Football Injury Updates (2026)

Last updated: 23 October 2026, morning (WAT)

Welcome to the standing football injury updates hub. We refresh this page regularly so Nigerian fans following the Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League can see which big-name absences shape each squad, without digging through ten club sites. It is educational and 18+; it is not medical advice and not a tip sheet.

Europe’s midweek is over. Champions League Matchday 3 finished on Wednesday: PSG beat Barcelona 4-2, Liverpool beat Villarreal 4-3, Manchester City thrashed AEK Athens 5-1, Bayern and Arsenal drew 2-2, Real Madrid beat RB Leipzig 4-1, Aston Villa beat Viking 3-1 and Como thrashed Manchester United 4-1 (UEFA.com, BBC Sport). On Thursday night Bournemouth beat ten-man Milan 3-0 in the Europa League, Crystal Palace drew 2-2 at Beşiktaş, Sunderland drew 1-1 at Lech Poznań and Brighton drew 0-0 at Jablonec in the Conference League (UEFA.com, The Guardian). Premier League Matchweek 8 starts tonight with Ipswich v Nottingham Forest, and Barcelona host Real Madrid in the Clásico on Sunday 25 October. Treat every status below as a snapshot for this refresh date. Friday’s pre-match press conferences can change several lines, so re-check club media, BBC Sport, ESPN or the competition’s official channels before you stake. For the domestic schedule, see today’s Premier League fixtures.

Kylian Mbappé: Fully back. He scored in Wednesday’s 4-1 win over RB Leipzig, was UEFA’s Player of the Match and has no reported fitness issue. Real Madrid began Clásico preparations on Thursday; the starters from Leipzig did recovery work, while Raúl Asencio and Rodrygo continue their recovery programmes (Real Madrid). Vinícius Júnior still serves his four-match LaLiga ban, so he misses Sunday’s Clásico. Read our Real Madrid and Mbappé news for the wider picture.

Biggest injury and squad news today (23 October): Bayern confirmed that Luis Díaz suffered a minor muscle-fibre tear in his left hamstring against Arsenal and will be out “for the time being”; Sky Sport Germany reports Bayern expect four to six weeks (Reuters, Sky Sport). Bukayo Saka is still waiting on a scan for his quad injury, has no official timeline and looks very unlikely to face Everton on Saturday (BBC Sport, The Standard). Bournemouth’s Alex Tóth pulled up with a suspected hamstring injury against Milan, and Crystal Palace’s Jørgen Strand Larsen was forced off at Beşiktaş after an awkward landing (Bournemouth Echo, Crystal Palace). Barcelona’s Jules Koundé is highly unlikely for the Clásico with an ankle sprain (Mundo Deportivo). On the positive side, Manchester City expect Haaland to be “100% available” at Villa, Forest get Morgan Gibbs-White back and Spurs’ Pedro Porro and Omar Marmoush trained on Thursday (BBC Sport, The Standard).

Player photos via Wikimedia Commons, cropped. Piero Hincapié, Martín Zubimendi, William Saliba, Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, Reece James, Moisés Caicedo, Noussair Mazraoui, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford, Alexander Isak, Erling Haaland, Antoine Semenyo, Nico O’Reilly, Dan Burn, Pedro Porro: Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0); Christos Tzolis: Mikael Hervestad (CC BY-SA 4.0); Cristhian Mosquera: Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0); Cole Palmer: The White House (Public domain); João Pedro: DHSgov (Public domain); Benjamin Šeško: Werner100359 (CC BY-SA 4.0); Luke Shaw: Ardfern (CC BY-SA 4.0); Matthijs de Ligt: ОЛЕГ БАТРАК (CC BY-SA 3.0); Manuel Ugarte: Atmedia25 (CC BY 4.0); Cody Gakpo: elisfkc3 (CC BY-SA 4.0); Dominik Szoboszlai: Timmy96 (CC0); Virgil van Dijk: Ailura (CC BY-SA 3.0 AT); Ryan Gravenberch: Steffen Prößdorf (Stepro), crop by Sepguilherme (CC BY-SA 4.0); Jérémy Jacquet: HuyBero (CC BY 4.0); Hugo Ekitike: Liondartois (CC BY-SA 4.0); Conor Bradley: Biser Todorov (CC BY 4.0); Phil Foden: Steffen Prößdorf (CC BY-SA 4.0); Joelinton: Silesia711 (CC BY-SA 4.0); Nico González: Werner100359 (CC0); Anthony Elanga: Amanda Aikioniemi (Public domain); Rodrigo Bentancur: Ailura, derivative by Danyele (CC BY-SA 3.0 AT); James Maddison, Micky van de Ven: KrispyKrumpets (CC BY 4.0). Licences: CC BY-SA 4.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 AT, CC BY 4.0, CC0 / public domain. Crest tiles stand in where no licensed photo exists. Club crests belong to their clubs.

