Share

Ox out for up to two months

Cape Town - Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss up to eight weeks because of a knee injury but should be fit for Euro 2016 and the Premier League title run in after being told he does not require surgery, manager Arsene Wenger said on Tuesday.

The England international suffered the unspecified injury after colliding with Barcelona's Javier Mascherano during last week's 2-0 home defeat in the Champions League.

"He will be out for six to eight weeks but he won't need surgery," Wenger told reporters ahead of Arsenal's clash with 16th-placed Swansea City on Wednesday.

"We feared he would when we saw the MRI scan but in the end it is positive news."

A mid-April return would give Oxlade-Chamberlain time to prove his fitness ahead of the June 10-July 10 Euros where England have been drawn in Group B alongside Russia, Wales and Slovakia.

The 22-year-old missed Arsenal's 3-2 loss at Manchester United on Sunday which left the Londoners five points behind surprise leaders Leicester City with 11 games to play.

Arsenal were heavily criticised by pundits after the defeat, but Wenger said his side could bounce back and land a first league title since 2004.

"We want to transform negatives into positives to create more solidarity. We play to fight for the title," he said.

"We gave a lot against Barcelona and that certainly had an impact on our belief against Manchester United. We're not happy with the result. We had two lapses of focus that we paid for."

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
67% - 946 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
33% - 463 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE