Arsenal Injury News: Return Status For Sagna, Podolski, Oxlade-Chamberlain And Others Ahead Of Hull City Clash getdiscountz.blogspot.com

getdiscountz.blogspot.com ® Arsenal Injury News: Return Status For Sagna, Podolski, Oxlade-Chamberlain And Others Ahead Of Hull City Clash

Arsenal will be without Bacary Sagna when they look to maintain their advantage at the top of the Premier League against Hull City on Wednesday. The Gunners maintained a four-point edge over their rivals after beating Cardiff 3-0 on Saturday, but Wenger confirmed that they will have to navigate the visit of Hull without Sagna, who has picked up a hamstring injury.

“From Saturday against Cardiff we will lose Sagna, who has a slight hamstring problem,” he said, according to Arsenal’s official website. “He should be out for tomorrow's game.”

Carl Jenkinson is set to step into Sagna’s right-back berth for his first start since the Capital One Cup defeat against Chelsea at the end of October, when his error led to the opening goal. Wenger, though, explained that rotations was necessary over the course of a long season.

“We have so many games that in some positions I will have to change; the full-back position is one that is very demanding,” he said. "Central defense is a little bit less demanding on the physical side, it's more on the concentration side.

“When you play so many games of that intensity, we expect to lose one or two players. In every single game I [will rotate]. I try to limit the number because I do not want to disrupt the balance of the team, so I do that in every single game.”

Wenger’s options will soon be enhanced by Lukas Podolski. The German attacker has been out since tearing his hamstring in August, but is set to return to full training in the coming days.

“Lukas Podolski should be back in normal training after the Hull game,” Wenger confirmed. “What he lacks is competition. You would say it will take at least a week with normal training to consider him fit for the squad.”

Podolski’s return will provide another welcome alternative up front. With Arsenal’s options in the striking department limited, there has been speculation of late moves for Brazil international Alexandre Pato and Real Madrid youngster Alvaro Morata. Wenger denied those reports and pointed to currently injured summer signing Yaya Sanogo as a reason why there was no panic to make new signings.

"I am not concerned about that [new signings],” he said, according to ESPN. “We have at the moment Yaya Sanogo who is a striker we brought in during the summer, who is coming back from injury in January. Hopefully he will help us in the second part of the season."

January is also expected to see the return of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who has been absent with a knee injury suffered on the opening day of the Premier League season. Abou Diaby’s latest comeback from injury is tentatively scheduled for March.

Arsenal Injury News: Return Status For Sagna, Podolski, Oxlade-Chamberlain And Others Ahead Of Hull City Clash

Arsenal News: Injury Status Report For Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey, Walcott, Sagna, Podolski, Rosicky And Others Ahead of Saturday's Norwich Match getdiscountz.blogspot.com

getdiscountz.blogspot.com ® Arsenal News: Injury Status Report For Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey, Walcott, Sagna, Podolski, Rosicky And Others Ahead of Saturday's Norwich Match

Arsene Wenger expects Mesut Ozil to be fit for Arsenal’s Premier League meeting with Norwich City on Saturday. Ozil, who has made such a big impact since his club-record transfer from Real Madrid, scored Germany’s opening goal in their 5-3 in Sweden on Tuesday but was later forced to exit the match with a knee injury. In his first press conference since getting his squad back from international duty, Wenger revealed that the problem was nothing serious, but that Ozil would face a further examination on Friday.

“He is all right,” he said, according to Arsenal.com. “He came back with a knock on the knee but it was just a kick. We’ll have a test tomorrow to see if he is fit enough for Saturday or not. When you have not played, there is always a little doubt but not a major one.”

There has also been some concern about another of the key players in propelling Arsenal to the top of the Premier League. Aaron Ramsey reportedly had a slight problem in his thigh after continuing his incredible scoring run by netting in Wales’s 1-1 result with Belgium. But the midfielder is expected to be fit to take on Norwich at the Emirates Stadium.

The good news for Arsenal is that the club’s list of injuries is slowly shortening. There should be a big boost for the Gunners, with Santi Cazorla, who hasn’t played for the club since Sept. 1, set to return to the squad on Saturday. Wenger also expects Bacary Sagna to be back in contention.

“Sagna is 80 percent fit and he will have a test,” he said. “Cazorla is available in training but he is not match-fit. It is just about competitiveness with him. There is a possibility both are in the squad for Saturday. I have not decided whether they will start or not.”

With Cazorla having been out for a significant period of time and the team functioning well in his absence, it seems likely that the Spaniard will start on the bench. Tomas Rosicky’s return to fitness further reduces the need to rush Cazorla back.

However, Theo Walcott, who had an operation on his abdomen last month, is still two weeks away from a return, Wenger confirmed. Arsenal remain short of options up front, with Yaya Sanogo and Lukas Podolski likely not available until the middle of next month. The same is true for Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, who suffered a knee injury on an opening day loss to Aston Villa that now seems a lifetime ago.

There is still no news about a return for Abou Diaby. The midfielder suffered the latest in a long line of serious injuries when he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in March. One man still hoping that the 27-year-old makes a full recovery is France manager Didier Deschamps. Diaby scored France’s opening goal of the World Cup qualifying campaign and Deschamps appears eager for him to make it to Brazil next year.

“I sent him a message of good will and he got it,” he said before Tuesday’s qualifier with Finland. “This is not the first time he suffered a pretty serious injury. Todays he is not active, but I am keen for him to recover quickly.”

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Arsenal News: Injury Status Report For Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey, Walcott, Sagna, Podolski, Rosicky And Others Ahead of Saturday's Norwich Match