Weekend Briefing: Ins, outs and injury doubts for this week's football

Injury Briefing

Tottenham star Harry Kane set for swift return

As if the 3-0 dismantling of Dortmund in the Champions League was not sweet enough for Tottenham supporters, they could now be gifted the prospect of an early return to action for Harry Kane.

The 2018 World Cup Golden Boot winner was expected to be on the sidelines until early March with an ankle injury sustained in the defeat at home to Manchester United in January.

But Kane was pictured on social media training with the Tottenham squad in preparation for Saturday's trip to Burnley and the striker tweeted: "Great to be back with my team."

Kane's absence has not hit Spurs as hard as was expected, with Mauricio Pochettino's side winning all four league games and the Dortmund clash while their top man was on the sidelines.

Heung-Min Son has risen to the fore during that period with goals in Tottenham's last four matches and his game will only be enhanced by the return of Kane, who is 11-1 to finish as Premier League top scorer.

Reading have plenty of midfield options for Rotherham battle

The battle to stay up is heating up in the Sky Bet Championship and luck is not on the side of Reading, who have a catalogue of injuries to contend with for their six-pointer with Rotherham.

The Royals have suffered several casualties in midfield, with Liam Kelly, Ovie Ejaria, Andy Rinomhota and Saeid Ezatolahi all sidelined for the visit of the Millers, who are level on 29 points with Reading.

Jose Gomes's men are also dealing with an ongoing saga concerning Sone Aluko, who is on the brink of a move to China.

West Ham receive creative injection before Fulham clash

West Ham have not taken maximum points since their 1-0 win over Arsenal in January but Manuel Pellegrini will have plenty of attacking ammunition at his disposal against lowly Fulham.

In his pre-match press conference, the Chilean suggested that Manuel Lanzini (knee) and Samir Nasri (calf) could be included in the squad to face the Cottagers and he heralded their return as a big boost for the Hammers.

He said: "All four playmakers who we have in our squad were injured – Wilshere, Nasri, Yarmolenko and Lanzini – so it’s difficult for a team when you have so many players in the same position.

"So, the return of both of them will be a good injection for the squad."

Shrewsbury ready for Peterborough as key duo return

Shrewsbury are without a win in their last nine League One matches but they will fancy their chances of causing an upset against Peterborough with two key players set to return to the squad.

Greg Docherty is reportedly back in training for the Shrews, having recovered from an injury to his eye which kept him out of action for two weeks.

Docherty will be assessed ahead of the weekend's clash while fellow midfielder Josh Laurent, who has overcome an ankle injury, could also come back into the team, easing concerns in midfield for Shrewsbury, who have been without Dave Edwards and Romain Vincelot.

Aston Villa hero Jack Grealish could be ready for Stoke

Aston Villa have won just two of 12 Sky Bet Championship fixtures since losing Jack Grealish to injury against West Brom at the start of December.

The midfielder was flown out to Dubai to speed up his recovery process and his manager Dean Smith is hopeful of an imminent return to action for the 23-year-old.

Smith said: "I'm hoping Jack may be available for the bench at Stoke. He is working on his fitness.

"He is in no pain but I will be guided by the medical staff."

Grealish's return could be timely for the Villans, whose playoff hopes are slipping away.

One man they will definitely be missing for the trip to Stoke is John McGinn, who is suspended for the next two games after accruing his tenth booking of the campaign.

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