Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger fearing long-term Francis Coquelin injury blow

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is sweating over the fitness of Francis Coquelin who is awaiting scan results on a medial ligament injury.

The French midfielder suffered a recurrence of the ligament problem to his right leg during the first half of Arsenal’s win over Chelsea.

Wenger, who initially said he was ‘a bit worried’ about the extent of Coquelin’s injury, is now facing the prospect of losing his holding midfielder for ‘months rather than weeks’, according to the Mail.

The 25-year-old, who was ruled out for two months last season with the same problem, is expected to receive the results from Mondays’ definitive scan.

‘He has a knee injury in the same place he had last year, that’s a negative of the day,’ Wenger confirmed after the 3-0 win over Chelsea.

‘We don’t know if the damage is as big at the moment, we have to wait for 48 hours but he left the stadium in a brace. I’m a bit worried over that,’ the manager added.

One thing is for certain, Coquelin will miss Arsenal’s crucial Champions League clash with Basel on Wednesday night, a game Wenger has urged his team to focus on.

‘Everyone will think that Basel will be easy and then you look at the results of Basel against the English teams and you start to think it will not be easy,’ Wenger said.

‘They beat Man United, they beat Chelsea, they beat Liverpool.

‘So let’s prepare properly and keep our feet on the ground because in our job, one thing I know if you are not prepared you are quickly hit on your head.’