Arsenal injury concern: Gunners star to undergo surgery, Emery offers update

Arsenal star Laurent Koscielny may not have broken his jaw against Manchester United on Friday night but L’Equipe claim the defender still requires surgery.

Koscielny was forced off in the early stages of the second half during our FA Cup defeat to United at the Emirates Stadium after accidentally being kicked in the face by striker Romelu Lukaku.

Unai Emery admitted in his post-match interview that he initially feared the centre-back had broken his jaw but thankfully a trip to hospital after the game confirmed Koscielny hadn’t suffered any serious damage.

An update on Arsenal.com on Sunday said that the Frenchman had only suffered bruising and swelling but L’Equipe claim that Koscielny will still need an operation to remove a blood clot that is putting pressure on a nerve in his jaw.

Emery made no reference to this news during his press conference this afternoon ahead of Tuesday night’s clash with Cardiff City but he confirmed the 33-year-old was on the sidelines and no time-frame has been given over his return.

Sokratis was also forced off during the defeat to Man Utd after he twisted his ankle in the first half and the update on Arsenal.com yesterday said the centre-back would be out until the end of February.

However, Emery gave a more positive update today as he suggested that Sokratis would be out for just two to three weeks meaning the Greek international could be back by mid-February.

Emery told Arsenal.com:

on missing Laurent Koscielny and Sokratis…
Good afternoon. They are not OK for tomorrow but it is good news for example for Laurent Koscielny because he didn’t break his jaw. Sokratis doesn’t have a big injury but he isn’t OK, I don’t know how long but I think maybe two or three weeks.

It would be a big boost if Sokratis could be fit again in just two weeks as it would mean he’d miss just three games instead of seven and he’d be fit for our Europa League last-32 double header with BATE next month.

However, we still have huge problems at the back for the next couple of games as Koscielny won’t be back any time soon if he does require surgery. It looks like Emery is going to have to play one of Dinos Mavropanos, Nacho Monreal or Stephan Lichtsteiner alongside Shkodran Mustafi against Cardiff and Man City.