By Jude Summerfield
Ollie Watkins has been a consistent pick in Fantasy Premier League teams throughout the 2023/24 season thanks to his incredible displays in front of goal.
The former Brentford striker has led the Villans' charge towards Champions League qualification this term, but a few injury issues have disrupted his performances of late and FPL managers are scratching their heads over what to do with him ahead of Gameweek 32.
Having missed the defeat to Manchester City in midweek and with Villa due to face the Bees on Saturday, here's what we know about Watkins' knock and his availability this weekend.
What injury does Ollie Watkins have?
Watkins picked up a hamstring injury during Villa's 2-0 victory over Wolves at the end of March, where goals from Moussa Diaby and Ezri Konsa separated the two sides. The England striker didn't emerge for the second half, having had 12 touches and missed a decent chance in the opening 45 minutes.
It was a blow for the 28-year-old, who is enjoying his best ever season in the Premier League. Having started every other match before missing out on the trip to Man City on Wednesday, Watkins has racked up 16 goals and 15 assists in FPL in 2023/24 so far.
That form has made him the highest scoring FPL player of the season with 188 points, though the likes of Phil Foden (183), Bukayo Saka (181), Son Heung-min (180), Cole Palmer (177) and Mohamed Salah (176) are all closing in behind him.
What has Unai Emery said about Ollie Watkins' injury?
Villa boss Unai Emery is due to give an update on Villa's injury situation before Saturday's clash with Brentford. On Watkins, he previously revealed: "He was feeling something in his hamstring. We decided not to play with the risk."
He later added: "Watkins, we will check him and if he's getting better for Saturday. We are as well playing to try and build our team with players who have not been playing a lot. We will need them and so we need to give them chances to play."
It was Jhon Duran who replaced Watkins in Villa's starting lineup at the Etihad Stadium and the Colombian 20-year-old impressed, finishing excellently to equalise after Rodri's opener.
Ollie Watkins alternatives in FPL Gameweek 32
FPL Gameweek 31 proved to be a quieter one for forwards. It was the midfielders who enjoyed most of the fun as Palmer, Foden, Alejandro Garnacho and Morgan Gibbs-White all went big among others.
Newcastle striker Alexander Isak is the form alternative if Watkins doesn't prove his fitness before Saturday's FPL deadline. The Sweden international, priced at £7.8m, has five goals and an assist in his last four matches and could easily continue that run in upcoming games against Fulham, Tottenham and Crystal Palace.
Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood has struck in three consecutive fixtures and has every chance of upsetting a Spurs defence with only one clean sheet in 13 matches on Sunday, while the likes of Rodrigo Muniz and Jean-Philippe Mateta have proved to be worthwhile budget additions to squads in recent weeks.
The upcoming Gameweek 34 has 13 fixtures to mull over, so swapping Watkins out now for a striker who could play twice in that period has to be considered. Darwin Nunez once again showed his distaste for convention with his unusual goal against Sheffield United and could reward backers in outings against Fulham and Everton.
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This article was originally published on 90min.com as Ollie Watkins injury update: Should you pick him for FPL Gameweek 32?.
