With adverse weather conditions striking England this weekend, injuries looked likely to occur with players unable to maintain footing on the pitch or hold up on challenges. Fortunately, the weather did not play a role in any major injuries and in turn provided some even more exciting matches.
On Sunday, both matches, featuring four of the top six teams, were played in heavy snowfall and while it can be said that the outcomes may have been affected, the players stayed safe and steady. A few big names did miss matches due to various illness and/or injury, but the weekend also saw the return of one of the world’s biggest stars. Wayne Rooney returned as a substitute for Manchester United as they visited Tottenham at White Hart Lane after missing multiple matches with a knee injury. Rooney made his return from injury midweek against West Ham, but Sunday marked his return to the Premier League. While the match did not end the way United manager Sir Alex Ferguson would have hoped, the return of Rooney bodes well for the league leaders looking ahead to the rest of the season.
Cross-town rival and second place Manchester City also saw the return of a key player as Sergio Aguero returned to action after missing a few matches with a hamstring injury. The Sky Blues saw a much better result at the weekend than United, but with both teams regaining health, the chase for the title will surely rival that of last year.
Arsenal was missing a couple of key players against Chelsea as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski both missed due to illness. The Gunners could have used the firepower as they looked stagnant in the attacking third and ultimately lost 2-1 to The Blues at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea again missed the presence of captain John Terry at the back and was without David Luiz due to illness, but was able to overcome their absence on a snowy afternoon in London.
Report Courtesy of Physio Room: Player/Injury/Expected Return
Chelsea
David Luiz/Illness/Unknown
Yossi Benayoun/Knee/Unknown
Oriol Romeu/ACL Knee/June 13th
Manchester United
Ashley Young/Knee/Unknown
Johnny Evans/Hamstring/Unknown
Darren Fletcher/Chronic Bowel Illness/Unknown
Manchester City
Maicon/Knee/Unknown
Micah Richards/Knee Cartilage/Unknown
Pablo Zabaleta/Ankle/Unknown
Tottenham
S Ranieri/Knee/Unknown
William Gallas/Calf and Shin/Unkown
Younes Kaboul/Knee/Febraury 25th
Liverpool
Pepe Reina/Hip/Unknown
Martin Kelly/ACL Knee/March
Jose Enrique/Hamstring/February 11th
Arsenal
Podolski/Illness/Unknown
Oxlade-Chamberlain/Illness/Unknown
Rosicky/Calf/Unknown
Fabianski/Ankle/Unknown
Mikel Arteta/Hamstring/February 2nd
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