Arsenal Boss Offers Mkhitaryan Injury Update + Player Ruled Out For 3 Weeks

Arsene Wenger has provided an injury update on Henrikh Mkhitaryan plus confirmed that David Ospina has been ruled out for up to three weeks.

Mkhitaryan started against CSKA Moscow in the first leg of our Europa League quarter final last night and he was enjoying a fine game as we raced in to a 4-1 lead by half-time.

However, the Armenian international needed treatment from the medical team midway through the second period after sustaining a knee injury and had to be replaced by Alex Iwobi.

It didn’t look good as Miki limped down the tunnel and Wenger has confirmed the attacker is certain to miss Sunday’s visit of Southampton to the Emirates but further tests will be required to determine the full extent of the injury.

Ospina was left out of the squad entirely last night and the boss has revealed that the goalkeeper sustained an ankle injury in training ahead of the CSKA game.

There were fears the problem was a serious one but scans showed only minor damage so Ospina should be available for selection again inside three weeks.

Wenger told Arsenal.com:

on the latest on Ospina…
The scan today was reassuring, he will be out for two to three weeks. Yesterday we were scared it was a very serious injury but the scan was reassuring. Yes [he did it in training] – he just moved back from a shot and sprained his ankle, without any contact. It was just a bad movement.

on Mkhitaryan…
He has a knee problem, we don’t know how bad it is, we have to assess it tomorrow morning. He will certainly be out for Sunday.

Petr Cech is now set to keep goal in both the Premier League and Europa League while Ospina recovers from his ankle injury so we better hope our No.1 doesn’t get injured as we only have Matt Macey as back-up.

With Mkhitaryan facing a spell on the sidelines, Iwobi and Danny Welbeck will be pushing for recalls to the starting eleven – although his absence could open the door for Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to start together in attack.