Bukayo Saka is a major doubt for Arsenal's gameweek 8 contest against Everton after being subbed off in midweek against Bayern Munich with a suspected quadriceps injury.
The England international lasted less than 10 minutes in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, with Mikel Arteta adding that the medical staff are "concerned" about the early injury that he sustained.
The club are yet to confirm the severity of the setback -- with various reports providing varying time scales -- but it's an undoubtedly huge blow for the reigning Premier League champions in the midst of a busy schedule.
Saka is owned by more than 15% of managers in Fantasy Premier League, and we take a look at three midfielders who could replace the £9.6m asset.
Marcus Tavernier -£6.2M (BOU)
While Marcus Tavernier may not be deemed the most exciting Saka replacement, it'd be naive to ignore his numbers -- recording the third-highest points amongst midfielders in the 2026/27 term, behind only Pascal Gross and Rayan Cherki.
The versatile Bournemouth midfielder has scored four goals in seven Premier League starts for the Cherries this campaign, including the opener in Marco Rose's first top-flight victory since joining the club against Sunderland at the weekend.
Not only does Tavernier's FPL output better all but two midfielders in the league, he comes in at £3.4m cheaper than Saka, allowing for extra funds to be spent elsewhere in your team.
Bradley Barcola - £8.0m (LIV)
Bradley Barcola should have scored his first Premier League goal against Brentford on Saturday -- there's no doubt about it -- but Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola was encouraged by the positions that the Frenchman was getting himself into in the final third.
He did, however, record his first top-flight goal contribution since making the switch to Merseyside -- assisting Alexander Isak's winner -- and while he's yet to hit the heights that we know he's capable of so far, his remarkable goal and assist record with back-to-back European champions Paris Saint-Germain suggests that he should have no problem doing so.
His hat-trick against LASK in the UEFA Champions League was a sign of what we can expect from the £123m man, and the lack of premium midfielders in FPL makes the Reds winger an enticing prospect.
Morgan Gibbs-White - £7.0m (NFO)
Much to the frustration of his owners, Morgan Gibbs-White was ruled out of Nottingham Forest's gameweek 7 clash with Arsenal due to a minor muscle injury. In better news, he's fit to return when Oliver Glasner's side face Ipswich Town on Friday night.
The English attacking midfielder won't be happy with his side's beginning to the 2026/27 campaign, but from a personal perspective, he's not endured the worst start -- recording three goal contributions in six starts.
Gibbs-White was pivotal to the Tricky Trees' survival in the 2025/26 term -- scoring 15 times and providing four assists -- crucial to the club's seventh placed finish in 2024/25 -- where he was involved in 17 goals -- and if Forest are to turn their fortunes around under the stewardship of Glasner, expect him to be at the heart of it.
