Premier League Previews: Adebayor may return
Reuters - Friday 28 November 2008, 16:21
Brief news before this weekend's
Premier League matches:
Spain striker Fernando Torres will miss second-placed
Liverpool's match at home to West Ham United on Monday along with Brazilian defender Fabio Aurelio.
Both picked up injuries in Wednesday's Champions League win
over Olympique Marseille, with Torres (hamstring) set to miss up
to three weeks and Aurelio (calf) two.
"It's alarming," Torres told the Spanish radio station Onda
Madrid. "I have noticed it's in a similar place to some of my
other recent injuries.
"I need to be more careful, to recover properly without
rushing back or setting deadlines, to make sure it doesn't
happen again."
Arsenal could be boosted by the return of Emmanuel
Adebayor for their visit to leaders Chelsea on Sunday.
The Togo striker has only played 30 minutes in the last three
league games since injuring his ankle at the start of November.
The London club, currently fifth in the table, are also
monitoring the progress of midfielder Samir Nasri (knee) and
defender Bacary Sagna (ankle).
Chelsea and Ivory Coast forward Didier Drogba will miss
Sunday's clash serving out the second of a three-match domestic
ban for throwing a coin at Burnley fans during Chelsea's shock
League Cup defeat earlier this month.
Manchester United are waiting on the fitness of striker
Dimitar Berbatov who is a doubt for Sunday's derby away to
Manchester City with a hamstring injury.
"It's not an easy one. He's never had a hamstring injury
before," manager Alex Ferguson told the club's website.
Edwin van der Saar will return to goal after being rested on
Tuesday in the Champions League draw at Villarreal.
Mid-table City are hopeful that Brazilian playmakers Elano
and Robinho will figure on Sunday after missing Thursday's UEFA
Cup win at Schalke 04. Robinho was suffering from an ankle
injury while Elano's wife had a baby.
Everton manager David Moyes is short of strikers with only
Aiyegbeni Yakubu likely to feature against Tottenham Hotspur on
Sunday.
Louis Saha and Victor Anichebe (both hamstring) are set to
miss out, although South African attacker Steven Pienaar is on
the verge of resuming training.
Newcastle United could welcome back defender Steven Taylor
(groin) for the derby away at Middlesbrough on Saturday
while Australian striker Mark Viduka also returned to training
this week.
Fourth-placed Aston Villa could be without John Carew for
their home game against Fulham on Saturday after the
forward missed training on Thursday with a hip injury. Defender
Carlos Cuellar may return following a series of injuries.
Sunderland and Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon is
unlikely to face Bolton Wanderers on Saturday despite
returning to training after cracking a bone in his ankle.
Striker El Hadji-Diouf is in contention to play his former club.
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