and it\u2019s also something I didn\u2019t expect after last week, but that\u2019s sometimes how things can evolve and unfortunately, this time not in a positive way.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, [I don\u2019t have any idea how long Wirtz will be out]. At this moment in time, no. Usually when I say that, I do know that and I don\u2019t want to share it! Now, I honestly don\u2019t.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, last week and this week he\u2019s not available and that\u2019s indeed a disappointment for him but definitely also for us because he played really, really, really, really well lately.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot<\/p>\n Alexander Isak\u00a0(ankle) will likely be out until April, while\u00a0Wataru Endo\u00a0(foot) is on the long-term injury list with Conor Bradley\u00a0(knee) and Giovanni Leoni\u00a0(knee).<\/p>\n Youngsters Stefan Bajcetic\u00a0(hamstring) and\u00a0Jayden Danns\u00a0(hamstring) have also been on the sidelines for months but Danns rejoined training this week.<\/p>\n Milos Kerkez is \u201ccompletely fit\u201d, with his late substitution last weekend just about freshening things up.<\/p>\n Away from team news, Slot was asked about Mohamed Salah\u2018s Premier League goal shortage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also know, even in my time, this has happened before. I\u2019m not exactly know if it happened nine games in a row but I\u2019ve had these questions earlier. He didn\u2019t score for three, he didn\u2019t score for five or I don\u2019t know the exact numbers. But I also know that in the end, he always starts scoring again.\u201d \u2013 Arne Slot on Mohamed Salah<\/p>\n ARSENAL<\/p>\n Mikel Arteta says he has no fresh injury concerns, suggesting \u2013 surprise, surprise \u2013 that Bukayo Saka is okay after he hobbled out of the north London derby.<\/p>\n Kai Havertz (muscle) is expected to train on Saturday but Arteta was less committal with Ben White (niggle).<\/p>\n Max Dowman (ankle) will play for Arsenal under-21s tonight after his return to training.<\/p>\n \u201cNo [fresh injuries] so far. We are waiting for tomorrow, the last training session, to try and understand if we have one or two available from last week.<\/p>\n \u201cYep, we are hopeful [some players can return]. Max will play some minutes tonight with the under-21s. Kai will train tomorrow and Ben, let\u2019s see.\u201d \u2013 Mikel Arteta<\/p>\n Mikel Merino (foot) is out longer term.<\/p>\n MANCHESTER CITY<\/p>\n Pep Guardiola confirmed that Jeremy Doku\u00a0(calf) had returned to training for the first time on Thursday.<\/p>\n \u201cYesterday make the first training session.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know [when he\u2019ll return to play]. We\u2019ll talk with the doctors and officials afterwards.\u201d \u2013 Pep Guardiola on Jeremy Doku<\/p>\n Josko Gvardiol\u00a0(leg) and\u00a0Mateo Kovacic\u00a0(ankle) remain out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Max Alleyne\u00a0wasn\u2019t involved in Gameweek 27, having hobbled out of the FA Cup win over Salford City a week earlier. We\u2019ve got no details of his issue, if there is one.<\/p>\n Otherwise, there are no other known concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, good.\u201d \u2013 Pep Guardiola when asked how his squad was<\/p>\n Several players in City\u2019s squad \u2013 such as Rayan Cherki, Omar Marmoush, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Abdudokir Khusanov \u2013 are observing the religious period of Ramadan, which involves fasting during daylight hours.<\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t, however, factor into Guardiola\u2019s team selection.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have good nutritionists, they adapt to what the team needs.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019re used to it, they\u2019re not young, and are used to many, many years playing in this period.<\/p>\n \u201cNo [I don\u2019t consider it when picking the team]. They know to handle these situations.\u201d \u2013 Pep Guardiola on the players in his squad who are observing Ramadan<\/p>\n CHELSEA<\/p>\n Wesley Fofana will sit out the Arsenal game after being sent off for two bookable offences last Saturday.<\/p>\n Estevao (hamstring) and Marc Cucurella (hamstring) remain on the injury list, meanwhile, along with longer-term absentees Jamie Gittens (hamstring) and Levi Colwill (knee).<\/p>\n Dario Essugo is back in training after a month or so out with an unknown issue, however.<\/p>\n Romeo Lavia (quad) is injury-free, too: he played 45 minutes for the under-21s last Friday, was on the bench in Gameweek 27 and then featured in a behind-closed-doors game in midweek.<\/p>\n Reece James is also fine after his substitution last weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cReece is absolutely fine.