FPL injury update: Vardy, Smith Rowe, Fernandes, Fabianski, Flekken latest

There is rarely anything conventional about football at Christmas, and the 19th Premier League matchweek certainly has a festive feel. After a Saturday off, all teams will now be in action over the next four days and injury concerns are major.

Something has to give at the King Power Stadium where Leicester, who are now once again in relegation trouble after three consecutive defeats, face a Manchester City side who ironically cannot buy a win at the moment. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, will look to consolidate their victory over Tottenham by improving Everton.

Liverpool's latest bid to move towards the league title will come at West Ham, while Manchester United could face another difficult 90 minutes when they take on Newcastle. Arsenal's bid to stay in the title race without key man Bukayo Saka will continue at Brentford on New Year's Day.

Ahead of Gameweek 19, Express Sport have provided an FPL injury update…

Jamie Vardy

Despite being 37, Jamie Vardy has six Premier League goals and three assists to his name this season, and was greatly missed by the Foxes during their 3-1 defeat at Liverpool on Boxing Day. And it could be a smart move by the FPL managers to bring him back for the champions' visit.

At Anfield, manager Ruud van Nistelrooy strongly hinted that Vardy's problem was short-term and that he would be back available for the 2:30 p.m. kick-off. “I think Jamie had a slight injury, he couldn't be here today but he looks good,” he said. “I hope he can be there on Sunday.”

Emilie Smith-Rowe

Fulham boss Marco Silva has so far failed to explain why Emilie Smith-Rowe has not played since the 2-2 draw against Liverpool at Anfield on December 14. The midfielder missed both the draw against Southampton as well as the 2-1 away win. at Chelsea on Boxing Day, and it appears FPL bosses would be taking a gamble by including him for this run of matches.

Asked on Friday whether Smith-Rowe would be available for the Bournemouth game, Silva said no internal decisions would be made until Saturday at the earliest. “We don’t know yet,” he said when asked if he would be available.

“It’s a decision we will make on Saturday because we have another session. We must continue to evaluate, not only the players who were absent in the last match, but also those who played.

Bruno Fernandes

The Manchester United captain is uninjured for the trip to St James' Park, but will certainly not be part of the squad. Fernandes was sent off for two bookable offenses against Wolves on Boxing Day, his third red card of the season after also being sent off against Tottenham and Porto.

But crucially, the sending off against Spurs was later overturned, so he will only serve a one-match suspension, rather than the two-match ban that would follow a second red card. This means Fernandes will have to watch from the bench at Newcastle but is eligible to face Liverpool on January 5.

Lukasz Fabianski

The Polish goalkeeper made two superb saves against Southampton, before a collision with Nathan Wood left him requiring oxygen and seven minutes of treatment before leaving the field on a stretcher. It is very likely that the 39-year-old will miss the clash with Liverpool.

Speaking after the match at St Mary's, West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui admitted he initially feared the worst. “He took a big hit around the head, around the neck and he wasn’t very sure of his actions,” he said.

“Luckily the news is that he’s talking, he’s alert, he’s conscious. I spoke to him, the doctors say he feels better and well. He showed that he had more or less regained his senses. We were scared but now he is better and it's a positive feeling because we were very worried.

Mark Flekken

The Dutchman made several saves early in Brentford's 0-0 draw at Brighton on Thursday, but was then forced off after 36 minutes with a groin problem. Given his abrupt exit, Flekken being in place to face Arsenal on January 1 seems highly unlikely.

Manager Thomas Frank wasn't exactly positive in his post-match verdict, saying: “On Flekken and Ben Mee we don't have a real update. We'll know more tomorrow when we actually evaluate them. Hopefully the injuries aren't too serious.