Quantcast

Team News: Koscielny faces late test + Wenger confirms injury blow

By on February 1, 2016
Laurent-Koscielny arsenal

Image credit: Express

Arsene Wenger has been speaking at his pre-match press conference this morning ahead of our game with Southampton and has given reporters a team news update.

The boss kicked things off by saying that he expects to have all the players who played in Saturday’s victory over Burnley available tomorrow evening. However, he did say that ‘one or two’ players will need to be assessed first before their availability for the game is assured.

Arsene didn’t divulge the names of said players but injury expert Ben Dinnery – who works with the likes of ESPN and PhysioRoom – suggests that Laurent Koscielny is one of the players in question.

Kos was seen limping at one stage during our win over Burnley and although he was able to complete the full ninety minutes, it looks as though Wenger wants to check him over to ensure he’s fit to face Southampton tomorrow.

The second player could be Alexis Sanchez after he made his first start in over two months, or Francis Coquelin who also made his first appearance since late November, or perhaps the boss needs to check on Mohamed Elneny after he made his debut following his move from Basel.

Either way, Wenger seems to think all the players from Saturday will be available tomorrow with the exception of Tomas Rosicky after the boss confirmed that he’s picked up a fresh thigh injury.

Rosicky made his first appearance of the season at the weekend but as we reported yesterday, the Czech international suffered an injury during his 20 cameo. Arsene wouldn’t give any indication as to how long Tomas would be out for until he’d undergone a scan, but reports suggest he’s facing six weeks on the sidelines.

It’s a cruel blow for Rosicky and he really doesn’t deserve to spend his final few months as an Arsenal player on the treatment table. Let’s hope he can make a swift recovery.