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Arsenal duo Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are set to miss the next three matches through injury, as per reports on ESPN. Club manager Arsene Wenger confirmed on Thursday that the two players will miss the Champions League clash with Bayern Munich and the north London derby against Tottenham. They are unlikely to return to the squad until after the forthcoming international break.
During the midweek, the Gunners had a nightmare of a game in Hillsborough against Sheffield Wednesday, where they lost 3-0 to minnows Sheffield Wednesday and two of their forwards Walcott and Chamberlain limped off due to injury.
Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up a hamstring injury as early as the fifth minute of the game and was replaced by his compatriot Walcott. However, the player who came on to replace Chamberlain himself went off after 18 minutes with a calf problem. This was certainly not in Wenger’s plan to lose two of his key players in the first half.
The night went from bad to worse for the North London club as their ‘4 games unbeaten streak’ came to an end when they suffered a humiliating defeat to the home team and are now out of the Capital One Cup.
The club has ran scans to determine the extent of the injuries to both the players, but it has been confirmed that the English duo are set to miss the next three Arsenal matches against Swansea City, Bayern Munich and Spurs.
“Nothing has changed since after the game,” Wenger said on Thursday.
“They are out but the scans are today - it's 48 hours afterwards.”
“We hope they are light injuries, but they are out until after the international break.”
Arsenal hit with injury crisis at vital time in the season
With this latest injury, both Chamberlain and Walcott now join Arsenal’s long list of casualties. It gives the manager Wenger a selection headache ahead of the important clashes in the coming weeks and the squad are short of players on the right-hand side of midfield.
However, this could serve as a good opportunity for the likes of Joel Campbell and Kieran Gibbs to prove their worth. Both players so far this season, have been disappointing and are yet to convince Wenger on whether they can be relied upon.
Aaron Ramsey recently pulled a hamstring against the Bavarians and he will be out for a month. Other Arsenal players on the treatment table include the likes of Tomas Rosicky, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck who are all long-term absentees.
Club captain Mikel Arteta is also going through rehabilitation and he is unlikely to feature for the Gunners anytime soon. Indeed, the crisis has exploded at a vital moment for the North London club.
