Injuries and suspensions for this weekend's football fixtures

Injury briefing

Double setback for Liverpool defence

Liverpool felt their defensive injury crisis was easing but were dealt two major blows during the build-up to Monday's 1-1 draw at West Ham.

Dejan Lovren, who had returned to the bench for the 1-1 draw at home to Leicester, suffered a recurrence of a hamstring strain and is expected to face a few more weeks on the sidelines.

And Joe Gomez, sidelined since early December with a broken leg, faces a longer period of rehabilitation than expected after undergoing surgery on the problem.

Liverpool are still hopeful Gomez could play part this season but his latest setback is a major blow, leaving the Merseysiders heavily reliant on Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.

Blackburn Rovers rocked by injury pile-up

Blackburn had a disastrous day at Brentford last Saturday, losing 5-2 and suffering injuries to four players.

Bradley Dack (Achilles) and Danny Graham (back) were withdrawn in the 51st minute and were followed off the pitch by Corry Evans and Darragh Lenihan (both knocks), leaving Blackburn to finish the game with ten men.

All of them are first-team regulars and Dack and Graham are the club's top scorers this season with 11 and ten league goals respectively.

Lenihan is a confirmed absentee for Saturday's clash at Bristol City but Rovers boss Tony Mowbray should be able to welcome back Charlie Mulgrew, who has returned to full training.

Igor Vetokele back to boost Charlton

Charlton looked toothless for most of last Saturday's 1-0 loss at Fleetwood but they had some good news when striker Igor Vetokele came off the bench in the 73rd minute, making his first appearance since November.

The Angolan striker has only just returned from a shoulder injury and could have a key role to play in keeping Charlton in playoff contention.

Vetokele signed for the club in the summer of 2014 and had a decent first season, scoring 11 goals in the second tier.

Since then Vetokele has been spent time on loan with Belgian clubs Zulte-Waregem and Sint-Truiden but Charlton need him get back to the standards he was setting four years ago.

They are stretched up front since the January departure of Karlan Grant to Huddersfield and Billy Clarke to Bradford.

Will Grigg ready for Sunderland bow

Sunderland splashed out £4m on striker Will Grigg on transfer- deadline day and might get the first return on their investment this weekend with the 27-year-old in contention to make his Black Cats debut at Oxford.

Grigg has been carrying an ankle injury but is expected to train fully this week and could go straight into the side.

However, the good news about Grigg is balanced by an update on key midfielder Lee Cattermole, who is struggling with an ankle injury.

Sunderland manager Jack Ross expects Cattermole to be sidelined for one to two weeks.

Nelson Oliveira out of contention

Nelson Oliveira faces a spell on the sidelines after suffering a horrific facial injury during Reading's 0-0 draw at home to Aston Villa last Saturday.

The Norwich loanee had to undergo emergency surgery after suffering a broken nose and severe lacerations following a poor challenge from Villa defender Tyrone Mings.

Oliveira had made a bright start to his loan spell with the Royals, scoring a penalty on his debut in a 1-1 draw at Bolton.

Portsmouth blow

Portsmouth centre-back Jack Whatmough has been ruled out for the rest of the season after picking up a serious knee injury in last week's 1-1 draw with Doncaster.

Gaffer Tracker

John Askey - Port Vale

Neil Aspin is the latest in a long line of managers who have failed to arrest Port Vale's steady decline and his replacement, John Askey, may struggle to do any better unless he is given the resources to reshape the squad.

Askey did excellent work on a small budget at Macclesfield, leading them to the National League title last season, but he was less successful at Shrewsbury and was sacked by the Sky Bet League One club in November.

However, his spell at the Shrews shouldn't be judged too harshly.

Askey took over a club who had gone close to promotion in 2017-18 but that team was largely broken up last summer and it was always going to be tough for him to deliver a similar level of success.

Based on his work at Macclesfield, a club he steadily improved over five years, Askey deserves to be held in high regard.

If Vale chairman Norman Smurthwaite can give Askey a competitive budget to work with he may be rewarded with a reversal in the club's fortunes.

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