Source: Daily_Mail
Lithuania U21 0 England U21 0: Kieran Gibbs injury blow rocks Arsenal
Stuart Pearce left Lithuania a frustrated man on Tuesday night after a disappointing draw - but it will be Arsene Wenger who could be in despair after an injury to another of his Arsenal stars. [LNB]The Arsenal manager will have to wait for a medical update on left back Kieran Gibbs who was substituted after just 21 minutes and taken to hospital for an immediate X-ray on an injured ankle.[LNB] Ankle injury: Kieran Gibbs[LNB]Gibbs had hobbled to the ambulance with the aid of crutches and the initial fear was that he had suffered a broken metatarsal though the X-ray appeared to discount this. [LNB]It looks inevitable that Wenger will have to find a stand-in ahead of this weekend's trip to Sunderland. Given Gael Clichy's continued absence with a back injury, this will be a major headache for Wenger as he is already without a number of stars, including Robin van Persie, Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott. With Clichy out, Gibbs had been Wenger's first choice at full back.[LNB] Sky high: Michael Manciennne clears under pressure from Lithuania's Marius Papsys[LNB]Pearce, the England Under 21 boss, said: 'Kieran went in for a block challenge with one of their players. He's gone for an X-ray. It's just precautionary at the moment.' [LNB]After picking up a point, Pearce has set his juniors the task of finishing their Group Nine schedule with three straight victories. [LNB]High and wide: Daniel Sturridge shoots under pressure from Lithuania's Karolis Urbaitis[LNB]After defeating Portugal at Wembley last Saturday, Pearce's youngsters had to contend with incessant driving rain and a slippery surface as well as doggedly resilient opponents. [LNB]This stalemate means that England will have to defeat Greece next March if they are to have any chance of qualifying automatically for Denmark in 2011 and therefore avoid the lottery of the play-offs.[LNB]Newcastle striker Andy Carroll was the culprit-in-chief and the coach laid it on the line as a paltry home turnout celebrated wildly at the final whistle. [LNB]The forward came closest with a scrambled effort that crashed into the crossbar in the second half. Daniel Sturridge had also squandered early chances. [LNB]Pearce said: 'Lithuania are a very stout defensive unit. They are difficult to break down - and we are not the only ones to find that in this group. [LNB]'We have not taken our chances and we have got to win our three matches to win the group now. We have the capabilities to do so. [LNB]'It's difficult to qualify for this tournament outright. Just by dropping two away points, we have now put ourselves under pressure.' [LNB]ENGLAND (4-4-2): Loach, Mancienne, Smalling, Richards, Gibbs (Bertrand 21min); Cleverley, Muamba (Hines 64), Delph, Rose; Sturridge (Lansbury 80), Carroll.[LNB] England U21 1 Portugal U21 0: From non-League to England is no Small featUnder-21s boss Pearce demands more from Arsenal's Gibbs in new role[LNB] [LNB]
