Other absentees against Birmingham will be Thomas Vermaelen through suspension, and possibly Nicklas Bendtner, who went off injured against West Ham.
Wenger admits that the Dane is not yet back in training, but hopes to have him back in time for the weekend.
He said: "He should be OK. He is not back in training yet because he has an ankle problem, but he will have a late test tomorrow morning and should be available.
"I have not picked the team yet, but I expect him to be available.
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is fit to return for Wednesday's Premier League game at bottom club Portsmouth but defender Branislav Ivanovic will be sidelined for a month.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti also said Ashley Cole was back in light training after breaking his left ankle at Everton at the start of February and he expected the England defender to return to the first team before the end of the season...
Third-choice keeper Ross Turnbull, who has played the last three games, will drop to the bench against Portsmouth. Ancelotti also said he expected second-choice Henrique Hilario to be fit again for Saturday's home game against Aston Villa.
Now witness the firepower of this fully ARMED and OPERATIONAL battle station!When reading this:
West Ham United manager Gianfranco Zola has called upon his star names Carlton Cole and Scott Parker to help his relegation threatened side to safety when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers at Upton Park on Tuesday night.It's silly, and probably a bit petty. I knew in picking CCole that the meat of the week was today's game at home to Wolves and that the Arsenal match was gravy. Still, I'm horribly bitter than he didn't start at the weekend and that he lost a point having hit the post with a shot. But today is another chance to set things right.
Both English players were left out of West Ham's 2-0 loss to Arsenal at the weekend due to reported fitness reasons, and Zola will be left hoping for a reverse in fortunes for the pair.
"Cole has not been training much recently," Zola said, according to the Guardian.
"We had a game on Saturday and now another one on Tuesday so I couldn't think of playing him 90 minutes and 90 minutes.
Chelsea's miserable week has taken another turn for the worse with Branislav Ivanovic ruled out for a month, leaving them without both first-choice right backs.Looking for a Vermaelen replacement?
After crashing out of the Champions League and drawing with Blackburn, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti could have done without another headache — but Ivanovic has torn a knee ligament. Jose Bosingwa is already out for the season with an injured knee.
Left back Ashley Cole is also sidelined until May after fracturing his left ankle.
A scan yesterday confirmed the Serbia international has torn a medial collateral ligament. After playing in 24 of Chelsea’s 30 league games this season, he will now miss the key clashes against Manchester United and Tottenham, as well as the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa on April 10.
Yuri Zhirkov replaced Ivanovic at Blackburn on Sunday and Paulo Ferreira could also fill in on the right.
Liverpool goal: Old Trafford is stunned into silence as Liverpool take the lead through a Fernando Torres header. Steven Gerrard plays in Dirk Kuyt down the right and the Dutch international delivers a teasing cross that a completely unmarked Torres heads home.
Manchester United goal: Wayne Rooney equalises, tucking home the rebound after Pepe Reina makes a brilliant save to parry the spot kick. Rooney is a touch fortunate that the rebound falls so invitingly to him. The penalty is awarded after Javier Mascherano brings down Antonio Valencia. Mascherano is fortunate to stay on the pitch, yet it looks as though the foul started outside the box and thus should have been a free-kick.I know the "point per unit spent" rule and I think it has value in setting up your team week to week. But sometimes you have to pay for quality.
Clint Just scored an ill goal! who saw that? lol love it
What a goal from clint!! Can't believe fulham have battled back here.. great finish from fellow TEXAN!! yeehawww
The Ivory Coast striker’s four-match ban for ranting at Ovrebo as Chelsea crashed out in the semi-finals to Barcelona 12 months ago also carried a two-match suspended penalty, which could be triggered by Uefa after his sending-off for violent conduct. A straight red card in the Champions League carries an automatic two-game suspension so Drogba could begin next season’s competition with a four-match ban, just as he did during this campaign.Alternate title, "Card Cheat Reggae". And yes, I've been listening to a lot of The Clash recently.
Blackburn Rovers have confirmed that goalkeeper Paul Robinson has been sidelined for a month.Hard to imagine a Rovers keeper being cheaper than PRobbo, our enabler with upside. But Jason Brown is 4.02 and has matches against Chelsea and at Birmingham this week. The way he let Pavlyuchenko's shot go under him may give you pause, but along with Villa and Portsmouth, Rovers are the only two-gamers with both matches at home this week.
Robinson limped out of Blackburn's weekend defeat to Tottenham and there were initial fears he would be out for six weeks.
The club have now confirmed that Robinson has torn a calf muscle and will be sidelined for four weeks.
