Arsenal’s injury-hit squad saw a ray of hope when defenders Laurent Koscielny and Hector Bellerin came back from long-term injuries that had kept the duo out of the team amid defensive problems.
The moment of joy, however, was ephemeral. Arsenal’s 2-0 win over rivals Chelsea, that saw the former cut the point gap between them and 4th placed Chelsea to 3 points, ended with an injury scare for Bellerin.
The Spaniard, who made his first start in over a month, was stretchered off the field in the 72nd minute of the game.
Arsenal boss, Unai Emery, tagged Bellerin’s injury as an ‘important injury’.
Shedding light on Bellerin’s injury, the Spanish manager said,
“The prediction is it could be an important injury.” He further said, “We have Ainsley. He played well and can help us. Also, Lichtsteiner is another player who can play there. We have the players,’ said Emery. ‘Don’t forget Jenkinson who has played some matches and can be used if we need him.”
He finally added, “It is his knee and the first prediction is it is an important [bad] injury. We have to wait until tomorrow, but first impressions are not positive.”
Bad news for Arsenal.
Unai Emery says Hector Bellerin's injury is "not positive on first impression".
Here's the latesthttps://t.co/dH3KY9hv5s pic.twitter.com/uQht4NmpWa
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 20, 2019
It is believed that Hector Bellerin’s injury will not affect Arsenal’s January transfer plans. The London based club had already made it clear that they will not make any permanent signings in the winter and the best the fans can hope for are loan deals.
Latest Arsenal News :
https://arsedevils.com/arsenal-contact-roma-nicolo-zaniolo/11679/
HUGE LOSS | Arsenal’s Biggest Backroom Stuff And Key Recruitment Official Confirms Departure
Though the full extent of Bellerin s injury is yet to be diagnosed, it is feared that he may have torn his anterior cruciate ligament. If that is the case, he is likely to be sidelined for at least 6 months and full recovery may take as long as 9 months with rehabilitation and pre match fitness work expected to keep Bellerin sidelined for a further 3 months.
Bellerin’s knee so badly swollen he can’t even have a scan as Arsenal fear he could be out for seasonhttps://t.co/JHTZ2vOPRM pic.twitter.com/D2Weftt2QF
— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) January 21, 2019
With important players like Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Rob Holding already injured, Bellerin s latest injury is a huge blow to the club who are still competing for a place in the top 4.
How Unai Emery manages his squad with so many injuries is a matter that will worry the Arsenal faithful who hope to see the Gunners have a successful season under their new manager.