FPL Tips: What to do with Gabriel, Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi in Fantasy Premier League?
Injuries to Gabriel, Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo have created major uncertainty for FPL managers heading into Gameweek 12. All three picked up issues over the international break or late in GW11, and their availability now directly affects transfer decisions, price rises, and squad balance.
This article breaks down the latest FPL injury updates, expected return timelines, and the best replacements if any of these popular assets are ruled out. Whether you're deciding to hold or sell, this guide covers everything you need before making early GW12 transfers.
Gameweek 13 Updates on Gabriel, Semenyo and Guehi.
Gabriel was replaced by Piero Hincapie in Gameweek 12's win against Tottenham. Hincapie seems like the likely replacement going forward and should be set for a few more starts while Gabriel is out.
Antoine Semenyo missed the match against West Ham with an illness, meaning he should be back for GW13. Assuming his ankle is fine, he'll have two weeks of not playing before the Gameweek 13 game.
Guehi returned as expected and should hold his place going forward for Crystal Palace.
Friday Mikel Arteta Press Conference Update on Gabriel for GW12
"We need another scan on Wednesday. The timeline for his return will be clearer than it is now. "It's clearly a targeted blow; he's the leader of our defensive line. His absence is not positive at all. The good thing is that we have very good options. They need to regain their balance now."
Latest Gabriel Update: Arsenal Defender Doubtful for GW12
Gabriel was the news of the weekend, as he pulled up with a muscle injury while playing with Brazil on Saturday, being forced off in the 64th minute of a friendly against Senegal. Given his popularity in FPL, he'll be one of the most discussed players entering Gameweek 12. Early in the week, information on him starting in the North London derby against Spurs was still pointing at him being 50/50.
Gabriel underwent scans Sunday with the Brazil national team revealing a muscle injury in his right thigh.
Immediately after the match, Carlo Ancelotti said, "We are really sorry for this, really disappointed. When a player has an injury, you hope they can recover well and soon."
Tuesday, Nov. 18 Gabriel Update
The Athletic and David Ornstein reported Tuesday that it could be a one-to-two month injury for Gabriel, but further tests are needed. At this point, there's little reason to suggest Gabriel will be available in Gameweek 12 or even the following ones. It's a boost for Cristhian Mosquera, who is expected to start next to William Saliba going forward.
Overall, it's a not a positive update on Gabriel, but the full severity of the injury still hasn't been declared. For now, it's best to assume he'll be out a couple weeks, at minimum.
Wednesday, Nov. 19 Gabriel Out At Least One Month
Similar to Tuesday's The Athletic update, ESPN reported Wednesday that Gabriel will be out at least one month with a pulled muscle in his thigh. The team are still assessing how long it could be, but it will depend on how well he recovers over the next couple weeks.
Needless to say, Gabriel will be out an extended period and given that his return falls during a holiday fixture run, it's not guaranteed he'll be starting every match upon his return late December, if that's when it is.
Check out the predicted lineups for Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth along with the rest ahead of Gameweek 12 in the Premier League.
Friday Press Conference Guehi Update from Oliver Glasner
"All players are fit. Fortunately, Marc started training with on Wednesday, so he did now three sessions. It's good."
This is the news everyone was waiting for on Guehi. He's fit and will more than likely be back in the XI for Gameweek 12 against Wolves.
Previous Guehi Update: Bone Bruise Recovery Timeline
Marc Guehi injured his foot ahead of Gameweek 11 and supposedly couldn't even walk due to a bone bruise, according to manager Oliver Glasner. While he gets two weeks to recover over the international break, it's not guaranteed he'll be back in the starting XI for GW12. He originally reported to England for international duty, but he withdrew shortly after that.
The hope for Guehi will be a return to training ahead of Saturday's trip to Wolverhampton. Given he'll have two weeks off the pitch, he'll need to be back in training to have a chance to start in Gameweek 12 with Jaydee Canvot being his likely replacement.
Tuesday, Nov. 18 Guehi Training Update
Per James Savundra of Sky Sports, Guehi did not take part in full training with Crystal Palace on Tuesday.
Most Palace players missed Tuesday's training session who were away with national teams, so this update isn't the worst one in the world. However, he'll still need to train at some point in the next few days to have a chance for Wolverhampton away.
Wednesday, Nov. 19 Positive Guehi Update
From the same Sky Sports reporter, Savundra believes Guehi is on track to return against Wolves.
This is one reporter likely receiving some intel from Palace after Guehi didn't train fully Tuesday. Assuming that's the case, Guehi should have a good chance of returning to training Thursday or Friday with an update from Glasner coming after one of those sessions at his press conference.
Friday Press Conference Semenyo Update from Andoni Iraola
Iraola gave more questions than answers for Semenyo on Friday.
"He was already dealing with an ankle injury. I cannot tell you if he's going to play tomorrow or not. We will have to see."
There's a chance Iraola is just leaning into the injury and doesn't want to reveal any further information. Considering it's not a new injury for Semenyo, that means he's played through it previously. For Saturday's match, he'll have more than a week off of it, so it's expected he'll be in the XI against West Ham.
Previous Semenyo Update: Ankle Sprain with Ghana
Semenyo also picked up an injury in a friendly, going down Friday against Japan with what's being labeled an ankle sprain. He made it 56 minutes before getting injured with Ghana to which the team eventually announced his departure from the team's camp over the weekend.
"Left anterior talo-fibula ligament sprain, which was aggravated during the game against Japan."
Tuesday, Nov. 18 Semenyo Instagram Update
Semenyo proposed to his girlfriend over the weekend and there's reason to believe he made up an injury to do so. He missed Tuesday's match against South Korea, which was only a friendly, so it wouldn't be crazy if that were the case.
