Arsenal FC Injury Update: Good News and Bad News for Upcoming Fixtures

This is a case of bad news, good news, bad news. First comes the bad news. It’s official; Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will miss the Carling Cup final on Sunday along with Theo Walcott.

It’s a shame that the Arsenal captain will not be able to play in this match, as it’s his first chance to play in a final with Arsenal as captain and would be the one to lift the trophy should Arsenal win it. It would’ve been his first title with Arsenal and Arsenal’s first trophy in five years.

The Arsenal captain had to walk off the pitch in the match against Stoke within the first 15 minutes with a hamstring problem. At once there were worries about whether the captain would feature in the Carling Cup final. As we already know, Theo Walcott will miss the final also after being stretchered off in the same game. Theo Walcott suffered an injury to his ankle and will miss the final and then some.

Of Cesc, the Arsenal manager said, “It is a very small injury but certainly Cesc will be out for Sunday," “He is [disappointed]. We all feel sorry and sad for him. The only way we help him now is to win the Carling Cup as he contributed a lot in this competition.”

Wenger said of Walcott, “He has a classic ankle sprain. We don’t think there is any more damage to it. But it is still a sprain. We are sad for him too. He is out for Sunday and maybe one or two more weeks.”

For the good news, Cesc is only expected to miss one or two games. "He is injured and is out," said the manager. " He is out for one or two games, maybe. “

This means he may be able to feature in the second leg of the Champions League tie against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou. This is fantastic news for Arsenal fans because last year Cesc was injured for the second leg at Barcelona and was sorely missed.

Besides Cesc, Theo and Thomas Vermaelen, the rest of the Arsenal squad is fit and available to be selected for the Carling Cup Final.  Wenger is confident that the remaining players will be enough to take home the Carling Cup. “When you look at the squad we have and the number of players we have available, we have enough quality players."

Arsenal have Robin van Persie, Laurent Koscielny and Abou Diaby fit for the final and a set to feature, with RVP ready to captain the team.

The last bit of news coming from the Arsenal camp is not great. Theo Walcott’s ankle sprain will more than likely keep him out of the match at the Camp Nou.

“Theo Walcott will be two to three weeks for an ankle problem,” said Wenger. “I would say today it will be very unlikely he will be fit for the second Barcelona game.” 

Wenger does leave Arsenal fans with a glimmer of hope, saying, “I imagine the worst so maybe I will be surprised in a positive way but I just give you the gut feeling at the moment that I have.”

It will be a shame if he can’t make the trip to Barcelona. In the first leg he gave the Barcelona defense a lot of work to do and opened up valuable space for his teammates. But hey, c’est  la vie.