Arsenal's Thomas Vermaelen faces lengthy spell on sidelines
English Premier League giants Arsenal have been dealt a blow after receiving the news that Thomas Vermaelen will be out of action with no return date in sight.
The central defender sustained an injury to his Achilles tendon while playing for Belgium in a UEFA 2012 European Football Championship qualifying match against Turkey on 7 September.
It was initially believed that the 24-year-old would only be out of action for a few days, but he has yet to return to full fitness. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger revealed that he had no idea when the player would return.
"First we thought it would be a question of days, now it looks to be long. At the moment, I cannot say exactly when he will play again."
Vermaelen also missed out on the closing stages of last season after picking up a calf problem in a match against Arsenal’s fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur. His last game for the club was against Blackburn Rovers on 28 August.
The injury is one of several which the Gunners are having to contend with as Robin van Persie, Aaron Ramsey, Manuel Almunia, Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna and Emmanuel Frimpong are all currently sidelined, with Wenger claiming that most of the injuries
were due to heavy-handed challenges or happened when players were on international duty.
"We have been hit hard by injuries, I concede that. On that front we have very competent medical staff and we analyse and check every training method we can."
"The long-term injuries we have had have mainly been from bad tackles and injuries that happened with national teams, when the players were away. Vermaelen is a case of a player who had nothing, went to play for Belgium, came back — Achilles tendon."
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