More injury woe for Wenger
21 Sep 2007 - 09:44:14
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has revealed he could be without six first-team regulars for Saturday's visit of Derby County.
The Gunners were already without four players - Jens Lehmann (elbow), Emmanuel Eboue (ankle), William Gallas (groin) and Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) - for the Emirates Stadium clash.
But Wenger has also revealed that Philippe Senderos (hip) and Alex Hleb (knee) are both rated doubtful.
"We have a few knocks and bruises," he told the club's official website.
"Of course Tomas Rosicky is now added to Lehmann, Eboue and Gallas. He is definitely out.
"Hleb is a major doubt because of a kick on his knee. He has liquid on it today so we'll see how it goes down.
"Senderos is a doubt with a hip problem. We don't know how bad that is. We'll see how it responds to treatment on Friday morning. I could not give you a percentage chance on their fitness at this stage.
"I will rotate a little bit to bring in some fresh players. Who, I don't know yet because that depends on whether Hleb and Senderos will be available."
Meanwhile, Gunners managing director Keith Edelman has reiterated the club's stance that they do not need fresh investment following the news earlier in the week that Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has increased his stake to 21 per cent.
"The board is steadfast in its view and we have maintained a consistent and clear position. We do not believe that outside investment is necessary for the long-term good of the club," he claimed.