João Pedro, Saka and Fernandes: FPL injury news for Gameweek 9 ahead of Chelsea v Man Utd

Another Fantasy Premier League deadline is upon us, and it’s one that comes packed with selection headaches thanks to injuries to some of the best players in the FPL – so to help out, we’re here with our weekly round-up of the latest Fantasy-relevant injury news.

João Pedro, Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori and Dominik Szobszlai are among the big names we’ve had injury updates about this week while Bruno Fernandes’ situation is another which could keep FPL managers up at night, and we’ve got all the latest updates on all of them (and many more besides) ahead of Saturday’s 11:00 GMT deadline.

READ MORE: The FPL Stock Report – should you sign Spurs players in Gameweek 9?

We’ll be updating everything after the managers’ pre-match press conferences to keep you as up-to-date as possible, but here’s everything we know so far…

Will Calafiori play against Liverpool?

João Pedro: The Brazilian striker was unexpectedly absent from Chelsea’s line-up last week, with a thigh injury apparently the culprit – some initial reports suggest that it was his knee again – and he’ll be sidelined for “a few weeks.” Time to sell, unfortunately. Moisés Caicedo and Malo Gusto are listed as doubts on the FPL app but should be fine, but Maxence Lacroix will likely miss out due to a hamstring injury.

Bukayo Saka, Riccardo Calafiori, Declan Rice & Noni Madueke: Most FPL players will know by now, but any remaining Saka owners should sell as soon as possible – he’ll be out until mid-December due to a quadriceps injury.

Riccardo Calafiori, meanwhile, is a doubt for the weekend due to an unspecified injury which Mikel Arteta described as “quite small.” That’s pretty unhelpful, and we’ll hope for some more clarity today. Declan Rice should be fine after being rested but Noni Madueke is a big question mark due to an ankle problem.

Dominik Szoboszlai & Jeremie Frimpong: Hungarian midfielder Szoboszlai has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury and faces a late fitness test ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster game against Arsenal. Frimpong, meanwhile, is unlikely to play again until after the international break due to a new muscular issue.

Bruno Fernandes: The 24% of FPL players grimly clinging onto Fernandes still don’t know whether or not he’ll be restored to the line-up after criticising manager Michael Carrick in public. The pair held clear the air talks on Tuesday and Carrick has told the press that he considers their disagreement to be over, suggesting that he could be back in the side – but that remains unconfirmed, and apparently Fernandes was training off to the side due to a knock earlier this week as well.

You should have sold anyway, to be honest, but if you still have him you’ll need to listen in to Carrick’s presser. Elsewhere, it looks likely that Luke Shaw will be out and we have absolutely no idea about Marcus Rashford, who has a hip issue which doesn’t come with even a sniff of a return date as yet.

The rest of the FPL injury doubts – including Newcastle & Crystal Palace stars

Tino Livramento & William Osula: Matthias Jaissle has kept details of Livramento’s return from a knee injury under wraps, but he’s expected to be “back soon,” according to the German – but we don’t expect that to be this weekend. He’s likely still a week or two away. Osula, meanwhile, twisted his ankle during the midweek defeat to Everton – we’re waiting on an update, but he could miss a game or two.

Ismaïla Sarr & Jørgen Strand Larsen: Crystal Palace don’t have much FPL appeal right now regardless of fitness issues, but anyone who’s hanging on to Sarr should give up – he’s out for a month or so with a groin injury. Strand Larsen could return this weekend, which might impact Jean-Philippe Mateta’s minutes.

James Maddison: Spurs are about to hit a run of pretty winnable games and seem to have found some sorely-needed form, so Maddison becomes an intriguing differential option – but he’s a doubt for this weekend after picking up yet another muscular injury. It’s reportedly only minor, however.

Ferdi Kadioglu: Brighton have quite a few question marks hanging over their squad, but the most FPL-relevant one is full-back Kadioglu, who was rested in midweek due to a minor groin injury. Fabian Hürzeler has hinted that he’ll be back in the line-up by the weekend.

Bobby Thomas: The budget-friendly Coventry City centre-back is a “we’ll see” for the Sunderland game, according to Frank Lampard, due to a minor calf injury sustained last weekend.

Jarrad Branthwaite: The Everton centre-back has missed the last two games while he goes through the concussion protocol and remains a doubt for this weekend pending an update from David Moyes.