© EuroFootball.com
During a football match on Monday, London defender Ashley Cole injured his shin, so he will not be able to help his team for at least three weeks, which is currently rapidly descending positions in the "Premier" league standings.
In October, 25-year-old A. Cole broke his left leg and since then he has spent only one hour on the football field. After spending three months off the field in January due to a shin bone fracture, the player suffered another serious injury.
This week the footballer tried to regain his previous physical form and recently played 68 minutes in a reserves match, but another return ended in failure in a match between "Arsenal" and "Tottenham" reserves. The England national team defender left the field in the seventh minute after a young opponent Andy Barcham's attack due to shin ligament strain.
London club goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, who witnessed the incident, said: "I can't imagine what happened and what his future holds. Ashley means a lot to "Highbury", but he twisted his shin and, believe me, the sight was not good." Meanwhile, an "Arsenal" representative added, "It seems that he strained his left shin. For now, we know that the old injury has not resurfaced, but I can only guess how long we will not see him."
In addition, on Saturday "Arsenal" will face "Fulham" without their other left-back Gael Clichy, who has also broken his leg. Lately, the London club cannot boast a stable performance, and the head coach of the "Gunners" Arsene Wenger admitted that his players' performance in the "Premier" league is causing concern.
On Saturday, "Arsenal" lost to "Blackburn" with a score of 1–0 and must eliminate a five-point deficit if they want to test their strength in the Champions League next season. The defeat at Ewood Park stadium was the eighth failure away and generally the tenth this season.
"If we want to stay in the Champions League, we must seriously worry about the game in the national championship," explained A. Wenger.
It is worth mentioning that "Arsenal" managed to stay among the top three clubs throughout Wenger's nine-year tenure. On the other hand, if the Gunners fail to draw the necessary conclusions, they can successfully repeat their worst result - in 1995 Arsenal dropped to 13th place.
Nevertheless, A. Wenger is convinced that not everything is lost: "After all, there are eleven matches left and enough points to catch the Champions League train."
