Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas ruled out of Chelsea clash
Arsenal have been dealt a blow with the news that star midfielder Cesc Fabregas has been ruled out of the club’s English Premier League showdown with defending champions Chelsea on Sunday.
Fabregas had been working hard to regain his fitness after he suffered from a hamstring problem in the draw with Sunderland two weeks ago. The injury occurred when the ball struck the 23-year-old’s leg and it rebounded into the Sunderland net for the opening
goal.
Despite manager Arsene Wenger claiming that he would give the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner until the last minute to prove his fitness, he has now been ruled out of the crucial clash. He will also miss out on Spain’s UEFA 2012 European Football Championship
qualifying games against Lithuania and Scotland.
Other players to miss out
However, club captain Fabregas is not the only big-name player to be missing out on the match with Chelsea, who are at the top of the table, four points ahead of the Gunners.
Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, who had also been given until Saturday to show that he could play a part in the game, has been ruled out as a result of the elbow problem that kept him out of the win over Partizan Belgrade in the UEFA Champions League earlier
this week. Defender Kieran Gibbs has also been ruled out with an injury he picked up in Tuesday’s game.
Wenger told reporters at a press conference that: "Fabregas is not fit to play in this one and nor is Almunia. We lost Gibbs as well on Tuesday night with a calf problem and he is out of the England squad as well. He is out for two to three weeks."
Arsenal will also be without Thomas Vermaelen, while Abou Diaby has a slim chance of being involved in the game at Stamford Bridge.
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