WALCOTT SUFFERS INJURY SETBACK

An abdominal muscle strain had ruled Walcott out of England’s final two qualifiers and he is now set to miss crucial fixtures at club level after reportedly having a reaction to the injury while jogging on his return to training.

Arsene Wenger spoke to the press on Monday and The Telegraph have quoted him as saying, “He had a setback on Thursday. He had to stop, to jog again.”

The boss expects his mercurial attacker to miss another couple of weeks at the minimum which would see him miss a Champion’s League clash against Dortmund, a Premier League game against Crystal Palace, as well as a London derby against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup.

Wenger added, ”I don’t think we will see him against Dortmund nor Crystal Palace nor Chelsea. He is at least two weeks away now.”

So a return against Liverpool on November 2nd is a possibility. However, the Manchester United game on November 10th seems like a more realistic target for Theo’s return.

In Walcott’s absence, England’s latest number 7 Andros Townsend has gained a foothold in the Three Lions’ starting line-up with a couple of impressive showings. Elsewhere, the Gunners too have been playing some sublime football with their current squad, who have seemed to have clicked perfectly