<\/p>\n \u201cRomeo Lavia is getting stronger and stronger. We had a mini-practice match in the week, where he looked really good, which is great for him.<\/p>\n \u201cEstevao, unfortunately, Estevao will be out for a little bit longer.<\/p>\n \u201cJamie is progressing really well in terms of his rehab.<\/p>\n \u201cCucu is progressing really, really well but he\u2019s not available for Sunday. Hopefully, we get him back in as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cLevi is doing really, really well with his long-term rehab.<\/p>\n \u201cDario Essugo is back on the training pitch, as well.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, we can get all of these players back and fit for the run-in of the season.\u201d \u2013 Liam Rosenior<\/p>\n Filip Jorgensen was described as \u201cclose\u201d to fitness at the back-end of January. He hasn\u2019t featured since.<\/p>\n MANCHESTER UNITED<\/p>\n Bryan Mbeumo hobbled out of Monday\u2019s win over Everton but it did look a lot like cramp, and the winger has since been seen in training<\/a>. Michael Carrick didn\u2019t mention him on Friday.<\/p>\n Lisandro Martinez sat out that victory at the Hill Dickinson Stadium with a calf issue.\u00a0Reports suggest<\/a> he will be out for 1-2 weeks but again, there was no update from the United boss.<\/p>\n We did, however, get the weekly bulletin on Mason Mount (minor issue) and Matthijs de Ligt (back).<\/p>\n \u201cMason is getting closer, really. He\u2019s on the grass and getting closer, so he\u2019s looking to train and being around it pretty soon. So, he\u2019s getting close.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve just had to be patient, really, a little bit. He\u2019s a big player for us, Mase, so we\u2019re looking after him and making sure he\u2019s ready for a big finish to the season. The good news is he\u2019s getting really close.<\/p>\n \u201cMatthijs, he\u2019s had a back issue which has been a little bit slower to progress. It\u2019s something that we\u2019ve been working through and he\u2019s getting there. He\u2019s in the right direction but as I said, he\u2019s just a little bit further behind.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just the nature of the issue in the back. It\u2019s a difficult one to pin down, in some ways, especially time-wise. He\u2019s definitely improving, so that\u2019s a good thing. We\u2019re just working towards that, really. There\u2019s not much more I can give you at this stage.\u201d \u2013 Michael Carrick<\/p>\n Patrick Dorgu (hamstring) remains sidelined.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Carrick discussed his current settled team, with changes few and far between since his appointment \u2013 something that has reduced Benjamin Sesko to goalscoring substitute.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve just had quite a big break before the last game and there\u2019s a lot more games in terms of squad and rotations, or having to change things for physical reasons and game to game. I think that comes into play and it\u2019s part of the challenge of managing the group. There\u2019s huge positives to it, with the results we\u2019ve had and playing games mostly. That\u2019s a huge positive but there\u2019s certainly a big awareness of how important everyone in the group is, and it\u2019s something we do have to manage. There\u2019s a balance to it but there\u2019s definitely a big positive to the fact we\u2019re in a good run of form. Even though it\u2019s the same players on the pitch I think game to game we\u2019ve changed things, we\u2019ve tweaked things. Some of the front players have played in different positions. Luke [Shaw], for instance, has played in different roles in possession. So it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean it\u2019s copy and paste and we go again, but there\u2019s certainly a feeling of trying to keep the momentum as best we can as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re playing well as a team and we\u2019ve been winning games. I\u2019m still not getting carried away and thinking that just carries on. Certainly, within the group \u2013 and the forward players have scored a good number as a group so far \u2013 Ben [Sesko] has been so good in so many ways for us. It\u2019s really not a drama, believe it or not. It\u2019s not a drama, and it just shows how much quality Ben\u2019s got for what he\u2019s produced over the last few weeks. If and when he starts, whether it\u2019s the next game or the one after, I think it is what it is. He\u2019s doing so many good things, as well as the team, so it\u2019s a good position for us to be in.\u201d \u2013 Michael Carrick on his settled side<\/p>\n NEWCASTLE UNITED<\/p>\n Jacob Ramsey\u00a0missed the midweek victory over Qarabag as a precaution because of a tight hamstring but Eddie Howe is hopeful of his involvement in training today.