Arsenal Suffer Major Injury Blow Ahead Of Crucial CSKA Moscow Trip

Arsenal have suffered a major injury blow on the eve of their trip to CSKA Moscow after Henrikh Mkhitaryan was ruled out for the rest of the domestic season, according to the Mirror.

Mkhitaryan limped out of the 4-1 first leg victory over CSKA at the Emirates last Thursday night after suffering a knee injury midway through the second half.

Arsene Wenger confirmed the following day that the 29-year-old had sustained ligament damage and was facing an anxious wait to determine the full extent of the injury.

The boss immediately ruled Mkhitaryan out of our games against Southampton, CSKA Moscow, Newcastle and West Ham but he was hopeful the attacker would be back for the semi-finals of the Europa League.

However, the Mirror claim that fresh scan results have revealed the full extent of the injury and Miki has now been ruled out for the rest of the Premier League season.

It means not only will the Armenian international miss Thursday’s crucial quarter-final second leg against CSKA and any subsequent semi-finals but he’ll also sit out our remaining six league games.

Obviously we have little left to play for in the League so the real blow is Miki missing the Europa semi’s but the good news is the Mirror suggest he could yet feature in any potential final.

The newspaper says that if Mkhitaryan manages to make a quick recovery there is a chance he’ll be fit enough to play at the Stade de Lyon on May 16th, should we make it through to the final of the Europa League.

That has to be the target for the attacker now and the medical team have to do everything they can to get Miki fit in time for the final as he’d be a huge miss if he was ruled out.

The good news is that Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi were in great form during the win over Southampton at the weekend so they’re going to need to step-up in Mkhitaryan’s absence.