Fantasy Premier League managers will need to lock their teams in by 6.30pm on Friday evening, with the second round of fixtures getting underway 90 minutes later when Chelsea travel to West Ham. Popular captain choices Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland delivered for their backers last weekend, with Liverpool and Manchester City both getting their league campaigns underway with victories.
Going into the second weekend of matches, Cole Palmer is still the most popular player in the game, despite the fact he blanked last weekend, with his Chelsea team-mate Joao Pedro and Manchester City star Tijjani Reijnders also highly owned. But a string of top players will be missing this weekend through injury. And Express Sport looks at the latest fitness news around five players who managers may be tempted to select.
Jeremie Frimpong
Jeremie Frimpong was forced off just before the hour mark as Liverpool overcame Bournemouth 4-2 a week ago.
Reds boss Arne Slot later revealed the right-back was struggling with a hamstring issue, with the Dutchman then confirming the former Bayer Leverkusen player would be unavailable for an extended period.
“The medical team was completely right about Jeremie to tell me that I had to take him off, because he is out until the end of the international break and that happened in the game,” Slot said this week.
“I already said immediately after the game that it had nothing to do with how he played, but we felt he had an issue with his hamstring. And with ‘we’ I don’t mean me, but the medical staff. And they were completely right.”
Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz came off the bench for the final 30 minutes as Arsenal clinched a 1-0 victory over Manchester United last Sunday.
But the German was missing when the Gunners held an open training session at the Emirates on Wednesday. Havertz has reportedly suffered a knee injury, with further tests needed to reveal the extent of the issue.
Josko Gvardiol
Josko Gvardiol was a popular FPL pick last season, with the player racking up an incredible 153 points. But he missed Manchester City’s opener against Wolves last weekend, with Citizens boss Pep Guardiola explaining he was “not ready”.
According to FourFourTwo, City’s clash with Tottenham at lunchtime on Saturday will likely come too soon for the defender to return.
Phil Foden
Phil Foden was another City absentee against Wolves after missing his side’s final pre-season friendly against Palermo.
The England international was spotted in the stands at Molineux last weekend and was seen walking around the stadium.
And he may be hopeful of returning for the clash with Tottenham, with Guardiola explaining a week ago: “Phil was doing really good but he had a problem with a knock on his ankle.”
Antonee Robinson
Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson was an FPL gem last season as he racked up 10 assists and five clean sheets.
But he missed pre-season after undergoing knee surgery in the summer and wasn’t available for his side’s Premier League opener against Brighton last weekend.
And Fulham boss Marco Silva confirmed on August 14: “Soon you are going to see him in contention for the games.”