Just as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was making a return to first-team action with Arsenal after a 3 month lay-off due to a knee injury, the youngster suffered a fresh blow in training recently to effectively rule him out of the Euros.
The Arsenal midfielder suffered yet another knee injury during training as he was preparing for a return to action for the Londoners. The Ox was already missing from action since the blow he suffered during the Gunners’ visit to the Camp Nou in the Champions League back in February.
“Euros? No chance!”, says Arsene Wenger
Arsene Wenger confirmed that there is no chance the England international would be able to squeeze into Roy Hodgson’s plans for England’s campaign at the Euros after claiming the youngster is only slated to return in July. With the Three Lions’ boss all set to reveal his 23-man squad to the Championship next week, Chamberlain must bear the disappointment of missing out on yet another international tournament for his country. The 22-year-old also missed the entirety of England’s disappointing FIFA World Cup campaign in 2014 due to a knee ligament injury he suffered in a pre-tournament friendly against Ecuador.
Speaking on how much of a blow it was to Alex, Wenger stated, “It’s very sad because he was physically quite ready and sharp in training. He had one week training and was planning to play on Tuesday night [for Arsenal’s reserves] and got injured on Monday morning.”
“I had a conversation with Alex and with our medical team and they told me he will back in July. He was out for a while and was not overloaded with games.”
“You want a guy of 22 years of age to go to the European Championships, so it is very sad.”
The injury obviously means the midfielder will play no further part in Arsenal’s season with only a trip to Manchester City and the visit of Aston Villa remaining of what’s been another disappointing year for the Gunners in the league. There is good news though with the return of Tomas Rosicky and Santi Cazorla as the duo featured in their U-21 side’s 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers.
Injury playing ‘spoilsport’ for a promising youngster
It’s been yet another injury-laden season for Chamberlain having missed out on a significant second half of Arsenal’s season in addition to a short spell on the sidelines in November due to a hamstring injury. The midfielder has missed out on an average of 20 games a season for the Gunners’ through the last three years. Widely identified as a hot-prospect and talent since his Southampton days, being injury-prone has severely stunted what promised to be a dizzying rise to professional football success and acclaim for Chamberlain.
The youngster who is primarily deployed at right wing while playing for Arsenal and England, has seen the run of injuries dent his performances too with a paltry return of two goals and two assists to show for from 33 appearances for the North-London club this season.
Despite missing two major tournaments for his national side, the 22-year-old still has a lot of football left in him and enough time on his side to make the ranks once more in future competitions. A sustained lay-off from injury like the one suffered by Chamberlain can often make or break one’s career and it is important the Arsenal man keeps his spirits high and works hard towards forging a return to action once again.
