Early estimates suggest Robin van Persie will be sidelined for four weeks after picking up a knee injury on international duty.
When Arsène Wenger spoke to Arsenal TV Online on Thursday afternoon he had not seen his Dutch striker since he’d picked up the problem in the Euro 2008 qualifier against Slovenia the previous night. But the initial guidance led him to believe the 24-year-old could be out for a month.
“It looks like a knee injury,” said the manager. “We will know later today how bad it is but the early signs are that he will not be able to perform for us in the next four weeks.
“It is a big blow. Robin is a striker, a supportive striker and important on set-pieces as well. I hope he will be back soon and we’ll do the maximum to get him back.”
Philippe Senderos (back) also collected an injury on international duty and will be out for two weeks. However on the positive side William Gallas, Jens Lehmann and Tomas Rosicky are all now available for the visit of Bolton on Saturday.
Arsenal TV Online subscribers can see the full interview on Friday morning. In it, the Arsenal manager talks about:
