Gibbs suffers broken foot

Gunners defender breaks metatarsal in his left foot

By James Dall   Last updated: 25th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Gibbs suffers broken foot

GIbbs: Injury blow

SKY BET ODDS
Pato, Drogba and Benzema 10/1 all to score! Bet Now

Related links

Teams

Players

Also see

Arsenal have been hit by the news that Kieran Gibbs has fractured the first metatarsal in his left foot.

The left-back sustained the injury in the latter stages of Arsenal's 2-0 UEFA Champions League win over Standard Liege that booked their place in the last 16.

Gibbs was making his return from a foot injury he picked up whilst representing the England Under 21s, a problem which forced him to miss Saturday's loss at Sunderland.

The latest setback is a major blow to Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, who is already without Gael Clichy, ahead of Sunday's crunch meeting with Chelsea.

Wenger said on the club's official website: "Gibbs has a big hole in his leg.

"It was a very bad challenge by the No 22 and it was not his first try, unfortunately. It doesn't look good for Gibbs."

But the Frenchman did confirm he expects William Gallas and Andrey Arshavin to be fit for the clash against Chelsea, despite the duo also picking up knocks versus Liege.

Key duo

"Gallas has an ankle problem and a swollen eye," said Wenger. "I think he will recover for Sunday, we hope so. It wasn't concussion but he couldn't see anymore because his eye was swollen.

"Arshavin has some staples in his head. He will be available for Sunday."

Reflecting on his side's progression from Group H and the win over Liege, Wenger told Sky Sports: "I believe we had a good first half, after 2-0 we eased off a bit in the second half and the pace of the game dropped.

"Of course they had one or two dangerous situations, but I always felt we had the resources to make a difference."

Wenger also confirmed he will rotate his side for their final group game against Olympiakos.

He added: "It means we can rest some players if needed. We can give a game to some young players."

Enhanced Multiples. Click here to bet.