Premier League injury news

Matchweek 8 runs from Friday night to Sunday, straight after a European week that added fresh knocks at Arsenal, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace. Full fixtures sit in our Premier League fixtures guide. Here is what managers and reputable reporting confirmed by Friday morning.

Arsenal

• Bukayo Saka: Went off in the 10th minute in Munich with a quad injury and is waiting for a scan. Arteta: “It doesn’t look good at all but we have to wait and see. They [the medics] are a bit concerned.” Arsenal have given no diagnosis or timeline, and he looks very unlikely for Everton at the Emirates on Saturday (3pm). Sports Mole and The Guardian suggest Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze or 16-year-old Max Dowman fill the wide roles. (BBC Sport, The Standard, Football.London)
• Piero Hincapié: Back in individual training after his ankle injury, and Arteta did not rule him out for Everton: “If he’s able to train in the next few days he can be available for Everton.” (Arsenal, Sports Mole)
• Christos Tzolis: Sports Mole, citing Connor Humm, gives him only an “outside chance” for Everton; the Carabao Cup tie with Fleetwood on 27 October or Liverpool on 1 November look more realistic. Arteta last said he could return in “a few weeks”. (Sports Mole, Arsenal)
• William Saliba: Still working on his own as he recovers from a back injury and is aiming for next month rather than this weekend. (Football.London, Sports Mole)
• Martín Zubimendi and Kepa Arrizabalaga: Both are back in the squad after short absences. Background: Arsenal transfer news. (Arsenal, Football.London)

Chelsea

• Reece James: Out after minor knee surgery. Alonso: “We don’t set timelines, but he will be out for several weeks.” Sky Sports understands he faces around three months out (Chelsea FC, Sky Sports). More: Chelsea injury news.
• Emiliano Martínez: Recovering from surgery on the jaw he fractured at Everton. BBC Sport expects Mike Penders to start against Tottenham on Saturday (17:30 UK). (BBC Sport, The Guardian)
• Malo Gusto and Pep Chavarría: Both missed Everton and are doubts for Spurs; Football.London reports neither was seen in training this week. Jamie Gittens (ankle) stays out, with The Standard pointing to Manchester United on 31 October as a possible return, and striker Emanuel Emegha, still waiting for his debut, has had a hamstring setback. Alonso’s Friday press conference should clarify the full-backs. (Football.London, The Standard)
• Pedro Neto and Moisés Caicedo: Neto scored both goals at Everton, and no injury was reported for either. See our Caicedo injury explainer for his recovery story. (Chelsea FC, BBC Sport)

Manchester United

• Lisandro Martínez, Marcus Rashford and Ayden Heaven: All missed the 4-1 defeat at Como and are doubts for Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Sunday. Carrick said on Tuesday: “Licha is not too bad, but he’s not with us. We’ll have to see if he’s ready for the weekend.” (BBC Sport, The Standard)
• Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw: Carrick: “Kobbie is probably looking at another 10 days or so, but not exact. Luke, a little bit longer than that.” Benjamin Šeško (shin), Patrick Dorgu (hamstring) and Manuel Ugarte (knee) remain out. (BBC Sport, The Standard)
• Leny Yoro: Available again after serving his UEFA ban at Como, so he could return alongside Harry Maguire. Matthijs de Ligt started at Como, his first competitive game in almost a year. Follow Man Utd injury news. (The Standard, UEFA.com)

