By its very nature, this article tends to be a bit somber every week. Injuries are never a good thing, and the best we can hope for any time one of our fantasy players goes down is to make the best of a tough situation.

This week is a bit different, however. This article is a still a bummer if you own DaMarcus Cousins or Derrick Favors, but we also had a lot of useful players come back Friday, and a huge name who is expected to return Saturday. So while we, unfortunately, still have to deal with some unpleasant injuries, it is much easier to see the bright side this week. First, however, we need to deal with some important injuries.

Anthony Davis has been cleared to play by team doctors after he suffered a chest contusion Friday. It is up to Davis if he plays or not, and he will likely be a game-time decision. Omer Asik and Ryan Anderson would both be interesting plays in daily games for as long as Davis is out.

DaMarcus Cousins will miss Saturday’s game with viral meningitis, the ninth game he will miss due to this illness. Unfortunately, there is nothing Cousins’s owners can do except keep him on their bench and hope for the best.

Derrick Favors was diagnosed with an ankle sprain Friday night. X-rays were negative, but he left the arena in a walking boot. Rudy Gobert set career highs with 11 rebounds and five blocks in 26 minutes Friday with Favors out, in addition to scoring nine points and dishing out four assists. Gobert is a must-add in all formats, especially if you are still trying to replace DaMarcus Cousins’s production.

Joakim Noah did not play Wednesday or Friday due to an ankle injury. The injury does not appear to be serious, though he could still miss some more time. Noah should be considered questionable for Sunday’s game against Miami. Taj Gibson is averaging 11.7 points, nine rebounds and 2.3 blocks in three games since returning from his own ankle injury, despite playing only 19 minutes in his first game back. He is a nice play while Noah remains sidelined.

Nikola Pekovic had a setback with his injured ankle and may be out until mid-January. If you held onto him this long it is difficult so drop him now, but I certainly would not waste a bench spot on Pekovic if it meant passing on someone like Rudy Gobert.

Dwight Howard is probably to play Saturday after missing 11 games with a right knee sprain. He obviously needs to go right into your lineup, though it may be wise to avoid him in daily games until we see he is 100 percent.

Jameer Nelson and Chandler Parsons are both questionable for Saturday’s game against the Warriors. Neither injury is considered particularly serious. The Mavericks will likely replace Parsons with some combination of Al-Farouq Aminu, Jae Crowder and Richard Jefferson, and none of them are fantasy options at this point. If Nelson misses any more time, Devin Harris would be a nice fantasy option.

Jodie Meeks made his season debut and scored 12 points in 23 minutes. He did not attempt a single three-pointer, which is pretty surprising considering that is why they gave him a somewhat-ridiculous contract over the summer. Meeks and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope will likely each cut into the other’s fantasy production, making both risky plays in 12-team leagues.

Isaiah Thomas returned Friday as well, scoring 10 points in 28 minutes after missing eight consecutive games with an ankle injury. Like Meeks, Thomas suffers from a logjam at his position, but Thomas is also capable of randomly scoring 23 points on any given night. His return will bring an end to a nice run of fantasy production for Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe.

Tony Wroten returned Friday as well, and it is less clear how his return will affect K.J. McDaniels and Michael Carter-Williams. Those three are clearly Philadelphia’s best players right now, but they all might be best at shooting guard, which could be a problem. McDaniels was actually more productive in fewer minutes in November, when Tony Wroten missed just one game, so perhaps all three will be productive and thrive. All three guards need to be owned right now, though this situation bears watching going forward.

Andrew Bogut will sit Saturday and Sunday after having his right knee drained. Harrison Barnes scored 20 points in 39 minutes with Bogut out Wednesday, and he should continue to log heavy minutes with Bogut and David Lee out. Festus Ezeli got the start and scored seven points in 16 minutes, which is about what we should expect for the next two games.

Nikola Vucevic was questionable last weekend but did not play all week. He is expected to return either Saturday or Monday. Kyle O’Quinn has averaged 12.8 points and 5.7 rebounds with Vucevic out, but his window of usefulness is rapidly closing.

Mo Williams missed his fifth consecutive game Friday due to back spasms, and he does not appear to be particularly close to returning.  Zach LaVine is averaging 13.8 points, 5.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds with Williams out. He faces the Lakers Sunday, against whom he scored a career-high 28 points last month.

Josh McRoberts averaged 30.5 minutes, 12 points, six assists and 4.5 rebounds over his last two games before going down with a bruised right knee. He has not played since Tuesday and will likely be a game-time decision against the Bulls. As I pointed out Thursday, McRoberts and the Heat have a nice schedule next week, and McRoberts will be a nice fantasy play whenever he is able to return.

Ersan Ilyasova remains out after suffering a facial fracture against the Cavaliers two weeks ago. He will be fitted for a protective mask Monday, which would be the first day he could reasonably be expected to return. Jabari Parker is averaging 14.8 ppg in December, and he should continue to produce with Ilyasova out.

My hope is always to spend more words talking about guys coming back from injury than guys going down with an injury, but it doesn’t always work out that way. Fortunately this week we have some particularly interesting fantasy pickups if you do need to replace one or more injured players.