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope that he will train today. So, yeah, fingers crossed for tomorrow, as well.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe on Jacob Ramsey<\/p>\n Elsewhere, Tino Livramento\u00a0(hamstring) is still on track for an early-March return.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Tino will be early March, we think he\u2019s still on track for that. He has done really well. He has been training now \u2013 not with us, but separately running \u2013 for a period of time. I think he has a really good body of work behind him, so I think when he comes back, he\u2019ll be in a good place. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s too long to wait.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe on Tino Livramento<\/p>\n Lewis Miley\u2018s (dead leg\/muscle) recovery drags on, with Howe and the medical department proceeding with caution with the young midfielder.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve just been advised, with Lewis, to be really careful with this injury.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has had a couple of injections, I think he has got one more to come. I think I\u2019ve been saying \u2018a couple of weeks\u2019 for a while but I think we are looking at a couple of weeks with Lewis. I think if we don\u2019t get the management of this injury right, it could rule him out for the season.\u201d \u2013 Eddie Howe on Lewis Miley<\/p>\n Fabian Schar\u00a0(ankle),\u00a0Bruno Guimaraes\u00a0(hamstring) and\u00a0Emil Krafth\u00a0(knee) all remain out for longer periods.<\/p>\n Sven Botman\u00a0(back) and\u00a0Yoane Wissa\u00a0(knock) returned for Tuesday\u2019s UEFA Champions League win.<\/p>\n BRENTFORD<\/p>\n Michael Kayode sat out the defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion with a \u201cknock\u201d but has since returned to training. He\u2019ll be assessed before the Burnley game.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael is back in training. We\u2019ll see how he is for tomorrow.\u201d \u2013 Keith Andrews<\/p>\n Fellow right-back Aaron Hickey, who limped out of the Brighton match, is a bigger doubt.<\/p>\n \u201cAaron\u2019s come off obviously with an issue, I\u2019m not entirely sure he\u2019s going to be ready for tomorrow.\u201d \u2013 Keith Andrews<\/p>\n F\u00e1bio Carvalho and Antoni Milambo are likely out for the rest of the season with knee injuries but another long-term absentee in Josh Dasilva (knee) is back training.<\/p>\n \u201cJosh has been back in the group. We don\u2019t want to put too much pressure on that but equally, we\u2019re very excited to have him back in the group.\u201d \u2013 Keith Andrews on Josh Dasilva<\/p>\n BOURNEMOUTH<\/p>\n Andoni Iraola says that midfielder Lewis Cook\u2018s hamstring injury is likely to keep him out until after the March international break.<\/p>\n Justin Kluivert\u00a0(knee),\u00a0Julio Soler\u00a0(hamstring) and\u00a0Ben Gannon-Doak\u00a0(hamstring) remain out for the Cherries, too.<\/p>\n \u201cThe three long-term guys [are still out], and now we add Lewis Cook. Lewis Cook, we did an MRI after he felt something the day before the last game against West Ham. He has a hamstring injury and I think he will be out some weeks. I think he will try, but I think it\u2019s going to be difficult if he comes before the international break because at the end, we are talking about two or three weeks and I think it\u2019s difficult and probably he will be out until the break.\u201d \u2013 Andoni Iraola<\/p>\n Iraola has no other fresh injury concerns ahead of the visit of Sunderland, at least.<\/p>\n Away from injuries, the Bournemouth boss was asked about Rayan\u2018s quick adaptation to English football.<\/p>\n \u201cOur job is to try to help him in this adaptation. I think this adaptation takes time and it will take time. Now, he has been so quick to score and to make great plays that it looks easy, but he will have some bad moments also and some bad games and we will need to be a little bit more patient with him. We cannot forget he is 19.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has the big advantage for me that he was used to playing with big pressure. Because to play for Vasco da Gama in Brazil is pressure. Even if you are 19, you are used to having a lot of eyes behind you and looking at your performances. And I think he\u2019s taken the change naturally. He doesn\u2019t feel a lot of the pressure but he will have to learn more about the league, and I think we will have some moments where he\u2019s not going to be making the numbers every, every week.\u201d \u2013 Andoni Iraola on Rayan<\/p>\n EVERTON<\/p>\n David Moyes confirmed that Charly Alcaraz will be missing for \u201cprobably\u201d three or four weeks after picking up an injury in training on Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cCharly Alcaraz has got an injury which is probably going to keep him out for three weeks or four weeks, we think.