The list of absentees is beginning to tot up at most Premier League clubs now as they feel the force of a hectic schedule over the Christmas and New Year period.
Normality is starting to resume with the fixture list, however, so expect some big names to return to first team action soon enough.
But before you place your football bets or set your fantasy teams live, be sure to check out our Premier League injury news update below:
Brighton vs Chelsea (Saturday, 12:30pm)
There’s no new injury news for Chris Hughton to worry about, and so his Brighton side are just shorn of the talents of Isaiah Brown and Steve Sidwell.
The news is less promising for Chelsea, however. Pedro and Alvaro Morata were sent off in midweek against Norwich, and so they now miss out here. Ross Barkley remains short of match fitness, while Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas will need to prove their own fitness after struggling with thigh injuries.
Arsenal vs Crystal Palace (Saturday, 3pm)
Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal should be fit enough to return for Arsenal, who are also hoping that Mesut Ozil (knee) and Ainsley Maitland-Niles (ill) pass the dreaded fitness test. Olivier Giroud is said to be a week or two away from a return.
These are tough times for Crystal Palace, with Scott Dann, Jason Puncheon and now Jeff Schlupp likely to e out for the rest of the season. Mahmadou Sakho and Andros Townsend won’t be seen in an Eagles shirt until February, and now it looks as if Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be out for a couple of weeks too. Joel Ward, at least, should be ready to feature on Saturday.
Burnley vs Manchester United (Saturday, 3pm)
Chris Wood and Stephen Ward aren’t quite ready for this match, and they along with long-term absentee Tom Heaton may have to wait for the Newcastle game on January 31. Scott Arfield and Charlie Taylor should be fit enough to feature on Saturday.
Michael Carrick is back in training for Manchester United, but he will have to work on his fitness before a first team return occurs. Eric Bailly and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are both pencilled in for February returns.
Everton vs West Brom (Saturday, 3pm)
Michael Keane is expected to recover from his foot injury in time to take his place at the heart of the Everton defence, but that’s the only good news for Sam Allardyce with Seamus Coleman, Leighton Baines and Maarten Stekelenburg still some way from returning to the first team fold.
Ahmed Hegazi and Craig Dawson both took bangs to the head last time out but should be fine to feature in the West Brom backline. Nacer Chadli and James Morrison remain on the medium-term injury list.
Leicester City vs Watford (Saturday, 3pm)
Danny Simpson is back in full training for Leicester and could return on Saturday after shaking off a thigh injury. Wes Morgan and Robert Huth remain absent however, while Matty James has taken a kick on the ankle but should be fine.
Watford’s long injury list shows no signs of abating, and now we can add Tom Cleverley to a list that already includes messrs Chalobah, Hughes, Cathcart, Kaboul, Success, Britos and Femenia.
Stoke City vs Huddersfield Town (Saturday, 3pm)
New Stoke City boss Paul Lambert has been handed a boost by the return to full fitness of Ryan Shawcross and Erik Pieters, although Glen Johnson is unlikely to feature as he continues his rehab from a knee injury.
Huddersfield will definitely be without Elias Kachunga and Jon Stankovic, while Chris Lowe appears to be losing his race against time. Collin Quaner and Martin Cranie could feature, however.
West Ham vs Bournemouth (Saturday, 3pm)
Andy Carroll’s rumoured move to Chelsea has made no difference to his availability here: the ponytailed frontman is out with an ankle injury. He is joined on the sidelines by Michail Antonio, Jose Fonte, Winston Reid and Diafra Sakho. Javier Hernandez and Cheikh Kouyate are available to David Moyes.
Jermain Defoe faces at least another month out for Bournemouth, but Eddie Howe will be buoyed by the news that wing pair Josh King and Junior Stanislas could return against the Hammers.
Manchester City vs Newcastle United (Saturday, 5:30pm)
The Champions League clash with Basel has been pinpointed as Gabriel Jesus’ return to first team action, but for now he will watch on from the stands with injured defensive trio Vincent Kompany, Fabian Delph and Benjamin Mendy.
Another Jesus, Newcastle’s Gamez, will also miss out here along with Florian Lejeune. Aleksandar Mitrovic, Dwight Gayle and Chancel Mbemba could all enter Rafa Benitez’s thoughts.
Southampton vs Tottenham (Sunday, 4pm)
Southampton will be without two fairly central figures to their plans for the foreseeable future: Charlie Austin (thigh) and Maya Yoshida (hamstring).
The crunch clash with Manchester United on January 31 is expected to be Danny Rose’s target as he battles a knee injury, while mid-February has been tentatively pencilled in as Toby Alderweireld’s return date.
Swansea City vs Liverpool (Monday, 8pm)
Mike van der Horn and Angel Rangel will sit out Monday night’s clash with Liverpool, although Renato Sanches and Tammy Abraham are expected to feature in Carlos Carvahal’s plans.
Virgil van Dijk should have recovered from his hamstring tweak to at least feature in Jurgen Klopp’s plans, although Jordan Henderson and Alberto Moreno are unlikely to be risked here.