Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed Alexis Sanchez will be sidelined for two weeks after suffering an abdominal injury in training.
Sanchez returned to pre-season later than the rest of his Arsenal team-mates after being given an extended break following his exertions with Chile at the Confederations Cup at the start of the summer.
The 28-year-old’s return was delayed further after being hit with a bout of the flu and was not deemed fit enough to feature in their win over Chelsea in the Community Shield last weekend.
Sanchez was in line to make his first Arsenal appearance since last season’s FA Cup final when the Gunners face Leicester on Friday, but Wenger has now revealed their star man will miss the first two games of the season.
“Sanchez will not be available,” The Daily Mirror quote Wenger as saying in his press conference ahead of Friday’s home game against Leicester. “He had a little abdominal strain that he caught on Sunday morning in training.
“He had a scan two days ago. He’s out for I don’t know. He is focused. When you have treatment on the medical bench it’s not easy.”
Alexis Sanchez: Was the only player to register double figures for both goals (24) and assists (10) in the Premier League last season pic.twitter.com/4jcnMiLXQR
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) August 9, 2017
The Arsenal No.7 has been heavily linked with a move way all summer but has finally accepted that Wenger will not sanction his sale, even though he has entered the final 12 months of his existing deal.
It means that Sanchez will have to play out the final year of his contract before being able to leave for nothing at the end of next summer.
Sanchez was the only Premier League player to register double figures for both goals (24) and assists (10) last season.