<\/p>\n \u201cHe picked it up in the last minute in training on Sunday, so he was a bit unfortunate\u2026 because he probably would have started on Monday night if he hadn\u2019t picked up the injury.\u201d \u2013 David Moyes<\/p>\n Jake O\u2019Brien is available again after serving a one-match suspension.<\/p>\n Jack Grealish (foot) remains a long-term absentee.<\/p>\n We could see Jarrad Branthwaite at left-back again, which is potentially good news for Michael Keane and less so for Vitaliy Mykolenko.<\/p>\n \u201cJarrad Branthwaite\u2019s as comfortable at left-back as he is at centre-back.\u201d \u2013 David Moyes<\/p>\n CRYSTAL PALACE<\/p>\n Maxence Lacroix\u00a0(adductor) made a quick return from injury in Thursday\u2019s UEFA Conference League clash with Zrinjski.<\/p>\n Oliver Glasner hopes he can start again.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the big question \u2013 I don\u2019t know. Hopefully, the goal helps a little bit!<\/p>\n \u201cHe did very well. Also defending was important, having him, also Jaydee [Canvot] played a very good game today, and we needed his pace, because they\u2019re very quick up front. It will be the same at Manchester \u2013 they\u2019re so quick in their attack, and then we need quick defenders, physically strong defenders.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, it looks okay, but let\u2019s see how the reaction is.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner on whether Maxence Lacroix can start again<\/p>\n Elsewhere on the injury front,\u00a0Jean-Philippe Mateta\u00a0(knee) and Jefferson Lerma\u00a0(hamstring) will remain sidelined till mid-March.<\/p>\n Eddie Nketiah\u00a0(hamstring) will be out until April.<\/p>\n Cheick Doucoure\u00a0(knee)\u00a0has been on the grass recently, although it\u2019s not clear how close he is to a playing comeback after being sidelined for 12 months.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe players will be ready, with now two days of recovery and training, and then we go to Manchester on Saturday.\u201d \u2013 Oliver Glasner<\/p>\n FULHAM<\/p>\n Kevin (foot) is Fulham\u2019s only absentee for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur.<\/p>\n Sasa Lukic\u00a0(hamstring), Samuel Chukwueze\u00a0(calf)\u00a0and Antonee Robinson (ankle) have all been in training this week and should be involved.<\/p>\n \u201cKevin is going to be the only player who is going to be out of the\u2026 not be in contention for the game. Sasa, Chukwueze and the others who have been in and out are coming back and in contention. They have had a good week so far. Of course, we have another session before the game and we are going to take decisions but Chuku looks good. Robinson back in the sessions with the team, as well. Let\u2019s see how they are going to react.\u201d \u2013 Marco Silva<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks something serious and I think he is going to be out. We are waiting but probably he is going to have surgery next Monday and is going to be out for some weeks.\u201d \u2013 Marco Silva on Kevin<\/p>\n \u201cWe have some solutions. We have Chukwueze, who was playing there; Bobb, who came in last game after Kevin\u2019s injury. We have the two midfielders, Emile [Smith Rowe] and Josh [King], they have played there on the left as well. We still have Sessegnon.\u201d \u2013 Marco Silva on who comes in for Kevin<\/p>\n NOTTINGHAM FOREST<\/p>\n Vitor Pereira is hoping that Stefan Ortega will be fit to play on Sunday. He needed treatment on a calf issue in Thursday\u2019s match with Fenerbahce but recovered to finish the game.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope not. It was another problem during the game because he felt something in his calf and we had just one sub left.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you have a problem with a goalkeeper and he needs to go off, it is a big problem. That is why we delayed the sub of Morgan Gibbs-White.\u201d \u2013 Vitor Pereira on whether Stefan Ortega could be a doubt, via Nottinghamshire Live<\/a><\/p>\n Matz Sels (groin), John Victor (knee), Willy Boly (knee), Nicolo Savona (knee) and Chris Wood (knee) remain out, with the medical department \u201cworking hard\u201d to get the latter fit in time for the run-in.<\/p>\n Sels is set to return to training on Monday.<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udf52 9.30am \u2013 Iraola
\u26ab\ufe0f 9.30am \u2013 Howe
\ud83c\udf6c 10.15am \u2013 Moyes
\ud83d\udd35 12.30pm \u2013 Guardiola
\ud83d\udc1d 1.15pm \u2013 Andrews
\u2b55\ufe0f 1.30pm \u2013 Arteta
\ud83e\uddff 1.30pm \u2013 Rosenior
\u2b1c\ufe0f 1.30pm \u2013 Silva
\ud83d\udc79 1.30pm \u2013 Carrick
\ud83d\udd50 TBC \u2013 Glasner + Pereira pic.twitter.com\/hyX4M8rZJj<\/a><\/p>\n
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