Coquelin out for two months, but Ramsey returns

Matt Stead

Arsene Wenger has revealed that Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin will be out for ‘at least two months’ with a knee injury.

Coquelin was substituted in the opening minutes of Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to West Brom on Saturday, with fears that the Frenchman could miss the majority of the remainder of the season as a result.

However, Wenger has confirmed a slightly less drastic but still damaging diagnosis, ruling the 26-year-old out of action for at least two months.

“We will be without Coquelin for certainly the next two months,” Wenger revealed.

“We’ve been hit very hard in November because until the Sheffield Wednesday game in the League Cup we had a good record but since have lost a few players.”

The Arsenal boss had more positive news with the return of Aaron Ramsey for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Dinamo Zagreb however, with the Welshman having missed a month of action due to a thigh injury.

“We have Ramsey and maybe [Alex] Oxlade-Chamberlain back for the weekend and [Theo] Walcott will be the next one – all the other players are long-term injuries,” Wenger added.

“I believe this team is resilient and focused and will return well tomorrow.”

Wenger also said that he may use Calum Chambers in place of Coquelin. Oh, Arsene.