Liverpool

• Dominik Szoboszlai (thigh) and Jeremie Frimpong (muscle): Both missed training on Thursday. Sky Sports says Szoboszlai could miss one to three matches, and Iraola has already said Frimpong will be “difficult” to have back before the November break. (Liverpool FC, Sky Sports)
• Bradley Barcola and Víctor Muñoz: New doubts. Sky Sports News reported that Barcola did an individual recovery session on Thursday, and Muñoz is still recovering from a knee knock. Neither absence confirms that they miss Brighton at Anfield on Sunday. (Sky Sports via Sports Mole)
• Hugo Ekitike (Achilles), Conor Bradley (knee) and Giovanni Leoni (knee): Long-term absentees. Bradley is “not so far from training with the group”, and Leoni is aiming to rejoin training around the November international break. Our weekly predictions page tracks Liverpool’s next games. (Liverpool FC, Sky Sports)
• Alexander Isak, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch: Available. Isak and Gakpo are back from injury, and Gravenberch has served his league ban. (Liverpool FC, Liverpool Echo)

Manchester City

• Erling Haaland: Rested against AEK Athens and “100% available” for Saturday’s 12:30 (UK) trip to Aston Villa, Maresca said on Thursday. (BBC Sport)
• Nico O’Reilly, Mateo Kovačić and Matheus Nunes: All came off against Ipswich and sat out AEK. Maresca said they “could all be available” at Villa, but there are “still doubts”. (BBC Sport)
• Antoine Semenyo: Out for about eight weeks with a knee injury. Maresca: “When he is back around December it will be like a new player.” See Man City’s next game and City injury and charges news. (Manchester City, BBC Sport)

Aston Villa

• Johan Manzambi: Still uncertain after missing Viking with a “small injury”. Emery on Thursday: “Now, I don’t know if he’s going to be available for Saturday.” (dpa via Yahoo Sports)
• Aaron Wan-Bissaka (hamstring, “three or four weeks”), Matteo Ruggeri (hamstring, “two months”) and Amadou Onana: Out for City’s visit. (BBC Sport)

Newcastle United

• Dan Burn, Dedić and William Osula: Available for Sunday’s trip to Crystal Palace, according to Jaissle’s update. (Chronicle Live)
• Jacob Ramsey: Has an outside chance of facing Palace. Anthony Elanga and Tino Livramento are expected back for Fulham on 7 November, and goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen (hamstring) is the only long-term absentee. Our Newcastle vs Crystal Palace preview covers the fixture’s history. (Chronicle Live, Newcastle United)

Bournemouth

• Alex Tóth: New injury. He came off the bench against Milan and then pulled up. Marco Rose: “It looks like a hamstring injury and maybe we miss him a little bit longer, but we’re going to see.” Rose added that Evanilson is fine: “Evan is good.” (Bournemouth Echo)
• Alex Scott: Rose said on Wednesday that he “won’t be available for the next two weeks”. Junior Kroupi is back in first-team training after foot surgery and could “play some minutes” at Manchester United on Sunday. (BBC Sport)
• Justin Kluivert and Amine Adli: Both scored in the 3-0 win over Milan, so their earlier fitness worries are behind them. (UEFA.com)

Crystal Palace

• Jørgen Strand Larsen: New concern. He came off the bench at Beşiktaş, then had to go off after an awkward landing following the challenge that earned Beşiktaş a red card; Eddie Nketiah replaced him. Palace have not yet given a diagnosis before Sunday’s home game with Newcastle. Jean-Philippe Mateta scored his first goal of the season on his first start since the opening weekend. (Crystal Palace, The Guardian)

Tottenham: Spurs visit Chelsea on Saturday with a lift: Pedro Porro and Omar Marmoush both trained on Thursday, and De Zerbi said of Robertson, Adarabioyo and Marmoush: “No, no, no, I think there are no injuries, nothing important.” Destiny Udogie is a doubt, Rodrigo Bentancur is still suspended, and Lucas Bergvall, Savio, Wilson Odobert, Xavi Simons and Mykhailo Mudryk are out. Dejan Kulusevski could make the bench (The Standard, Tottenham Hotspur).

Nottingham Forest and Ipswich (Friday night): Glasner said captain Morgan Gibbs-White is back for the trip to Portman Road and Nikola Milenković is “ready to start”, leaving Igor Jesus and Nicolò Savona as the only absentees (BBC Sport). Ipswich are still without Saša Lukić (groin), but Gary O’Neil expects him back next week (BBC Sport). We only list names when a recent reputable source attaches a clear status; inventing return dates helps nobody.

