Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Updates on Arsenal Star's Groin and Return

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was suffering from a groin issue, but has since returned to game action.

Continue for updates.

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Oxlade-Chamberlain Starting vs. Liverpool

Sunday, Dec. 21

Arsenal announced Oxlade-Chamberlain's status:

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Oxlade-Chamberlain Facing Late Test for Liverpool

Thursday, Dec. 18

Arsene Wenger is hoping Sunday's clash with Liverpool won't come too soon for Oxlade-Chamberlain, per Arsenal's official website:

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There’s a slight chance of Monreal being available and a very slight chance for Walcott. We hope that Oxlade-Chamberlain will be fit. We’ll see that on Saturday.

[...] We’ll see on Saturday after a test. He’s not in training at the moment.

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Oxlade-Chamberlain Damages Groin

Monday, Dec. 15

The Emirates Stadium's injury list could suffer another addition this week after it emerged Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain felt a recurrence of his groin strain in Saturday's 4-1 win over Newcastle United.

The Mirror's John Cross reports the 21-year-old is now a doubt for Sunday's trip to face Liverpool, with Arsene Wenger awaiting an assessment of his star on Monday. Wenger is quoted by Cross saying after the Magpies victory:

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He got a knock. He's got a pain in his groin. I took him off quickly. I wanted to take him off, and then he takes the ball and crosses the whole pitch and [after that piece of action] he cannot run anymore.

We cannot afford to lose him at the moment. I hope it's nothing bad. He had a little bit of inflammation before the game. I took him to Galatasaray and maybe two games [in five days] was a lot for him.

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The manager will already have to cope without Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta for the Merseyside matchup. The likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mathieu Flamini and Santi Cazorla have had to carry the bulk of the workload in the engine room.

If Wenger loses another key option, he may consider using one or two of those starlets he recently took to Turkey for the win over Galatasaray. The Independent's Jack Pitt-Brooke noted the names at the time of their introduction:

Arsenal's injury crisis this season has been among the most severe of any Premier League outfit. However, in the case of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wenger can be held partly responsible, acknowledging he may have asked too much of the youngster in such a short space of time.

Brendan Rodgers will be happy to see Wenger's options further reduced ahead of their clash, needing every advantage he can gain following his team's 3-0 mauling at the hands of Manchester United.