Kenwyne Jones will be able to play a part in Sunderland's Barclays Premier League run-in after being spared a lengthy spell on the sidelines.---
Manager Steve Bruce feared being without Jones for a month after the striker limped off at half-time during Sunday's 1-1 draw with Manchester City, but Bruce was handed a major boost when scans revealed no lasting damage and Jones could even retain his place in the squad for Birmingham's visit to the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
Bruce told the club's official website: "Kenwyne's had a scan and, thankfully, the damage isn't as bad as we first feared. It's too early to say whether he will make Saturday's game, but we will keep an eye on him, give him all the treatment we can and keep our fingers crossed."
Kenwyne Jones could be sidelined for at least a month and miss half a dozen games after limping off at half-time yesterday with a muscle strain.Benjani at 5.76 could be a nice option for Sunderland's upcoming 2-game week at home to Birmingham and at Aston Villa. He's even cheaper than Frazier Campbell (5.96) who will likely play wide right, if he continues to start.
But manager Steve Bruce will resist any temptation to recall Martyn Waghorn from his loan spell at Leicester City and will instead hand Benjani his opportunity to shine alongside top scorer Darren Bent.
MARTIN O’Neill fears a virus could be spreading through his Villa camp ahead of this weekend’s trip to Stoke.
Striker Gabby Agbonlahor was laid low with the bug for last Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final thriller at Reading and a member of O’Neill’s backroom staff has since been taken ill.
Now, as Villa prepare to recommence their push for a place in the Premier League’s top four at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday, the Villa boss is keeping his fingers cross that the illness doesn’t claim further victims. “One of our physiotherapists, Stuart Walker, has gone down with something similar (to Agbonlahor) so I’m hoping this won’t be spreading around the team for the weekend,” revealed O’Neill. “But we’ll see how it goes...
“Gabby missed training earlier this week and I’m hoping it’s one of those 48 to 72-hour viruses or something like that.”
How many times does it happen that clubs face each other in consecutive Cup and League matches? Mark my words, Pompey will win this weekend, but Birmingham will beat them in the League come Tuesday. Their respective priorities are SO different right now.
On the other...
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas says he wanted to play through the pain barrier against Porto, but took the advice of doctors in a bid to return to action at the weekend...
Scans have revealed that there is no major damage and there is a chance Fabregas could make his comeback against Hull this weekend.
Arsenal are facing up to a month without William Gallas after the defender aggravated his calf injury.Of course the last time he returned from this hamstring injury he came off the bench to score two against Aston Villa. And speaking of Villa and twos. they travel to Stoke and Wigan this week. Perhaps Cesc to Milner or Young is the play here.
What was just a few days ago considered to be a minor issue has turned in a major setback - and one which leaves Arsene Wenger with a major selection complication as he reshapes the centre of his defence.
Although Sol Campbell has been passed fit for tonight's meeting with Porto, he has so far proved unable to play more than one game a week since resigning with the Gunners in January and Wenger has admitted he may have to rotate the former England defender with Mikael Silvestre on a match-by-match basis...
As well as confirming that Cesc Fabregas would be unable to play against Porto and is unlikely to return for Saturday's trip to Hull, Wenger also acknowledged that Andrei Arshavin was not yet fit enough to play ninety minutes after his recent hamstring injury.
Wenger accepts the loss of Arsenal's talisman - who has an outside chance of returning for the trip to Hull on Saturday - is a big blow. However, the Gunners boss insists his side have the quality to nevertheless secure their place in the quarter-finals by overturning a 2-1 deficit from the first leg.
"Cesc has a hamstring problem and we could not even take a gamble with him," said Wenger. "I was hoping he would recover after the Burnley game because we were cautious with him. We don't know how long he will be out. He is having a scan and we are convinced it will only be a small time, and he has a small chance of getting back for next weekend against Hull, but to play him again (Tuesday) would mean significant damage."
Tottenham have been rocked by the news that has suffered ankle ligament damage.I just realized why 'Arry recalled Jake Livermore from loan and not Jamie O'Hara. He's going to move Modric infield and play Bale on the left wing!
Huddlestone picked up the problem when he was challenged by John Heitinga during Spurs' 2-1 victory over Everton on Sunday.
The midfielder could not complete the match and left White Hart Lane in a protective boot.
The extent of the injury has now become more clear and Huddlestone will next consult a specialist as he faces up to a period on the sidelines.
Dan (NJ)And then Lando goes out on Sunday and hit Rodwell's cross wide of an open net. It was so bad he had to apologize to the team after the match.
Landon Donovan playing great for Everton. Ready to jinx it for him?
Bill Simmons (12:19 PM)
It's very tough to root for anyone but Everton right now in EPL when they have Donovan and Tim Howard. I am an EPL sports bigamist - like Everton and Spurs.
Landon Donovan issued an apology to his team-mates in the White Hart Lane dressing room after missing an open goal against Tottenham yesterday and costing Everton a point.
The United States forward, who came on as a substitute, admits he cannot understand how he stabbed his finish wide after being picked out by Jack Rodwell at the far post.
"Landon said sorry to us afterwards," said midfielder Mikel Arteta.
