Arsenal Injury Updates – Theo Walcott, Per Mertesacker

It’s gotten to the point in the season where Arsenal fans have probably already lost track of all the recent injuries and when players are due back so I felt it may be beneificial to do a quick roundup of all the injuries that were plaguing the team and speculate on possible return dates.

Theo Walcott: The speedy winger is obviously the first name on people’s minds when they think of Arsenal injuries. Walcott’s recovery was intially set at 6 months, although he said that he knew it would take more like 9. It’s now been 10.

Walcott is set to make his return in October, either against Hull City, Anderlecht or Sunderland. All three of those games sound like the perfect stage to get him back on the pitch.

Per Mertesacker: This one was a bit surprising, because I don’t think a lot of people were aware that the hulking German was actually injured. Reports say he injured his glute, and while it may due to make a joke here, the prospect of this defense without big Per is terrifying. Isaac Hayden may have looked good against Southampton, but he’s 19 and far from ready. He is expected to face Tottenham this weekend though, so keep your fingers crossed.

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Serge Gnabry: Gnabry had somewhat of an emergence late last season and made a strong case for playing time with some really fine matches.  He’s been out since March and Wenger offered no real insight as to a time when he would be back, as he said “Serge Gnabry is on a good way but is nowhere near to being back in the group.” Speculation points at him returning with Walcott after international break but we’ll just have to wait and see.

Nacho Monreal: Monreal’s is another absence that has left the Arsenal defense incredibly undermanned. The Spaniard has a back problem, but Wenger said he does not think it’s too serious, although it’s “difficult to predict.” So essentially, he could be out for 3 days or 3 months.

Yaya Sanogo: The young striker will be back soon from his hamstring problem but given Welbeck’s emergence and Sanchez’s dominance, along with Arsenal getting ousted from the League Cup, I wouldn’t expect we’ll see much of Sanogo except in blowouts and those are few and far between.

Matthieu Debuchy and Olivier Giroud are obviously both out until at least 2015 with serious injuries.

So there you have it, Arsenal find themselves in the heat of another war of attrition. However, compared to last year, where we at times lost Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mesut Ozil and more, this really isn’t the worst situation we’ve been in.

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