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Arsenal: Cruel Granit Xhaka twist would be unfairness incarnate
By Josh Sippie
Arsenal stalwart Granit Xhaka suffered an injury in training and his World Cup status is in doubt. This would be the cruelest fate for such a trooper.
Maligned Arsenal star Granit Xhaka has had a hell of a year. After suffering through a poor start to the season, he buckled down and recentered himself around the midway point, increasing his mental focus, his physical determination and honing his known skillset.
What resulted was a midfielder with no flaws other than a tragic lack of agility. Even as the hate rained down, Xhaka remained a positive force on the team, pushing play forward, marshaling the troops and proving his worth time and time again.
And in a World Cup year, there could be no better time. He was reaching his best possible self right as Switzerland entered the most prestigious competition in fine fettle and with a ton to prove. Though they are far from favorites, the Cup was not so unbelievably out of reach.
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Then the news broke that Granit Xhaka suffered what is suspected to be a serious injury in a flooded training, where he was forced to limp from the training facility with the help of two staffers and was driven to the hospital for further testing.
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The injury was to his knee, and if you watch the video, it did not look good. He is already being held out of the World Cup “tune up” matches and there is a lot of skepticism whether he will factor into the World Cup plans at all, given what appears to be a serious injury.
This is the worst. When Mohamed Elneny went down with an injury, the collective Arsenal world felt dejected for him. To work so hard and come so far, as a player and, for Egypt, as a country, and then have it potentially taken away, is so cruel. Thankfully, Elneny avoided a long-term layoff.
Xhaka is in a similar boat. For Switzerland, his worth has never been questioned. There, he can escape the fickle Gooners that are only now starting to appreciate him and leave it all on the pitch for his country.
But now this may be robbed from him in what is truly a cruel twist of fate.
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Hopefully this won’t prove to be anything serious, because if anyone deserves to be a centerpiece for his nation at the World Cup, it’s the underappreciated Granit Xhaka. Get well soon.