Arsenal's Injury Crisis Deepens.

The comeback against Barcelona on Wednesday night was absolutely unbelievable, but it would appear to have come at a very heavy price. It was bad enough that both Arshavin and Gallas went off with calf injuries in the first half and will both be out for the next three weeks, but the news on Cesc's injury has proved to be far worse than I had expected and he will be out for at least six weeks. That effectively ends his season for Arsenal unless we can make it to the Champions League final which is seven weeks from next Saturday.

It would seem that the challenge from Puyol on Cesc that we got our penalty for was the challenge that caused him to suffer a small crack in his right fibula. At the time I didn't think it was a penalty, but the more I see it the more I realise that it was, although I still think the red card was harsh.

Puyol ran into his leg as Cesc swung it to shoot and although there didn't seem to be enough contact to cause such a serious injury that was the unfortunate outcome. Personally I think that the kick he took against Birmingham on Saturday had a part to play in it but I suppose something like that can never be proven.

I can only imagine the adrenaline rush that Cesc was experiencing as he was awarded that penalty and stepped up to take it. After he scored the penalty he rushed to the back of the net to speed up the restart by getting the ball back. As he made his way back with the ball he suddenly realised he was in pain and he went down looking for some treatment. Obviously he didn't realise the extent of the injury as he came back on for the last few minutes so that we would have 11 players on the pitch against their 10.  I suppose as the adrenaline wore off after scoring the penalty he felt the pain of the crack in his fibula and he should have stayed off the pitch at that stage.

I won't question his desire and commitment to the cause, but unfortunately he did himself no favours by staying on. In hindsight his inclusion in the team was probably not a good idea as he clearly hadn't fully recovered from the knock he took on Saturday. He should have come off on Saturday as well, but he's the type of player who wants to play every minute of every game. The inclusion of Gallas was a gamble that didn't pay off either and after only three days training in the last six weeks he didn't even last as far as halftime before suffering a recurrence. 

The boss made two very brave decisions to include them both in the starting team, but it backfired on him desperately, and of course those selections are now being questioned. He said that Cesc decided himself that he was fit to play and I would imagine that Gallas did too. He has to believe the players when they tell him that they are up to playing, and I suppose that both players desperately wanted to play in such a prestigious game. Hopefully if the situation arises again he will err on the side of caution rather than let the players' hearts rule their heads. 

There are also injury concerns over both Clichy and Denilson for Saturday's game and when we add Djourou, Ramsey, RVP, AND Gibbs we are on our way back to the top of the league table for injuries at least. It would look like Campbell will have to play on both Saturday and Tuesday unless Silvestre plays on Saturday, as the thought of him in the wide open spaces of the Nou Camp scares the hell out of me. It won't be easy against Wolves as they are playing very well at the moment and it would look like they have almost done enough to keep their Premier league status. 

It's a holiday in Ireland today but because it's a big religious day the pubs are closed which means that I have to drink like a fish. I don't normally go to the pub on a Friday, but I don't like to be told what to do either. I'll preview the game against Wolves tomorrow and hopefully we will know what players are available by then. That's it for today.

Here's a clip of a man could become very important to us for the rest of the season.

See You Tomorrow.