Granit Xhaka has missed Arsenal’s last 2 matches after suffering a groin injury during the pre-match warm-up ahead of their Europa League semi-final second leg stalemate with Villarreal last week.
Pablo Mari completed the full ninety minutes against the Spaniards but picked up a foot injury during the game at the Emirates and was subsequently forced to miss Sunday’s 3-1 victory over West Brom.
David Luiz has been on the sidelines with a thigh injury in recent weeks but has returned to full training and Arteta says the Brazilian will be assessed along with Xhaka and Mari to see whether they’ll be able to face Chelsea on Wednesday night.
Arsenal returned to winning ways yesterday with victory over Sam Allardyce’s West Brom but Emile Smith Rowe limped off with a hamstring injury in the second half having earlier opened the scoring with a fine volley.
The 20-year-old will need to be assessed by club doctors ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge but Arteta is hoping it’s nothing serious. The Gunners boss even hinted it may have been cramp as Smith Rowe is still adjusting to playing at the top level every three days.
Mikel Arteta told Arsenal.com:
"On Emile Smith Rowe limping off…
I don’t know, he felt something in his hamstring so we took him off.
on whether he could be out for a while…
I don’t know. Sometimes he cramps and that’s something that’s been happening for a while because he’s still adapting to the league, to the amount of games every three days. Hopefully it’s nothing major."
0 Comments