LONDON (AP) - Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will be out of action for as long as four months because of medial ligament damage to his right knee.
Manager Arsene Wenger said Tuesday that the Spain midfielder had a partially ruptured ligament and will be on the sidelines for at least three months.
"The news is not good," Wenger said. "He will be working hard to come back earlier but I count four months."
That will rule him out of Arsenal's Champions League matches against AS Roma on Feb. 24 and March 11, and further hit his team's attempts to haul itself back into contention for the title.
"We will miss him, of course, but how much is difficult to say," Wenger said. "We have to find a way and we want to find a way to compensate the fact that he is not on the pitch to give everyone a bit more."
Wenger may now consider signing new players during the January transfer window to fill the gap left in Arsenal's midfield.
"It is more likely but we also have internal solutions and we are not desperate," Wenger said.
Fabregas hobbled out of Sunday's 1-1 Premier League draw with Liverpool, which left Arsenal eight points off the lead and in fifth place, following a tackle by Xabi Alonso at the end of the first half.
Wenger said the tackle was fair and he did not blame Alonso.
Arsenal has struggled badly this season with several key players on the sidelines. Tomas Rosicky has not played for a year because of a hamstring injury, Theo Walcott is out with a dislocated shoulder, and Eduardo da Silva has only just returned to the reserve team after 10 months out with a broken ankle.
William Gallas was stripped of the captaincy after publicly criticizing his teammates' attitude and the team appears to be missing Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb, who left during the offseason.
serjizzle said
13:05 12/23 2008
lolz haha
***DK*** said
13:06 12/23 2008
jamaicabwoy said
13:07 12/23 2008
ARSENAL SEASON NO OVER ALREADY???
***DK*** said
13:20 12/23 2008
jb why are u not at work????
Tranzporter said
19:43 12/23 2008
If Wenger was spending money on players he wouldn't have to worry about a decent replacement in midfield for the 4 months.
Chabee said
09:48 12/24 2008
Thats a big lost for Arsenal
River$Ide said
09:51 12/24 2008
yea i saw dis ..... arsenal loose a big player ...
4 months dis mean he will not be there for their champions league match {in february i think}
Fabregas will be out for four months
Updated: December 23, 2008, 8:48 AM EST 94 comments
add this RSS blog email PrintManager Arsene Wenger said Tuesday that the Spain midfielder had a partially ruptured ligament and will be on the sidelines for at least three months.
"The news is not good," Wenger said. "He will be working hard to come back earlier but I count four months."
That will rule him out of Arsenal's Champions League matches against AS Roma on Feb. 24 and March 11, and further hit his team's attempts to haul itself back into contention for the title.
"We will miss him, of course, but how much is difficult to say," Wenger said. "We have to find a way and we want to find a way to compensate the fact that he is not on the pitch to give everyone a bit more."
Wenger may now consider signing new players during the January transfer window to fill the gap left in Arsenal's midfield.
"It is more likely but we also have internal solutions and we are not desperate," Wenger said.
Fabregas hobbled out of Sunday's 1-1 Premier League draw with Liverpool, which left Arsenal eight points off the lead and in fifth place, following a tackle by Xabi Alonso at the end of the first half.
Wenger said the tackle was fair and he did not blame Alonso.
Arsenal has struggled badly this season with several key players on the sidelines. Tomas Rosicky has not played for a year because of a hamstring injury, Theo Walcott is out with a dislocated shoulder, and Eduardo da Silva has only just returned to the reserve team after 10 months out with a broken ankle.
William Gallas was stripped of the captaincy after publicly criticizing his teammates' attitude and the team appears to be missing Mathieu Flamini and Alexander Hleb, who left during the offseason.