Team News: Wenger Confirms Duo Will Miss West Ham + Sanchez & Wilshere Update

Arsenal get the new Premier League season underway when they entertain West Ham at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon.

Ahead of the game, Arsene Wenger has given a team news and injury update to Arsenal.com with the latest on Alexis Sanchez, Danny Welbeck and Tomas Rosicky.

The boss revealed that Welbeck is making good progress in his recovery from a knee injury that he’s been nursing since back in April.

The 24-year-old has struggled to shake-off the problem but he’s now back in training and not far away from returning to action – although he won’t be available for Sunday.

Wenger also confirmed that Rosicky is still recovering from the knee injury that he suffered while on international duty in June so the Czech star will join Welbeck on the sidelines.

However, there is some better news as Sanchez returned to start his pre-season training yesterday after being given an extended break following his Copa America triumph.

The Chilean international has been keeping himself fit by training on the beach in recent weeks and Wenger says he’s returned to the club in excellent condition.

Sanchez wasn’t expected to play any part against West Ham but while Wenger doesn’t think he’ll be ready, the boss stopped short of ruling him out of the game entirely, so there is still a slight chance we could see the attacker feature this weekend.

This is what the boss told Arsenal.com:

on the team news…

We have Welbeck on a progressive recovery and Rosicky on a progressive recovery.

on Welbeck…

He is not too far away, but he is not ready for Sunday.

on Alexis…

Alexis is back in training but I don’t think he will be involved on Sunday, it is a bit early maybe. We have to decide that at the end of the week, but I don’t think he will be involved.

on Alexis training on the beach in Chile…

Alex without running around is not Alex, you know. You can’t imagine him lying on the beach somewhere and not moving! He came back in good fitness shape so that is quite positive, but I am not surprised by that because I can’t imagine him lying around for four weeks and doing nothing. That wouldn’t be him.

It’s great to hear that Welbeck is finally on the road to recovery but I personally wouldn’t risk Sanchez just yet. He’s only going to have had a few days training under his belt so there is no point pushing him back too soon and risking injury.

We’ve already had some devastating news today with Wenger confirming reports that Jack Wilshere has suffered a fractured fibula and is facing a spell on the sidelines.

The boss told Arsenal.com:

“The information you have heard about Jack Wilshere is right,”

“I had a bad surprise because it is a hairline crack in his fibula that makes him a few weeks out.

“There is minimal damage apart from the bone damage – there is no damage at all apart from that. It was a collision in training and it was all completely accidental.”

Arsenal have refused to put a time-scale on Wilshere’s recovery but the general consensus in the press is that he’ll be out for between 6-8 weeks [via BBC], which is a huge blow for both club and player.

So the new season hasn’t got off to a great start on the injury front, let’s hope we can kick things off on a more positive note on the pitch this Sunday.