Champions League / UCL squad news

Matchday 3 of the league phase is complete, and the medical updates since Wednesday matter more than the scores for the weekend. Here is the latest for the clubs Nigerian fans follow most closely, plus Victor Osimhen’s Galatasaray:

• Bayern Munich: Luis Díaz: Bayern’s medical staff found a minor muscle-fibre tear in his left hamstring after the 2-2 draw with Arsenal, and the club says he will be sidelined “for the time being”. Sky Sport Germany reports that Bayern expect him to miss four to six weeks, which would rule him out of Sunday’s trip to Freiburg and probably Bayern’s next Champions League game. Kompany had hoped straight after the game that it was not serious. Musiala (thigh) also remains out. (Reuters via CNA, Sky Sport, t-online)
• PSG: Kvaratskhelia tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee against Barcelona and is due for surgery. PSG have given no timeline, but this is usually a months-long injury. Dembélé (left thigh) and Marquinhos (right thigh) “remain in treatment for the coming weeks”, and Nuno Mendes is also out with a thigh injury before Sunday’s game with Lyon (PSG, BBC Sport, Le Parisien).
• Barcelona: Olmo has a left adductor injury and is expected to be out for around a month, so he misses the Clásico (FC Barcelona). Mundo Deportivo reports that Koundé is still limping from a severe left-ankle sprain and that the staff consider him highly unlikely to play, with a place on the bench the best case. Eric García (thigh) is out, and Goal reports that Xavi Espart came off against PSG with ankle discomfort. For Barça’s main star, see our Lamine Yamal profile, and for their recent LaLiga form, our Real Betis vs Barcelona preview.
• Real Madrid: Rodrygo (knee) and Raúl Asencio (tibia stress fracture) continue their recovery work. The Leipzig starters did recovery work on Thursday as Mourinho’s side began Clásico preparations. Squad context: our Real Madrid transfer news. (Real Madrid)
• English clubs in the Champions League: Arsenal (Saka), Liverpool (Szoboszlai, Frimpong, Barcola and Muñoz doubts), Manchester City (Semenyo) and Manchester United (eight absentees at Como) all carry their European injury lists into the weekend, as detailed above. Aston Villa have won all three league-phase games despite their full-back crisis. (UEFA.com, BBC Sport)
• Galatasaray: Victor Osimhen scored in the 4-2 win at Lille and was UEFA’s Player of the Match, so his adductor problem from the international break is behind him. More on the striker: Victor Osimhen net worth 2026. (UEFA.com, Punch)

Europa League and Conference League: Premier League clubs

• Bournemouth 3-0 Milan: Justin Kluivert and Marcus Tavernier scored penalties and Amine Adli added a free-kick after Mike Maignan’s red card. The cost was Alex Tóth’s suspected hamstring injury; Rose says Evanilson is fine. (UEFA.com, Bournemouth Echo)
• Beşiktaş 2-2 Crystal Palace: Mateta scored on his first start since the opening day, and Beşiktaş finished with ten men after Akdağ’s 77th-minute red card. Strand Larsen went off injured after that incident. (Crystal Palace, UEFA.com)
• Lech Poznań 1-1 Sunderland and Jablonec 0-0 Brighton (Conference League): we found no reports of new injuries from either game. Brighton visit Liverpool on Sunday. (UEFA.com, The Guardian)

Domestic bans do not carry into Europe, which is why Vinícius and Gravenberch could play in midweek while Yoro and Olise served UEFA bans. Champions League Matchday 4 follows the next domestic weekend, with Real Madrid, Manchester City and RB Leipzig in action on 4 November (BBC Sport), and the Europa League returns on 5 November (UEFA.com). Always cross-check official UEFA and club squad lists before European kick-off. Our Champions League 2026/27 table and fixtures shows who plays next.

