As usual the Arsenal fans have been getting some mixed messages from Arsene Wenger and the club about the extent of the injury to our French central midfield star Francis Coquelin and about how long we can expect it to be before the Gunners have his battling skills back in the team.
A month, two months and now three months have been mentioned by the boss and in his latest update, reported by Sky Sports, the Frenchman appeared to contradict himself once more.
Wenger said, “It is what we feared,” he said following Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. “Let’s be realistic – it will be 10 or 12 weeks.
“He doesn’t need surgery but it will be a minimum of 12 weeks.”
So 10 or 12 then Arsene? And who would be surprised if those 12 weeks come and go and there is no sign of Coquelin coming back. That news about him not needing an operation, however, is very positive and encouraging and should mean that his return to action is not too much at risk.
Taking a quick look at Arsenal´s fixture schedule we see that 12 weeks from this weekend is the Premier League clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford, which is a game that it would be great to have Coquelin available for. Before that though, we have Man City at home, Southampton, Liverpool and Stoke away and Chelsea at the Emirates as well as the start of the FA cup and the return of European football in the knockout phase.
How much will Arsenal miss Le Coq?