Kieran Gibbs has been ruled out for 'a few weeks' with a knee injury, but Robin van Persie and Aaron Ramsey are close to returning.
Van Persie and Ramsey set for return to training
Arsenal defender Kieran Gibbs has been ruled out for 'a few weeks' following a knee injury sustained at Newcastle.
The 21-year-old full-back suffered medial ligament damage in the 4-0 Carling Cup win at St James' Park on Wednesday night and will undergo a scan on Friday.
Boss Arsene Wenger admits it is a blow to lose the England international, and the club will now be hoping for positive results of the scan.
"We lost Kieran Gibbs last night," Wenger told
Arsenal TV Online. "That is the bad news.
"It is a medial knee ligament strain. It needs to be checked on the scan tomorrow but it will be a few weeks."
It means youngster Gibbs is now set to miss the weekend tie against West Ham at the Emirates, while the Gunners also have upcoming fixtures versus Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Champions League as well as league clashes with Newcastle, Wolves and Everton.
However, Arsenal will be boosted by the news that long-term injury duo Robin van Persie and Aaron Ramsey will return to full training by the end of next week.
Van Persie has been sidelined with an ankle problem while Welsh midfielder Ramsey suffered a serious leg break earlier in the year.
Wenger added: "They should be back in the group at the end of next week.
"Of course we should not set the same recovery time to Ramsey as Van Persie.
"Aaron will need a longer period to be completely match fit for the first team. But van Persie is not far away now."
