FPL injury update: Watkins, Gabriel, Jota, Alisson, Pope, Romero latest for GW16

Fantasy Premier League managers will be facing some tough decisions ahead of Gameweek 16 with Premier League bosses likely to rotate their squads heading into the busy festive period.

Injuries, suspensions and form often contribute to some surprising selection decisions and the midweek European fixtures are only likely to increase the chances of some star names being rested.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa were all in Champions League action, while Manchester United and Tottenham played in the Europa League. Chelsea may not be a concern after resting the entire first-choice XI against Astana, but for other clubs, the weekend fixtures may come too soon for their key players.

Express Sport brings you the latest updates on player fitness ahead of Saturday’s 1.30pm GW16 deadline.

Ollie Watkins

Aston Villa frontman Watkins is facing a race against time to be fit to face Nottingham Forest after limping off at half-time in the Champions League 3-2 win over RB Leipzig in midweek.

The 28-year-old has scored seven goals this season but only managed 32 minutes from the bench against Southampton in Gameweek 15. He has only been given a 75 per cent chance of playing, according to FPL’s injury checker.

With 22.1 per cent ownership, Watkins is one of the most popular strikers in the game, although he has been transferred out by 220,000 managers at the time of writing.

That suggests there is some doubt amongst FPL bosses that he will be back in time for start ahead of Jhon Duran, who scored a 25-yard stunner after leading the frontline.

Gabriel Magalhaes

A big boost for Arsenal will be the return of Gabriel to the starting XI to face Everton after recovering from a hamstring problem.

The Brazilian has missed their last three matches in all competitions, which may have forced FPL managers to consider selling up. The centre-back (£6.2m) still has 23.2 per cent of owners but that figure has dropped recently.

However, Arteta confidently stated he will be back for Saturday’s game at the Emirates, which could prompt a flurry of late transfers.

“There is a possibility with one of them to be available. He trained today. It’s Gabriel,” Arteta said in his press conference on Friday.

Alisson Becker

Liverpool conceded only twice in the six games they have had with Alisson (£5.4m) in goal. But after missing 11 matches with a hamstring injury, the Brazilian stopper is finally back to full fitness.

The 32-year-old emerged unscathed from their 1-0 win over Girona on Tuesday in the Champions League and produced a fine display of goalkeeping.

Now Arne Slot is confident the goalkeeper will be back to his best level after Caoimhin Kelleher stepped in as his deputy.

“Hopefully the amount of time he needed and we thought he needed to get back to his best possible [shape] also helps us for the long term,” Slot said.

Diogo Jota

In addition to Alisson’s return, the Dutchman will be able to call upon Jota (£7.2m) for their home clash with Fulham at Anfield.

The Portuguese is a favourite amongst FPL purists but his injury troubles have coincided with a sharp decline, going from 1.9 million owners to just over 300,000 at present.

Addressing his status, Slot confirmed Jota and Federico Chiesa could return against the Cottagers.

“I think they are [in contention]. We have one training session to go,” he said. “But maybe Diogo is in the squad and maybe Federico as well but that depends a bit on numbers and how he recovers from his illness.”

Nick Pope

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has had his worst fears confirmed after first-choice stopper Pope (£5.0m) was ruled out until 2025.

The England international has 6.6 per cent ownership and is ranked seventh for points this season out of the Premier League stoppers.

But the 32-year-old suffered a knee injury in training earlier this week and Eddie Howe said he would be assessed by a specialist.

A report from Sky Sports later claimed the results show his injury is worse than first thought and will keep him sidelined for around a month.

Cristian Romero

The last thing Tottenham need is to lose one of their star defenders to injury again, but Romero lasted only 15 minutes in their 4-3 defeat to Chelsea

He was left out their Europa League clash with Rangers on Thursday too and Spurs coach Ange Postecoglou said that, along with Micky van de Ven, Romero would not be rushed back to action.

“You need to let the injuries settle down before you get a real prognosis so it’ll probably be next week sometime for Micky [van de Ven] and Cristian [Romero].”

With 5.2 per cent of managers owning the Argentinian, it may be time to consider a change after a number of disrupted games for him recently.