Nations League updates

England’s autumn window is complete (our England vs Spain preview set the scene): they lost 3-2 to Spain, beat Czechia 2-0 in Prague and Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka, then hosted Czechia at Wembley on 6 October. On top of September’s five withdrawals (Rice, Palmer, Rashford, Mainoo, Livramento), the FA confirmed three more:

• Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), after the Spain game; his problem flared again against Ipswich, and Maresca still has “doubts” before Villa.
• Alex Scott (Bournemouth): now out for “the next two weeks”, per Marco Rose (BBC Sport)
• Ezri Konsa (Arsenal): quad knock; he has since started against Leeds, Forest and Bayern (England Football, Arsenal, BBC Sport)

Elsewhere in League A: Mbappé, Jacquet, Havertz, Isak and Gakpo have all played since their international-break problems, while Musiala and Tzolis have not returned. Hungary captain Szoboszlai’s thigh problem, which first showed after the break, has flared again. Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen is scoring for Galatasaray after missing the AFCON qualifiers. This week’s club injuries now shape the November window: Le Parisien’s three-week estimate puts Dembélé’s place in France’s games against Italy and Türkiye (12 and 15 November) in doubt, El País reports that Olmo will miss Spain’s next international break, and Saka’s scan will decide whether England can count on him. NRK has also flagged Strand Larsen’s knock with Norway’s next internationals less than a month away.

Other sports: NBA star watch

• LeBron James (Philadelphia 76ers): Made his Sixers preseason debut against the Nets on 8 October after the team managed his foot and back. The regular season is now under way, so check the Sixers’ official injury report before each game. (NBA.com/AP, ESPN)

How injuries affect betting markets

Injuries do not automatically equal “fade the favourite.” Markets usually reprice three things first:

1. Starting XI probability: a forced change in goal (Penders for Emiliano Martínez at Chelsea), a missing first-choice full-back (James, Gusto, Frimpong, Wan-Bissaka, Nuno Mendes) or a patched-up back line (Barcelona without Koundé and García for the Clásico) changes build-up and set-piece profiles.
2. Goal expectancy: missing creators and forwards (Saka, Luis Díaz, Dembélé, Olmo, Szoboszlai), long-term absentees like Kvaratskhelia and Semenyo, or a fit-again finisher (Haaland back for Villa, Gibbs-White back for Forest) often moves total-goals and anytime-scorer lines.
3. Live volatility: players returning from injury, like Porro and Kroupi, often get managed minutes, and fresh knocks from Thursday night (Tóth, Strand Larsen) leave little time for scans before the weekend. Late fitness news, such as Saka’s scan, Lisandro Martínez’s weekend check or Koundé’s ankle, often moves prices more than the original injury.

For Nigeria-based readers comparing prices, an 18+ sportsbook such as 8xbet / 8X is useful for checking 1X2, both-teams-to-score and player-related markets after official line-ups drop, an hour before kick-off, not for chasing every rumour. Wait for confirmed absences, compare the same market across times, and never stake money you cannot afford to lose. Our football betting guide, live betting explainer and weekly football predictions show how team news feeds into prices, and our 8xbet vs SportyBet and 8xbet vs BetKing comparisons cover market depth. Our most reliable betting websites guide explains what to check before you sign up. Read our responsible gambling page before you play. Past performance and injury lists are information, not guarantees.

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Sources (2026)

Sources consulted for this refresh: BBC Sport (Saka and Arteta, Maresca on Haaland and City’s doubts, Glasner on Forest, O’Neil on Ipswich, Rose on Bournemouth, Carrick after Como, Kvaratskhelia surgery), UEFA.com (Champions League and Europa League Matchday 3 round-ups), Reuters via CNA and Sky Sport Germany (Luis Díaz diagnosis), t-online (Kompany), PSG (medical update), Le Parisien (Dembélé estimate), FC Barcelona (Olmo), Mundo Deportivo and Goal (Koundé, Xavi Espart), Real Madrid (Clásico training update), Crystal Palace (Beşiktaş match report), The Guardian, NRK (Strand Larsen), Bournemouth Echo (Tóth, Evanilson), The Standard (Saka scan, Spurs and Man Utd team news), Football.London (Arsenal and Chelsea team news), Sports Mole (Tzolis, Liverpool training via Sky Sports), Sky Sports, dpa via Yahoo Sports (Emery on Manzambi), Chronicle Live (Newcastle), Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Chelsea FC, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, England Football, Punch, NBA.com/AP and ESPN. Player photos: Wikimedia Commons (credits under the Premier League graphic). Statuses can change within hours, so refresh again before kick-off.

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