Arsenal's Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain suffers minor injury setback
Saturday 21 November 2015 07:55, UK
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has suffered a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury, ruling him out of Arsenal's Premier League clash with West Brom.
The England forward, who suffered the injury in the Capital One Cup loss to Sheffield Wednesday, is also expected to miss the Champions League tie with Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday, meaning he will likely only be available for the following weekend's clash with Norwich at the earliest.
Aaron Ramsey, who has been absent since the October 20 win over Bayern Munich, is likely to be fit to face Dinamo, but Theo Walcott, who injured a calf in the same game as Oxlade-Chamberlain, is still continuing his rehabilitation.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said: "He [Oxlade-Chamberlain] had a slight little setback on Monday but we checked by scan and there is nothing wrong but he is still a fraction short for Saturday.
"Ramsey will be back in full training on Monday and can play on Tuesday and Chamberlain I think against Norwich. Theo is ahead of schedule at the moment but he is still two weeks away."
It all piles more pressure on the likes of Alexis Sanchez, who was due to return from international duty with Chile around 36 hours prior to the match at The Hawthorns.
His side lost 3-0 to Uruguay after a 1-1 draw with David Ospina's Colombia in World Cup qualifying, and while Wenger admitted he would like to give Sanchez some time off, he is unable to at present.
Asked if the former Barcelona forward will be granted some leave, Wenger said: "At some point yes. At the moment I am a bit short because [I have] no Chamberlain, no Ramsey, no Walcott, no [Jack] Wilshere, no [Danny] Welbeck.
"There is not many offensive positions where I can rotate. I am worried because when he went to Chile he was already a bit jaded and to see what state he will come back [in], I will have to test.
"But speaking to the player, if I ask him 'are you tired?' you can guess the answer."
