Ahead of the Champs League: how’s the injury situation? « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger; coach of the decade
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Untold Injury Index – Gameweek 12
By Dale Higginbottom
Wow, those international breaks have been kind on us this season. As far as I can see no additions to our injury list as a result of internationals. We have had one additional player make his way onto the crocked list this week, however this not whilst on international duty. Carl Jenkinson, who has been progressing very well in his first season (see Walters article from last week), unfortunately was discovered to have a stress fracture and so will miss the next few weeks. It’s a big shame for him as this was a great chance for him to get game time with Sagna also out. We wish him all the best of luck with his recovery.
But enough of that let’s get into the numbers.
| A = Ankle | K = Knee |
| B = Back | L = Achilles |
| C = Calf | M = Muscle |
| D = Dead Leg | N = Hip |
| E = Hamstring | R = Rib |
| F = Fatigue/Lack of Fitness | S = Shoulder |
| G = Groin | T = Thigh |
| H = Head Injury/Concussion | U = Unknown |
| I = Illness | Y = Hand |
| J = Foot | Z = Broken Leg |
Norwich Vs Arsenal (1-2)
| Injuries | Norwich (4 + 0S) | Arsenal (6 + 0S) |
| Goalkeeper | N/A | N/A |
| Defence | Ayala (K), Ward (K), Whitbread (E) | Sagna (A,6), Gibbs (M,6), Jenkinson (B,2) |
| Midfield | N/A | Wilshere (A,12), Diaby (A,12), Miyaichi (A.3) |
| Attack | Vaughan (K) | N/A |
| Additional issues | N/A | N/A |
| Suspended | N/A | N/A |
Chelsea Vs Liverpool (1-2)
| Injuries | Chelsea (2 + 0S) | Liverpool (2 + 0S) |
| Goalkeeper | Hilario (N,6) | N/A |
| Defence | N/A | Robinson (A,4) |
| Midfield | Essien (K,12) | Gerrard (A,8) |
| Attack | N/A | N/A |
| Additional issues | N/A | Carragher returned from injury but was an unused substitute. |
| Suspended | N/A | N/A |
Tottenham Vs Aston Villa (2-0)
| Injuries | Tottenham (3 + 0S) | Aston Villa (2 + 0S) |
| Goalkeeper | N/A | N/A |
| Defence | Dawson (L,8), Corluka (A.4) | Lichaj (N) |
| Midfield | Huddlestone (A,8), Kranjcar (A,7) | N/A |
| Attack | N/A | Delfouneso (E) |
| Additional issues | Van der Vaart was a slight doubt with a hamstring injury but he started and played 69 mins. | Agbonlahor and Petrov were both slight doubts for the game but both started and played the whole game. |
| Suspended | N/A | N/A |
Man City Vs Newcastle (3-1)
| Injuries | Man City (1 + 0S) | Newcastle (5 + 0S) |
| Goalkeeper | N/A | N/A |
| Defence | N/A | Williamson (A) |
| Midfield | Hargreaves (C,5) | Marveaux (G), Obertan (J), Tiote (K) |
| Attack | N/A | Best (G) |
| Additional issues | Nasri was a doubt but started and played the whole game. Aguero was also a slight doubt but he also started the game. | Shola Ameobi was a doubt with a hamstring injury but was included in the squad. |
| Suspended | N/A | N/A |
Swansea Vs Man Utd (0-1)
| Injuries | Swansea (3 + 0S) | Man Utd (7 + 0S) |
| Goalkeeper | N/A | N/A |
| Defence | Tate (Z), Caulker (K) | Rafael (S,12), Smalling (J,5) |
| Midfield | Bodde (K) | Gibson (A,10), Cleverley (A,6), Anderson (U,2) |
| Attack | N/A | Owen (T,6), Welbeck (M,3) |
| Additional issues | Dobbie returned to the squad, he was a late substitute. | Young returned to the squad, he was an unused sub. Evra, who is suffering from a virus, had to be replace early in the second half. |
| Suspended | N/A | N/A |
So, United still on top of the injury table and it seems that these injuries have “unsettled United” according to the manager. Well, join the club Sir Alex, we’ve been unsettled by injuries for at least the past 4 seasons. Arsenal are second again (our usual resting place) and the remaining teams are just mopping up around our feet.
Arsenal are really building up a good run of form and our fixture list over the next few weeks looks very kind to us so, there’s a good chance that this will continue. I thought our make-shift right-back had a good game and Theo told his critic’s to shut up in true style, giving the Norwich left-side plenty to deal with. The big things from the game though was the three points and an injury-free game, can’t really ask for any better.
Elsewhere..
There were no major shocks, City beat a Newcastle side suffering a few injuries, United struggled in Wales in-part due to their injury list but still managed three points, the two inconsistent teams played at Stamford Bridge with the visitors scoring a late one, oh and the Totts won again.
Tottenham’s win was pretty much expected given their form and their win sees the top seven in the league now break away from the rest by a clear 7 points. Not really sure about ‘arry’s claims that the Totts could win the league though, a bit far-fetched that one. We all know they won’t and if there was any sniff of that being a possibility, Adebayor would suddenly be recalled and find himself warming the City bench.
Actually, talking about the league, there’s been a real bunching-up over the past few weeks. Newcastle and Chelsea’s defeats and wins for Liverpool and Arsenal has meant it’s now just 3 points between 3rd and 7th. A top-four place come May 2011 is certainly looking much more realistic that it was a little over a month ago.
This is now the crunch time of the season. There are no international games (except African Nations Cup) for over three months so this is where team spirit and unity will really make a big difference. We’re back to Champions League in midweek before Fulham at home and the injury news is one in, one out. Diaby in for Rosicky who has a small thigh strain. We’re all hoping for an injury free game on Wednesday, particularly for Abou’s sake.
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“Making the Arsenal” – the book of Arsenal’s rebirth
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