Dean Smith provides Emi Martinez injury update/Steve Bruce confirms he ‘fears the worst’ for Newcastle pair
Updates on a number of stars who picked up fitness issues during the latest round of Premier League action on Saturday have been forthcoming tonight.
‘A tight groin’
The first surrounds Aston Villa no.1 Emiliano Martinez.
Villa made the trip to Elland Road this afternoon, for a highly anticipated meeting with Leeds United.
Both sides headed into proceedings having of course exceeded expectations to this point in the campaign, though it was Dean Smith’s visitors, amid a challenge for European football, who held the advantage in the table ahead of kick-off.
And, when all was said and done, the Claret and Blue only extended their lead over Bielsa and co.
A solitary goal – netted by Anwar El Ghazi with just 5 minutes on the clock – proved enough to guide Villa to their latest impressive 3-point haul:
VILLA LEAD!
Anwar El Ghazi is the man with the goal, after he traps and finishes Watkins’ skewed shot.
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📲 Download the @SkySports app! pic.twitter.com/mm5OOV5aDh— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 27, 2021
An otherwise positive afternoon for the Villans, however, saw one concern crop up, in the form of the fitness of shot-stopper Emi Martinez.
The Argentine, who has of course enjoyed a stellar debut campaign at Villa Park, was forced to allow his teammates to take responsibility of goal-kicks, amid a clear injury issue.
In turn, Dean Smith was drawn on the wellbeing of his no.1 during a post-match interview this evening.
The Villa boss, though, admitted that, as things stand, he is unsure of the full extent of Martinez’s problem:
‘I’m not sure what the latest is. He had a tight groin and he made our centre-backs take our goal kicks. I’ve been there. It’s a tough gig getting up the pitch from the six yard box late on so credit to them.’
‘Fear the worst’
Next to provide updates on the fitness of a pair of his side’s stars was Steve Bruce.
Newcastle welcomed Wolves to St. James’ Park a short time ago, for a Premier League showdown.
The Magpies headed into proceedings desperate to secure a positive result, having been dragged back into the thick of the relegation battle over recent weeks.
And, though they failed to bag all 3 points, the hosts did manage a potentially crucial draw, to maintain a 4-point advantage over 18th-placed Fulham.
Jamaal Lascelles put Newcastle in front early in the 2nd-half with a near post header, before Ruben Neves rounded out the evening’s goalscoring 20 minutes from time, en route to a 1-1 stalemate:
HUGE GOAL FOR THE TOON! ⚫️⚪️
It’s the skipper Jamaal Lascelles who provides his side with the breakthrough.
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📲 Download the @SkySports app! pic.twitter.com/HhxSNUkT3w— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 27, 2021
The Magpies’ solid result, however, came at a cost.
First, at half-time, Miguel Almiron was hauled off with a fitness problem, before the hosts’ other key attacking threat, Allan Saint-Maximin, followed suit just past the hour mark.
In turn, Bruce, like Dean Smith before him, was drawn on the latest on the situation following the full-time whistle at St. James’ Park.
And the news proved far from positive, with Almiron’s issue, in particular, having left his boss ‘fearing the worst’:
‘It’s too early to tell but for someone like Almirón, in particular, to come off in the state he was in, we fear the worst.’
🗣”We fear the worst”
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce is not positive about the injuries to Miguel Almiron & Allan Saint-Maximin pic.twitter.com/76NyopeytY
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) February 27, 2021
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 26 | 36 | 62 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 25 | 21 | 49 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 25 | 17 | 49 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 26 | 9 | 45 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 25 | 16 | 43 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 25 | 11 | 40 |
| 7 | Everton FC | 24 | 4 | 40 |
| 8 | Aston Villa FC | 23 | 11 | 36 |
| 9 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 24 | 10 | 36 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 25 | 0 | 35 |
| 11 | Arsenal FC | 25 | 5 | 34 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 25 | -6 | 33 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 25 | -14 | 32 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 25 | -12 | 30 |
| 15 | Burnley FC | 25 | -12 | 28 |
| 16 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 25 | -6 | 26 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 25 | -17 | 25 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 25 | -11 | 22 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 25 | -36 | 14 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 25 | -26 | 11 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 17 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 15 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 13 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 11 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 9 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 8 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 8 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 8 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Klich, Mateusz | Leeds United | 0 | 6 |
| Doucoure, Abdoulaye | Everton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Hojbjerg, Pierre | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 0 | 6 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 5 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 6 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 5 |
| Kante, N`Golo | Chelsea FC | 0 | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 0 | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 5 |
| Dallas, Stuart | Leeds United | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 11 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 6 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 6 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 5 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Firmino, Roberto | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 5 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 5 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 5 |
| Robertson, Andrew | Liverpool FC | 5 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 5 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 4 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 4 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 4 |
