Don't Miss

Arsenal Injury Update: Bad News On Koscielny, Szczesny & Monreal

By mac14 on July 21, 2013

So the season hasn’t even begun and already we’re picking up some untimely injuries with both Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny ruled out of Monday’s pre-season friendly with Nagoya, while there are rumours that Nacho Monreal is also set for a spell on the sidelines.

According to reports today, Koscielny limped out of training on Sunday afternoon with an ankle problem. He was immediately taken inside the Mizumo Rugby Stadium for further examination by the medical team, and while the extent of the injury is not yet known, he’s almost certain to miss tomorrow’s game.

The ankle will be assessed over the next day or so and the club are said to be confident he won’t be out for too long, but we’ve heard that before haven’t we and some of those who claim to be ITK on Twitter say he could be out for 3-4 weeks.

Koscielny joins goalkeeper Szczesny on the sidelines after he picked up a back problem in training on Saturday and will also miss the Nagoya clash – Lukasz Fabianski is expected to step in. Again, it’s not thought to be too serious but it’s another untimely injury that interrupts our pre-season preparations.

There are also rumours circulating on Twitter that Nacho Monreal has been ruled out until November with a back injury, but these are yet to be confirmed. Fingers crossed it’s nothing more than internet speculation as another injury in defence is the last thing we need.

Koscielny’s injury is perhaps the most worrying as we’re severely lacking options at centre back. Thomas Vermaelen is already out for up to three months with a back injury, so any lengthy absence for Kos leaves us with just Per Mertesacker as a recognised senior central defender.