Coquelin could be out until at least the New Year

Matt Stead

Francis Coquelin will be sidelined due to a knee injury, although there are conflicting reports with regards to how much time the Arsenal midfielder will miss.

Coquelin injured the knee during Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to West Brom on Saturday in tackle with Baggies midfielder Claudio Yacob. The Frenchman had to be substituted as a result.

Scans are unable to be completed on the injured knee until swelling dies down, but the Daily Mail claim that Coquelin is certain to miss the rest of the calendar year, which would include six Premier League games and their final two Champions League group stage matches.

The fear is that Coquelin has sustained ‘substantial ligament damage’, meaning the 26-year-old joins Arsenal’s lengthy injury list which now comprises of eight players, putting them behind only Newcastle and Manchester United in that regard.

French newspaper L’Equipe have a considerably more bleak diagnosis, and they claim that Coquelin will be out for at least three months with his knee injury.

Arsene Wenger believes the injury suffered by Coquelin is “more severe” than that suffered by Mikel Arteta in the same game, but admits he is unsure on the extent of either blow until scans are completed.

“We have two more injuries,” Wenger said after a disappointing afternoon. “One is a muscle problem for Arteta and the other one is a knee problem and I don’t know how serious that is but we will know certainly tomorrow, for Coquelin.

“Arteta is a calf,” Wenger added. Arsenal fans would likely have a different word for what exactly Arteta is.

With Danny Welbeck, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain already missing for Arsenal, the Gunners are set for a lot of ‘almost like a new signings’ in the New Year.

Luckily, the January transfer window is coming up, so Arsene Wenger can not sign a replacement in defensive midfield.