Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss England’s World Cup opener with Italy after a scan on his knee revealed damage that could keep him sidelined for as much as three weeks.
The midfielder’s leg appeared to buckle following a clash with Carlos Gruezo as England drew 2-2 with Ecuador in Miami yesterday afternoon and although the 20-year-old was able to leave the arena without crutches he was immediately sent for a scan by a concerned Roy Hodgson.
Diagnosis in hand, the England boss will now have to decide whether he can afford to take the Arsenal man to Brazil or instead call-up one of his reservists.
There’s an outside chance he could make the other group games against Costa Rica and Uruguay but it’s still rotten luck for a lad who missed a large chunk of last season with knee ligament damage sustained on the opening day of the season and the tail end of the season with a groin problem picked up in the FA Cup semi-final against Wigan.
Fingers crossed he makes a swift recovery; to be this close to a major tournament and pick up a problem of this nature is the stuff of nightmares.
That’s a relief, he should miss a few unimportant games and be back fresh for next season :p
Selfless lad, ain’t ya?
What’s the point in all honesty? England go to the world cup to make up the numbers. They have no chance….everyone knows it. Pretty much like Klinsmann said about USA.
Exactly, however you feel about the World Cup it should be Arsenal first and England second, or third, even 423rd
I would suggest both England and Arsenal would benefit from a healthy Ox.. He was fantastic yesterday. Any International cap, let alone a few at the WC, are huge experience and confidence boost for a player of his age will only benefit Arsenal when he returns. So no, England may not have a realistic chance, but we still benefit from him playing there.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather have Ox fit for Arsenal as well.
But to Chamberlain it’s probably one of his biggest dreams representing England at the WC and in that way, we would be selfish if we hoped he missed the WC and was fit for us.
No issue with Ox wanting to be there, the original comment was meant fairly tongue in cheek – hence – :p
This injury assessment was not done by the arsenal medical team, so I expect him to be fit for the second group game. Come on Ox.
Fucking hell. Also just heard from David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) we won’t be buying back Cesc
Just our luck.
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Just saw this as well – no source cited though? Doesn’t seem any more reliable than any other outlet’s “X understands that…”
The Cesc thing has absolutely nothing to do with luck.
Did he predict ANY of our transfers in over the last 4-5 years?
Probably not. 🙂 So I wouldn’t take his word for it.
That being said, chances are pretty slim that Fabregas will even leave Barca
He’s probably been right every time he said we wouldn’t sign anyone
That’s not difficult, is it?
There are so many players out there (let’s just say there are only 100).
We can only buy so many players in a window (let’s say 5)
Even in this case, he’ll be correct 95% of the time saying we won’t be buying X or Y or Z.
Thanks for expalining my point
As long as he is ok from August, I really couldn’t give a flying fuck.
I just thumbed this up and I instantly regret it. A good player is a happy player and you can be sure The Ox will be crushed if he misses out on the World Cup having come so close to taking part.
Have we been told if it’s the same knee? Too risky for me (as a totally biased Arsenal fan) if it is.
He did a great job in that match… Played pretty well, that challange from the Ecuadorian was uncalled for, what a Shame.
Sincerely hope he makes it to the WC. After an injury disturbed season, a few games in Brazil could do wonders for those Arsenal lads that make the trip. Besides that, I was expecting watching the Ox tear it up against the best in the world to be one of the highlights of my summer.
Everyone saying this is good news for Arsenal is being a bit selfish. Playing in the WC would do our guys, young as they are, a world of good.
yeah, people seem to forget that to getter better in big games, our players have to play in big games. I’m gutted for Ox, he seemed so happy and excited on social media about going to Brazil.
to *get better
Bright side, I’m happy to hear it wasn’t more severe! A true shame he won’t get to show his ability against Italy, but when Roy takes him along he’ll show! The spectacle that is the World Cup is always a bit diminished for me by the constant underlying fear when I watch a match our lads are playing in and when reading the match reports from the ones I missed. Wasn’t able to catch the match, but it sounded from reports like Wilshere was on the wrong end of a cruncher as well- but not injured. Didn’t sound like such… Read more »
England with out ox and jack! lets pray for his recovery.
The Ox will be fine, I am sure that he will be massive player for us.
Playing for England will no doubt have its ups and downs, but for the positive thing was that the Ox got injured, winning back possession after he lost the ball. he showed pace, power, trickery and determination. These attributes are rare in todays modern game.
He is lucky as he has youth on his side, this kid is going to be some player for Arsenal.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
Maybe we should resign Kallstrom back as cover??
Or just get Cesc, because if I hear a Chelsea chant “we’ve got Cesc Fabregas”….I’ll be so angry I’ll smash what ever unfortunate pub I’m in. For those of us in Dublin, stay out of sinnotts
Before it was Gibbs, then Wilshere, now it’s the Ox. Why do our promising players are always troubled with persistent injuries?
A chance to let one of your team test his skills against some of the best internationally…learn more from the game…reach goals I am sure he has… talk to some of his idols….or keep him from going? Selfish reasons really. He looked great in the game…and if he improves one aspect of his game by going to the world cup then Arsenal will benefit. I truly hope he gets the opportunity.
He was the best player on the pitch should have been taken off at half time n wrapped in cotton wool ready for world cup !
I am glad to hear that the injury is not more severe. I was preparing myself for the worst today when I heard the news last night. The WC is a strange mixture of excitement and fear for me, wanting to see our lads do well, but always fearing the worst when it comes to injury. I admit fully to some degree of selfishness in this regard, but i am a Gooner first and everything else second. My only antidote to this selfishness is my sincere hope that a side featuring some wins or even one Gunner/s wins it all,… Read more »
At the world cup every match is like a cup final. You can’t buy that experience for a player. The more they play the easier it is to play the big League games in the premiership. Get well soon Ox
Chamberlain injury could be a big blow for England as they are already having a very new squad and Alex was a very important member of the team ofthe team and his injury could hurt England’s chances of moving to the knock out stages.
We don’t need Cesc because we have too many (fit) midfielders like I don’t need to masturbate because I get too much sex.