Palmer, Saka, Mbeumo and more: FPL injury news ahead of Gameweek 12

The latest Fantasy Premier League deadline is fast approaching, and as always we’re here to help you make some good decisions by bringing you all the latest FPL injury news – which this week includes updates on Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka, Bryan Mbeumo, Trent Alexander-Arnold and a great many more.

We’ve combed through the managers’ press conferences and the latest media reports to figure out who’s likely to play and who might miss out – but if you want more advice ahead of the Gameweek 12 deadline on Saturday morning, you should also check out our resident expert’s latest advice column by clicking here.

Cole Palmer

Palmer pulled out of the England squad for the recent Nations League games with an unspecified injury, and wasn’t seen in official training photographs this week – although the club did post a picture of his boots on the Cobham touchline to their social media accounts, implying that he has taken part to at least some extent.

Manager Enzo Maresca wouldn’t be drawn in his press conference, declining to provide a specific update on his condition. Most observers expect him to play, but he must be considered a doubt as it stands.

Bukayo Saka

Mikel Arteta doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to transparency with his players’ fitness, but he seemed to be in an unusually forthcoming mood during this week’s press conference.

The Arsenal manager told the press that Bukayo Saka, who missed out on the recent England matches after limping out of the recent 1-1 draw with Chelsea, is fit and available to play, along with Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori. Sadly, Ben White will be out for “months” after undergoing surgery on a persistent knee injury. It’s time to sell him if he’s in your squad.

Bryan Mbeumo & Yoane Wissa

A lot of players will have been worried by last week’s withdrawals of both Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa from the Cameroon and Democratic Republic of Congo squads respectively – but Thomas Frank has a positive update for anyone fretting over their fitness, claiming that they will be “available and ready” along with Ethan Pinnock. There is some news that Wissa owners may not be so keen on, however – summer signing Igor Thiago, who had been earmarked as Ivan Toney’s replacement, is back in training and may be in the squad this weekend, which could see the Brazilian striker eat into Wissa’s minutes over time.

Trent Alexander-Arnold

There’s some mixed news for Liverpool fans this week, with the biggest problem for FPL players being the absence of Alexander-Arnold, who has yet to return to training after suffering a hamstring injury. Arne Slot has confirmed that he won’t feature this weekend – but he will be back “soon”.

Alisson will also be out this weekend and has yet to return to full team training, although he is getting closer to a return as well. Diogo Jota may yet be out for a few more weeks, but Virgil van Dijk, currently the highest-scoring defender in the game, is “good” and looks set to play.

Ola Aina

One of the most-owned defenders in the game, Aina picked up a knock on international duty with Nigeria and was sent home after the Super Eagles’ first game of the break. Nuno Espirito Santo was unfortunately vague in his press conference, saying that there were “situations to manage and decide”, although he did not rule Aina out. It seems probable that he will play, but not definite. Given that a game against Arsenal isn’t the easiest to keep a clean sheet in anyway, benching him may be the smart move anyway.

Ezri Konsa

Defender Konsa picked up an apparent hip injury in England’s win over Greece in the Nations League and was sent home after initial scans. Outgoing England coach Lee Carsley told the media that he did not believe the issue was serious, but The Athletic reported on Friday that Konsa was ruled out of Saturday’s match along with Amadou Onana, Jacob Ramsey and Boubacar Kamara.

Phil Foden

Foden has been an FPL staple for the past couple of years but his stock has plummeted after a slow and injury-strewn start to the season – he is expected, however, to be ready for the weekend despite withdrawing from the England squad last week. The Independent have reported that the issue was “not too serious” and he has been pictured in training alongside Jack Grealish, although Pep Guardiola did not specifically discuss Foden’s fitness during his press conference. John Stone and Manuel Akanji should be available, but Rúben Dias remains out while Nathan Aké is unlikely to start as he only returns to training on Friday.

Cristian Romero

The Argentine centre-back remains a relatively popular defensive asset despite Tottenham Hotspur’s inconsistent start to the season, but he won’t feature this weekend. Ange Postecoglou told reporters that Romero “won’t be right” for the trip to the Etihad, but could be back for the following week. Micky van de Ven is also out.

Antoine Semenyo

The budget-friendly Bournemouth man was excluded from Ghana’s international squad with “a kind of tendonitis”, according to Andoni Iraola, but he sounded upbeat about Semenyo’s chances of playing this weekend, suggesting that he could “continue playing” despite the issue. Milos Kerkez is in the same boat.

Dwight McNeil

One of the more popular budget midfielders in the game, McNeil seems to have had a permanent yellow triangle next to his name for the past few weeks but Sean Dyche suggested that his owners need not worry on this occasion – he came through training “really well” and should play. Jarrad Branthwaite also “should be OK.”

Eberechi Eze

A one-time FPL staple whose injury issues have seen him dropped from plenty of teams this season, Eze will once again miss out this weekend, with Oliver Glasner saying that the England man “would like to play” but will be held out for another weekend as a precaution.

Suspension watch

It occurred to us that it could be rather handy if we started listing the popular FPL players who are one booking away from a suspension, as well as looking over the injuries.

So here are the most relevant players currently a yellow card away from missing a game: Rayan Aït-Nouri, Nicolas Jackson, Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Michael Keane, Justin Kluivert, Pedro Neto, Alexis Mac Allister, Lisandro Martínez, Daniel Muñoz, Fabian Schär, Antoine Semenyo, Micky van de Ven and Lucas Paquetá.