Arsene Wenger will conduct an investigation into his club’s training methods and medical procedures in an effort to establish whether Arsenal could have avoided injuries that risk sabotaging their season.
The manager admits he is “concerned” that Arsenal will go into Sunday’s north London derby shorn of at least four key players, after Mesut Ozil joined a casualty list that already featured Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Jack Wilshere. A hamstring strain forced the German to limp off at half-time in Arsenal’s Champions League draw with Bayern Munich on Tuesday and will keep him out of action for between three and six weeks.
He will miss not only the match with Tottenham Hotspur, but also key games against Chelsea and Manchester City. It was hoped that Ramsey, at least, would be fit in time for those fixtures but his participation now also looks in jeopardy as he struggles to recover from a thigh problem that has incapacitated him since St Stephens Day.
Worried Wenger
"I am concerned that this happens," said Wenger. "If you look at our overall injury list going into such a decisive part of the season, we have not Wilshere, not Walcott, not Ozil, not Ramsey and we went to Bayern without [
Kieran] Gibbs and [Nacho] Monreal. We are analysing very deeply why it happened and to see if there is a link between all these injuries.”
In a season in which Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Yaya Sanogo and Nicklas Bendtner have also been stricken for long periods, the manager is especially worried about the frequency with which his players succumb to muscular injuries.
“For Walcott it’s completely bad luck. Wilshere – I don’t think it is linked with the other injuries, it’s more linked with his history and the kick he got. But the rest, maybe we have to find why it happened.”
Asked whether he would review his training and medical procedures, Wenger said he would assess “everything”.
“It’s very difficult to find any obvious reason why. For example, a player like Ozil – he was rested against Stoke, then he goes to Germany and he trains different, sometimes on a different ground with different sessions. He played the whole game [for Germany against Chile] and the whole game for us against Everton, doing more physically than usually and he paid for it the next day. Why? I don’t know.”
The manager said he was especially bothered about Ramsey’s lingering thigh trouble.
Ramsey's injury
"That's our worry at the moment, Ramsey is taking longer than expected," he said. "He had a first setback and then he planned to join in [
training] on Thursday but he had recurring pains in his thigh. Of course he’s now a little apprehensive because of the setback. We have to be very cautious with him. When will he be back? I believe it’s two more weeks now.”
In better news for Wenger, Kim Kallstrom is available to make his long-awaited debut against Tottenham. Arsenal fans were underwhelmed when the 31-year-old midfielder was signed. But given the injury problems, Kallstrom’s availability is well timed.
Guardian Service
