Gunners' Gibbs out for two months
Wednesday November 25 2009
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was left counting the cost of qualification for the Champions League knockout stages as full-back Kieran Gibbs suffered a fractured metatarsal in the 2-0 win over Standard Liege and centre-half William Gallas was left facing a race to be fit for Sunday's crunch showdown with Chelsea.
The Gunners responded to their lacklustre 1-0 defeat by Sunderland with a comfortable victory, which secured safe passage into the last 16 at the top of Group H ahead of the final match against Olympiacos after first-half goals from Samir Nasri and a 30-yard Denilson strike.
However, that progress was overshadowed by the latest injury to Gibbs, who hobbled off in the final minutes after a hefty challenge from Eliaquim Mangala.
The England U21 fullback had only just returned to fitness from an injury to his right foot suffered while away on international duty, and Arsenal last night confirmed Gibbs had now suffered a fracture to the first metatarsal on his left foot.
The defender will have surgery today, which is set to rule him out for at least two months.
As Gibbs had been filling in for French international Gael Clichy, sidelined by a back problem, Arsenal must now head into the clash against Premier League leaders Chelsea without an experienced left-back.
Armand Traore or more likely veteran Mikael Silvestre will deputise, although the versatile Emmanuel Eboue could also drop into defence.
Gallas, meanwhile, went off at the break with a combination of an ankle problem and a lump above his eye after a clash of heads with Andrey Arshavin, which also left the Russian needing staples to close a bloody gash.
Wenger hopes Gallas will be fit to face his former club on Sunday, and at least the Arsenal manager can now give some fringe players the chance to impress against Olympiacos.
Liege, meanwhile, must now hope the young Gunners beat the Greek side to stand any chance of claiming the runners-up spot.
