Hernandez out for a "few weeks"

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

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UPDATE: ManUtd.com is reporting that Welbeck is available for the Red Devils' League Cup match against Leeds United.

Danny Welbeck has revealed he is feeling fit again after returning to training and is ready to make a comeback when called upon by Sir Alex.

The striker started the season in superb form but pulled up with a hamstring problem after scoring in the win against Arsenal at Old Trafford. After making a speedy recovery, the exciting England international is delighted to be pushing for selection again.

"I trained late last week and had a little rest on Sunday before coming back in again on Monday," he told ManUtd.com. "I'm feeling good.

"I don't know the squad yet for Leeds but, if I'm called upon, I'm always prepared to be there as I feel ready. I wouldn't be training if I wasn't."

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UPDATE: Seemingly we did indeed over-react. Y!Eurosport reports a statement from Chicharito's agent.

"Nothing, it's just a bump, nothing more," said Eduardo Hernandez. "It looked like (his absence) was longer, they were looking for a fracture, that's why they ran those tests on him. "I expect him to be training without incident on Wednesday."

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from The Guardian

"We will have to see what the damage is in the morning but his [Javier Hernández's] leg is very numb and he could be out for a couple of weeks."

As Sir Alex says, we'll see. He was pretty critical of his own players, including Wayne Rooney, in the interview and seemed to be reaching a bit to keep the motivation high. I would expect Hernandez to be back sooner rather than later, but we'll see.

Petr Cech out for a month

After some good news on the injury front, here's some surprisingly bad news.

Petr Cech out for 3-4 weeks with medial knee ligament injury suffered in training. Courtois on loan, time for Hilario or Turnbull to step upless than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyESPN Soccernet
ESPNSoccernet

We'll post more information as we have it, but for fantasy this is a blow with Chelsea having a good matchup, home to West Brom. I don't think I'll take a gamble on Turnbull or Hilario against Long (and maybe Odemwingie) who's already drawn blood against the top teams. It would also give me pause if I had the likes of Cole, Bosingwa or Terry in my fantasy team.

Analysis: Ba to NUFC

While Jeremy is our resident NUFC supporter, he is out of pocket this week so I'm going to take over with my thoughts on the transfer of Demba Ba from WHU to St. James' Park.  Taken as a move by itself, there is little to do other than like it a lot.  NUFC is desperate for strikers and Ba was very effective over the second half of last season at Upton Park.  If he can stay healthy, I don't have any trouble seeing him match the goal total of the man he is, in essence, replacing - Andy Carroll. 

What could go wrong with this move? A couple of things:

Update: The Season is Live With Sane Pricing and Cleared Out Rosters...

For all those of you who rushed to create a team of Galaticos for under 60.00 yesterday, I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted.  Yahoo! reset everyone's rosters at the same time they re-adjusted prices to better reflect reality from last season.  As you confront this new reality and start piecing a roster together that doesn't include Rooney, Gerrard, Lamps, Cesc, EvdS, Bale, RvP, Elk, and whichever other defenders you filled in the rest of the places with I'll give you my first few observations...

The new guys will obviously be important in getting you to a few premium proven commodities: Koscielny, Chamakh and Silva are the only three obvious ones who are in the system so far but I'm sure Citeh will contribute one or two more options before the season starts.  All we have to do is figure out who Citeh will start in central defence - Toure? Lescott? Boateng? Onuoha? Richards? (I'd assume Toure and Boateng but who knows really).

Ivanovic out for a month

Now they're both injured.

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.

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.

Looking for a Vermaelen replacement?

Zhirkov (listed as a middie) 4.68
Ferreira 6.59

Oh, and as for Le'Scott, he's having a scan this week and will yet again miss playing against Everton.  As Church Lady might say, "How convenient!"

Hello Yuri?

Broken ankle rules Ashley Cole out for three months - Barclays Premier League - ESPN Soccernet

Well, it would appear that ACole is out for the rest of the season with a broken ankle.  Looks like Yuri Zhirkov will be a regular starter for Chelsea.  He won't get any clean sheet points since he's listed as a midfielder but he'll likely be worth a punt if you need an inexpensive midfielder. 

The article also starts the speculation about ACole's World Cup spot which might now revert to JT's good buddy Wayne Bridge who is really the only other specialist left back even remotely in contention.  Lescott seems to be the next in line after Bridge with Warnock and Baines also in the picture.  None of the above makes you feel better about England's chances, do they?

Anyone want to bet that we'll see some more stories about wacky remedies as England pray for ACole to be back in time to get some level of form back.

Cheers - Neal

Early Doors

"So, how are we going to spend our time off?"

Big Four edition.

Early Doors

A lot of news ahead of the midweek matches.  Lets go around the league...

Bridge Injury New Headache For Jose

Chelsea will be forced to start the new season without a recognised left-back after Wayne Bridge underwent surgery for a mystery pelvis injury.

In a worrying echo of the defensive crisis that undermined the Blues last season, Bridge has been ruled out for three months while Ashley Cole has not yet returned to training following an ankle operation.

According to The Daily Mail, Chelsea initially believed Bridge, who broke down in training last week, was suffering with a hip injury but he was sent to see a specialist when his condition did not improve.

Bridge will be unable to resume ball work for two months.

New signing Tal Ben Haim is poised to fill in until either Cole or Bridge return.

"Without Bridge and Cole for a few more weeks, I think Tal is my first option for left back," said boss Jose Mourinho. "I will play him in one of these matches at left back because I want to give him some routine, but I know he's a player I can trust."

Anyone remember how much Ben Haim was cost by the end of last season? Might be a bargain whatever the price.

And speaking of Chelsea fullbacks, everyone see Alves come in for Brazil yesterday and finish a textbook counter-attack? Just a thing of beauty, as was, to be honest, Baptista's opener.