Arsenal's Theo Walcott ruled out of Carling Cup final against Birmingham and Cesc Fabregas doubtful
Theo Walcott has been ruled out of Sunday’s Carling Cup final and Arsenal also face a nervous wait to discover if their captain, Cesc Fabregas, has suffered a serious recurrence of his longstanding hamstring problem.
Image 1 of 3
Injury concerns: Theo Walcott and Cesc Fabregas are serious doubts for Arsenal's Carling Cup final against Birmingham Photo: PA/REUTERS
Image 1 of 3
Dejected: Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas trudges off after picking up a leg injury against Stoke Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Image 1 of 3
Injury doubt: Theo Walcott is a major doubt for Sunday's Carling Cup final after hurting his ankle in Arsenal's 1-0 victory over Stoke Photo: AP
By Jeremy Wilson 11:52PM GMT 23 Feb 2011
Jeremy's Twitter
Comments
Walcott twisted his ankle in Wednesday night’s 1-0 win over Stoke City and, with Fabregas, is clearly also now a doubt for the second leg of the Champions League against Barcelona on Mar 8.
The injuries have occurred at the worst possible moment as Arsenal begin a run of five matches in 14 days across the four different competitions they are still aiming to win.
Robin van Persie (hamstring), Laurent Koscielny (back) and Abou Diaby (calf) are also still doubts for Sunday’s Wembley final against Birmingham City when Arsenal have the chance to win their first trophy since the FA Cup in 2005.
“Walcott has an ankle sprain,” said Wenger. “For Sunday, he is definitely out. After that I cannot tell you. Fabregas is a hamstring problem. We will assess that but it is impossible to say how serious it is now.”
Walcott’s ankle injury certainly appeared the more serious and he needed a stretched to leave the pitch. Despite the suspicions of the Arsenal crowd, the incident was unfortunate rather than malicious as Walcott caught his foot in the turf while tangling with Stoke City midfielder Dean Whitehead.
Fabregas has suffered five hamstring setbacks over the past two seasons and, for no obvious reason, he signalled that his evening would end after just 14 minutes. He was walking normally as he left the pitch, but Arsenal will anxiously await the result of an assessment this morning.
“It is of course a concern,” said Wenger. “He was very upset. I am as well. It is not his fault, it is not my fault, it is part of sport.
"It’s strange that it happens so early in the game. We have to face it.”
Stoke were typically physical in the challenge they posed Arsenal and, although there were no complaints about their general approach, Wenger did question Rory Delap’s long throws.
“I wonder if we should not change the rules in the game a little bit,” he said. “Because the throw-ins, just after halfway, is in the box. So every time you have to face a danger with Delap. I saw them at home against Sunderland, in five minutes they won the game in this kind of situation. You are always under a threat nervously. They can change games quickly.”
Several Stoke challenges provoked anger from the Arsenal fans, but Wenger felt the match was played in a good spirit.
“It was committed with strong challenges but overall correct,” said Wenger. “I don’t have an issue with Stoke or any aspect of their game.
It is a team that you know you have to prepare mentally before you go into this game. Nobody likes to play against Stoke as they have a special way of playing but for me they defended very intelligently.”
Wenger felt that the manner of such a grueling victory was a further sign of the progress his young squad has made.
“With the number of games we played, we still did not make a mistake,” he said. “We were less sharp creatively, but you can feel that the team did not want to make a mistake and that is a very positive sign for me. It means your team is really hungry for success. The game was massive for us.”
Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager, praised the way his team responded to Arsenal’s initial onslaught. “It is the first time we have come here and looked like we belong in this company,” he said. “In the first 10 minutes we looked like rabbits in the headlights but in the second half, with a little bit more fortune, we could have scored one or two goals. We play a certain way. We’re very competitive but we’re a very honest team.”
cesc fabregas, theo walcott, getty images, laurent koscielny, jeremy wilson, rsquo, carling cup, leg injury, ankle sprain, reuters, ankle injury, birmingham city, fa cup, recurrence, suspicions, doubts, champions league, arsenal, nbsp, wednesday night
No comments:
Post a Comment