Arsenal's Premier League title hopes suffered an enormous setback last night when striker Robin van Persie sustained a serious ankle injury in Holland's friendly international match against Italy in Pescara.Huge blow for the bloke & a major fantasy football asset gone but with Bendtner out too it surely makes Eduardo a fantastic option.
Van Persie was rushed to hospital after just 12 minutes of the game when he collapsed to the ground following a heavy challenge from Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.
Holland coach Bert van Marwijk said: 'I was shocked when I saw it. It doesn't look good. I feel very sad for Robin and Arsenal.'
Van Persie is expected to be examined in Amsterdam today by renowned ankle specialist Professor Niek van Dijk. The surgeon has previously treated Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Michael Owen.
A team doctor said he feared Van Persie had ruptured ligaments in his ankle, an injury that would keep him out for at least three months. But if further examination reveals the ankle is broken, the star could miss the rest of the season.
Van Persie has scored eight goals for Arsenal in this campaign and his impressive run of form - his goals have all come in the last 11 matches - has prompted many observers to cite Arsenal, currently in second place behind Chelsea, as title favourites. But that dream looked in ruins when the striker screamed in agony as he was carried from the pitch on a stretcher.
The loss of Van Persie will be a bitter blow to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who has had to bear the brunt of criticism while waiting for five years of rebuilding his team to bear fruit. Only two weeks ago Wenger revealed how much he dislikes November because it always seems to bring injuries.
His complaint came after he lost left-back Gael Clichy with a back injury, while Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner also picked up knocks. Now van Persie's setback will confirm the Frenchman's worst fears about this period.
The 26-year-old's injury is also a major blow for Holland just seven months before the start of the World Cup.
Cheers,
AM
get well ASAP RVP!!! we need you!!!!!plzzz be back soon!!!!!without you there's not much hope left!!!
ReplyDeleteEduardo for the starting line up on regular basis?? Arsenal suddenly runs out of target man/center forward.
ReplyDeleteI feel really sorry for the guy, i'm sure he was gonna have his best season as yet. He must be devastated!
ReplyDeleteHave you seen in the Sun that Drogba could be out for three weeks now too? The Ivory Coasts medical team did a further Xray that confirmed he has a broken rib.
ReplyDeleteOf course this is the Sun so i wont panic really untill it's actually confirmed.
who should i drop to get eduardo in ? j roberts ( 2 goals in last game, not certain to start, has 2 games, playing vs bolton def who can't keep cl sheet to save their lives ) or defoe... home game vs wigan... where he 'll prob do his usual flat-track bully routine of a goal or 2, altohugh he did'n t look hot in last outing and has'nt scored for a while due to susp etc ???
ReplyDeleteS.P.
S.P. Im a spurs fan and I would say drop defoe, spurs have looked out of sorts as a team. Thats not to say defoe wont get a goal or two, but with lennon coming back from injury and modric still out, service to defoe could be limited. I hope it wont be the case but Im not sure I expect a dominant attacking display from spurs. That said away to sunderland isnt exactly fantastic match up either. If you can use the money from defoe-eduardo to strengthen elsewhere then probably do it.
ReplyDeleteJT
I watched that replay a couple of times, and couldn't figure out what happened to him. It didn't seem like there was any contact or anything..
ReplyDeleteThere sure are a lot of injuries to major players this year: VanPersie, Drogba, Lampard, Torres, Gerrard, Ferdinand, A.Cole, Bosingwa, Clichy, Denilson, Walcott, Arteta, Jagielka, Peinaar, Robinho, Modric, etc...
maybe these guys are playing too much football?
The latest word seems to be that RvP has suffered a partially ruptured ligament. Although it's a serious injury with an indeterminate recovery time, he didn't break his ankle and he won't require surgery. In short, it's bad but not as bad as it could've been.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/8360973.stm
@bean: Yeah, he just seemed to land "funny." It didn't look that bad at first but his reaction didn't bode well. As for the top guys playing too much football, here comes the World Cup...
@Bradley - yeah, African Cup, World Cup etc.. I guess they're getting paid enough though, so I don't really have any sympathy. Most of them make more in a week than I do in a year, so maybe they should be playing more.. : )
ReplyDelete@and we all probably earn more in a week than an african child in a sweatshop does in a year, so I suppose we should all put in more hours at work too? :)
ReplyDeletedrogba injured too?.. never heard any news of it.. is it serious?.. can anyone point me to a legit source?..
ReplyDeleteMaxer..
@Maxer: There was an article in the Sun Saturday saying that Drogba would be out 3 weeks with a broken rib from the kick he got from Jonny Evans (you know, the one he got YCed for faking).
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2729767/Blues-hit-by-crock-crisis.html
I haven't seen the news confirmed anywhere else. Whether the Sun constitutes a "legit source" is open to question (except in Liverpool, where it absolutely does not).
Yeah it's only in the sun at the moment so dont go selling up just yet.
ReplyDeleteWe all know what the sun are like...
Arshavin will get more forward and Fab4 will be more attacking minded
ReplyDeleteM. Petrov out for two weeks:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11661_5698612,00.html
Ballack doubtful vs. Wolves:
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12010_5698668,00.html
diaby has pulled out of the france-ireland match in midweek so arsenal are now struggling with so many injuries
ReplyDeletethe 'fit' players available will be
Almunia, Mannone
Vermaelen, Gallas, Sagna, Gibbs, Silvestre, Senderos
Fabregas, arshavin, Song, Rosicky, Ramsay, Eboue, Nasri, Merida
Eduardo, Vela
while you can make a decent team out of that, it's not ideal, but we could see some non-regulars starting for a change in the next few weeks
i.e. ramsay, eduardo, rosicky/nasri
what position does rosicky and nasri play?.. can they be fielded together?..
ReplyDeleteMaxer