Arsene Wenger has warned Chile that their careless treatment of the star forward could lead to him missing a significant portion of the season
Sanchez – who has been in fine form this season as Arsenal’s first-choice striker – pulled out of Thursday night’s game with Colombia after the Chilean medical team confirmed he had picked up a muscle injury.
Chile manager Juan Antonio Pizzi confirmed that he would remain with the squad, despite reports that Arsene Wenger had demanded his immediate return for treatment in north London.
Sanchez himself has said that he will return against Uruguay next week, but Wenger is adamant that club doctors should be allowed to run scans on the Arsenal man.
Even though the medical team first said it was a muscle injury, Wenger has now revealed that it is indeed a hamstring injury.
Wenger also called on the Chilean team to be careful with his star player, as he is worried Sanchez could miss 2-3 months if not treated right :
According to the Mirror, Wenger spoke to beIN Sports, saying :
“I got a text last night (to say) that he has a hamstring injury. We have to get access for our medical staff to the MRI scan to see what grade it is, how bad it is and make absolutely sure they don’t make any suicidal decision that could harm his future for two or three months.”
“That is absolutely important. It’s a grey area between the national team and the club team and of course they look at their own results which I can understand but we have to preserve the health of Alexis Sanchez.
Wenger also feels that Alexis Sanchez’s stubborn nature when it comes to playing through injury could also make the issue more complicated :
“He always wants to play and that’s where it is a more sensitive case because he’s always ready to play even when injured.”
Sanchez missed 3 months last season when he attempted to play through a hamstring injury, aggravating it and causing him to spend a large period of the season on the sidelines.
Wenger has spoken several times about how Sanchez is always arguing to play even if he tries to convince him to take a rest, but he will be hoping the Chilean forward sees sense this time.
Sanchez has been instrumental in Arsenal’s 16-match unbeaten run this season, and Wenger will be hoping for cooperation from the Chilean side to ensure Sanchez is present to ensure that run continues.
Arsenal face Manchester United at Old Trafford on November 19th, but it is still unclear if Sanchez will feature or not.
