Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey is likely to be out for at least six weeks and possibly up to eight with the hamstring injury he sustained against Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsène Wenger said he hopes the midfielder will return in four weeks and, “if all goes well, three”, but the estimate is believed to be optimistic. Wenger is notorious for placing three-week time frames on muscle injuries.
Ramsey injured the thigh muscle in his left leg at West Ham United on Boxing Day last season and was out for over three months. The hamstring he damaged against Spurs was in the same leg.
Wenger has been at a loss to explain how Ramsey could have been injured again, as he had rested him from the Capital One Cup tie against Southampton last Tuesday and given him a “light” week of training leading up to the derby. He said this week that he had launched an internal investigation. “We are getting things together, getting a report on all the different opinions – what happened to him, because it’s a real concern,” Wenger said.
Ramsey scored vital goals against Crystal Palace and Everton at the start of the season but he has also endured some quiet games. He hurt his ankle when playing for Wales on Andorra’s 3G pitch in early September and that might have hampered him in the following matches against Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund.
Arsenal have been charged by Uefa for “insufficient organisation” after Galatasaray fans smuggled flares into Emirates Stadium for the Champions League tie on Wednesday night and threw them on to the pitch during the first half, causing play to be halted briefly.
Uefa considers it to be the home club’s responsibility to search supporters for illegal items before they come into the stadium. The Metropolitan police said that two people had been arrested for entering the ground with flares and four more for other offences. Uefa has charged Galatasaray for the “setting-off and throwing of fireworks”.