Arsenal Football Club

• Nickname:Gunners
• Founded:1886
• Manager:Arsene Wenger

• Ground:Emirates
• Capacity:60432

Bendtner unsure on lay-off

10 Nov 2009 - 10:25:34

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Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner fears that he will have to endure surgery on his groin injury that will sideline him for several weeks.

The 21-year-old, who was named as Denmark's Player of the Year for 2009, limped out of last month's north London derby victory against Tottenham Hotspur with the problem.

He said: "It is an immensely great honour to be awarded Player of the Year by the fans.

"I want to thank all those fans who voted for me. I'd also like to thank my parents who have believed in me all the time, and I wish to thank my coaches and my team-mates who made this possible for me.

"I will have to have an operation and I don't know how long I will be out for.''

Meanwhile, Thomas Vermaelen believes the Gunners' excellent start to the season has shown that they will be title challengers this term.

Arsene Wenger's team are currently second in the table, five points behind leaders Chelsea but with a game in hand, following their 4-1 win at Wolverhampton on Saturday.

Vermaelen said: "If we look at the table, we are second and it is a message to other teams that we are involved in the race to be champions.

"It is good that we have had a good series of games. It is important to continue and stay focused on every game because there are a lot of important games."