Arsenal Handed Huge Injury Boost As Star Plays Down Setback Reports

Arsenal have been handed a major injury boost as Santi Cazorla has moved to play down reports that he’s suffered an injury setback that could see him miss the rest of the season.

Cazorla has been out since undergoing surgery to repair ligament damage after he suffered a knee injury during our 1-1 draw with Norwich City at Carrow Road in late November.

The 31-year-old has been making steady progress in his recovery and he was expected to make his return within the next 3-4 weeks after resuming light training last month.

It looked like we’d been dealt a huge injury blow with Arsene Wenger quoted in the media as saying that Cazorla had suffered a fresh Achilles injury that had forced him to stop training.

The boss was quoted as saying by Sky Sports:

“Santi is not doing too well. He has some Achilles problems that hold him back. His knee is doing well but his Achilles has inflamed a little bit and we have to put him off impact.”

“[Will he return in April?] We have to see now how he responds. He had always a little tendonitis on his Achilles and we have to see how he responds to that.”

The media suggested that Wenger feared the injury had ended Cazorla’s season, however, it appears there has been some confussion as the midfielder has now taken to Twitter to clarify his fitness situation.

Cazorla posted a message to his followers saying he was surprised to read the reports in the press today and insists that he’s still on course to make his comeback on April 1st.

Obviously this is a huge relief as it would have been devastating if Cazorla was ruled out for the rest of the campaign, but it’s still strange that Wenger appears to have confirmed the new injury and even question whether Santi will return before the end of April.

Perhaps the boss has been misquoted by the media, or maybe he’s just trying to exaggerate the injury to ease the pressure on Cazorla and the medical team. Either way, it’s great news that we could see Cazorla back on the pitch within the next month, his return will give us a real boost in the run-in.

Surprised by the piece of news appeared in press, deadlines are going as planned. I will be ready on 1st April. #workinghard

— Santi Cazorla (@19SCazorla) March 2, 2016