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Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez could miss start of next season

Image: Alexis Sanchez: Arsenal forward will play for Chile in the Copa America this summer

Arsenal could be without Alexis Sanchez for the start of next season but the Chile striker will be available for the FA Cup final.

Arsene Wenger has confirmed it has been agreed with Chile that Sanchez will not join up with La Roja’s squad for the Copa America until after the Wembley final later this month.

That competition runs from June 11 to July 4 and FIFA regulations state that clubs have to release players for international tournaments 14 prior to the start date, a ruling which could impact on players involved in the Champions League final, which takes place on June 6.

While Arsenal appear to have brokered an agreement with the Chile Football Federation to delay Sanchez's departure to his homeland, Wenger accepts should La Roja progress through the championships which culminate at the Estadio Nacional in Santiago, then there would be little option but to give one of their star men some extra recovery time ahead of the new domestic campaign which kicks off on August 8.

"They (Chile) could call him up. We got an agreement they won't call him. Anyway I am sure he would not go (before the FA Cup final)," said Wenger.

Arsenal allowed World Cup winners Lukas Podolski, Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil an extended break following Germany's success in Brazil last summer.

Other players such as defender Laurent Koscielny and goalkeeper David Ospina returned from the World Cup carrying injuries which limited their availability for the first few weeks, during which Arsenal struggled to produce consistent results.

Asked what would happen should Chile progress through to the latter stages of the 2015 Copa America, Wenger replied: "That is not good news (for Arsenal) because they (Chile) finish very late and if they go very far, he will miss the start of the season."

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