Arsene Wenger has delivered crucial injury updates on Arsenal duo Shkodran Mustafi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ahead of the game against Crystal Palace.
Mustafi has been out of action after picking up a hamstring injury in the game against Stoke which ruled him out for a minimum of 21 days.
Oxlade-Chamberlain missed the game against West Brom after picking up a hamstring injury against Manchester City
Both could feature in the squad against Crystal Palace with Arsene Wenger confirming Mustafi will be in the squad and that Chamberlain could also feature.
Speaking to Arsenals official website Arsene Wenger said:
Shkodran is back in normal training and he will be back in the squad.
Alex looks like he could join in normal training on Saturday
While Kieran Gibbs is out of the game against Sam Allardyce’s side with a knee injury, Wenger is hopeful of the injury being short term, Theo looks set to miss the game with a calf injury. Arsene Wenger is optimistic that the knock suffered by Gibbs late into the second half after a clash of knees is just an inflammation saying:
“From the last game, I think we lose Kieran Gibbs,” he said. “It’s not big damage to his knee but he has inflammation and I don’t think he will be available.
“On Wednesday he had a scan, but it just showed inflammation. Hopefully it’s a short-term injury.”
Wenger also added that Danny Welbeck is back in training with the rest of the squad. He added:
“Danny Welbeck is doing well in training, so we have plenty of options.”
With Mustafi back in the squad, the French boss will have to decide between bringing him back into the starting lineup or sticking with Gabriel who has proved to be a reliable option during the German’s absence.
Meanwhile with Gibbs out, Monreal is set to come back and needs to put in some consistent performances after his recent mediocre performance against Manchester City.
With the team playing two games in four days the manager needs to rotate his squad carefully in order to not risk the chance of burning out some of his players.
Injuries at this point will most certainly prove to be detrimental to our season as has been the case quite often in the last few seasons where injuries at this point have completely derailed our campaign.
The manager will definitely have this on his mind when picking his squad for this game.
Having Mustafi back fit will be a huge relief for the fans especially given the fact that he is yet to lose a game in an Arsenal shirt. May his run never end and we remain invincible with him in the starting lineup.