At this point, it may be best to assume Semenyo is more fit than a week ago and ready for Saturday's match against West Ham.
GW12 Premier League Suspensions
Along with the suspensions of Lucas Paqueta and Sasa Lukic, and continued injuries to players like Viktor Gyokeres, it's often best in FPL to wait on injury news until Friday press conferences. Otherwise, you're at risk of transfering players out who may be active in Gameweek 12.
Should you transfer out Gabriel, Guehi or Semenyo in FPL?
Many have already transferred out Gabriel and Guehi ahead of Gameweek 12, which is a bit extreme for Guehi. While you possibly benefit from price moves, you also risk making a transfer that isn't needed.
As usual, it's best to wait until after press conferences to make a move with your FPL team. It looks like Gabriel will definitely be out at least one month, which means it makes sense to transfer out the most expensive defender.
As for Guehi, there have been a couple 50/50 updates on him ahead of GW12, which makes it even more difficult. Depending on the severity of the bone bruise, there's a chance he completely heals after a week of rest and is training fully by Thursday or Friday.
Semenyo will also have more than a week to recover from an ankle sprain. Given that he's one to rarely miss time because of injury, it's best to assume he'll be fine for Gameweek 12. However, if he's not training closer to Saturday's match, there's a real chance Andoni Iraola could rule him out against West Ham.
GW12 Defensive Replacements for Gabriel & Guehi
If you plan on replacing Gabriel or Guehi, it's best to look at the upcoming schedule and find the best teams to get clean sheets, which is easily done with our Fixture Difficulty Ranker. The below table ranks team's upcoming fixtures based on goals scored by opponents over the next five gameweeks.
Buy Jurrien Timber or Chris Richards
It's reasonable and easy to swap in players from the same team. Timber is a little cheaper than Gabriel, and he has a bit more upside from open play. He may not get the same amount of defensive contributions, but Arsenal's ability to keep a clean sheet is always in play for Timber.
Similarly, Richards is a bit cheaper than Guehi, but he holds the same floor. Guehi only leads Palace defenders in FPL points because he already has one goal and three assists. Daniel Munoz is another player to consider, and similar to Timber, his upside in open play is much higher.
Buy Nico O'Reilly, Matheus Nunes or Virgil van Dijk
Manchester City defenders are getting some buzz in recent weeks, and there's a good reason for that. Pep Guardiola hasn't rotated his starting XI in the Premier League in some time, which makes it hard to ignore some of their players. Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias seem more likely to remain in the XI in the long term, but it'll be hard for Guardiola to remove O'Reilly or Nunes in the near term.
Rayan Ait-Nouri and Abdukodir Khusanov opened the season as starting left-back and right-back, but after injuries, they both lost those roles. Given their upcoming fixtures, there could be some high upside gameweeks ahead for O'Reilly and Nunes.
Finally, the sixth-most popular defender in the game, Van Dijk, will also be turned to by plenty. Given the unreliability of a lot of their attacking options, many still want a piece of Liverpool given upcoming fixtures. Van Dijk gets forward on set pieces and has put in some massive defensive contribution games, albeit totaling just 10 the last two games.
GW12 Midfield Replacements for Semenyo
Using RotoWire's FDR, the best teams to target for attacking returns are Liverpool, Aston Villa, Brighton and Manchester United.
Dominik Szoboszlai makes sense if you don't have the money to spend up on Mohamed Salah. Szoboszlai hasn't had standout numbers in terms of goal returns, but he's best the team's most consistent player on the pitch, playing numerous positions while often being in play for the defensive contribution bonus.
Villa have been so unreliable in terms of scoring that it's really hard to click Morgan Rogers or anyone else in their team across midfield and forward.
Yankuba Minteh seems to be a better option with a split of set pieces for Brighton, though Diego Gomez might be intriguing if he continue to start once Kaoru Mitoma returns.
As has been the case all season, Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha will be a discussion. Fernandes has the best floor, Mbeumo has the best upside and Cunha is the best differential. Amad Diallo also deserves a shout in terms of being a differential with upside, especially with Benjamin Sesko out up to a month.
Need more tips on how to replace injured players?
Use our predicted lineups or Gameweek 12 FPL rankings
Final Thoughts
As always, it's best to wait for firm injury news before making a decision. Gabriel, Guehi and Semenyo are some of the most popular players in the game for a reason. There's a chance they all start in Gameweek 12 or are all held out.
Semenyo has had some down performances, but upcoming fixtures against West Ham, Sunderland and Everton mean he'll be hard to transfer out if not injured.
Crystal Palace also have a nice run of fixtures while Arsenal's are a bit more difficult.
No matter, if in your team, you're probably starting all of these players in the next few gameweeks which means there's little reason to sell them until more information is revealed.
FAQ
Is Gabriel injured?
Yes. Gabriel suffered a thigh injury with Brazil. His status for Arsenal's Gameweek 12 match remains uncertain pending late-week training updates.
Will Marc Guehi play in Gameweek 12?
He's recovering from a bone bruise on his foot and is 50/50 for Palace's trip to Wolves. Wait for official press conference updates.
Is Antoine Semenyo fit for GW12?
He picked up an ankle sprain with Ghana but could recover in time. Bournemouth will reassess him late in the week.
Who should replace Gabriel or Guehi in FPL?
Consider Jurrien Timber, Chris Richards, or Daniel Muñoz, each has favorable fixtures and solid clean-sheet odds.
When should I make transfers before Gameweek 12?
Ideally wait until Friday's press conferences to avoid wasting a transfer on a player who could be declared fit.
