Arsene Wenger has said that he has been left “devastated” by news of Danny Welbeck’s latest injury setback.
Less than three months after making his goalscoring return from a near-11 month absence following an injury in his left knee Welbeck went under the knife once more after suffering cartilage damage on the other knee during Sunday’s 2-2 draw away to Manchester City.
Arsenal expect the striker to be out for nine months and his hopes of playing a key role at Euro 2016 have vanished.
Though his team-mates have said they are “gutted” to have lost a key member of their squad Welbeck has vowed to return from his latest setback stronger than before.
For Wenger, who started Welbeck for the first in three weeks at the Etihad, the nature of his player’s injury remains perplexing.
“We’re all devastated, and Danny even more so,” Wenger said. “We can only feel sad and support Danny now in order to get him back.
“It was basically from an anonymous tackle. The difference between the tackle and the severity of the injury is baffling. We don’t understand that but we have to accept the verdict and we have to live with it.
“Danny has to deal with it unfortunately. We just have to give him the maximum support we can and show him that we trust he can come back.”
Major Arsenal injuries this season
Welbeck had made an immediate impact on his comeback from surgery on his left knee on February 14, scoring in the last second to secure what appeared to be a crucial victory over Leicester in Arsenal’s bid to claim the Premier League title.
Though their league challenge failed to get off the ground Welbeck consistently impressed as a starter and from the bench, scoring the winner against Norwich as well as three other goals in 15 appearances.
Recent weeks had seen Wenger ease the load on Welbeck, regularly starting Olivier Giroud despite the Frenchman’s struggles in front of goal since January, but it did not have the desired effect for the Arsenal manager.
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“He scored goals and when he came on he had an impact,” added Wenger. “I pushed him in and out of the team because I knew he’d been out for a year. Sometimes for the big games I kept him out to recover from the efforts he has made.
“Sometimes people accused me of being too cautious but I knew that he did not play for a year and the intensity of the Premier League is so exceptional that you have to be cautious. The injury was accidental. I don’t think there’s anyone to blame, not our opponents or medical staff. It was completely an accident.”
