Laurent Koscielny says there is no pressure on him to rush back to action after rupturing his Achilles tendon earlier this month but he hopes to be playing again by November.
The Frenchman suffered the injury in the Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid and is expected to be sidelined for at least six months.
Despite being ruled out of the World Cup, the defender says he’s trying to keep the problem in context, accepting that he’s been very lucky on the fitness front in his career to date.
“I will begin my rehabilitation in June in Saint-Raphaël (France),” he told the French Football Federation website.
“These first months are crucial for the future. In three months, I hope to resume light jogging.
“In five months, I could certainly retouch the ball. Then, it will take one month of physical preparation with, without doubt, matches with the Arsenal under-23s.
“I hope to play again in November. It must proceed in stages and I’ll follow the protocol carefully. ‘Step by step,’ as they say in England.”
Obviously, the timing of the injury, just weeks from the start of the action in Russia, came as a serious blow to the Arsenal vice-captain. With time though, he’s come to accept that life goes on.
“When my [Achilles] tendon let go, I was obviously in a hole. I immediately thought of the World Cup in Russia.
“Now, I’m 32 years old, my career is more behind me than before. I do not have the pressure of having to come back as soon as possible, to prove myself as a 20-year-old after such an injury.
“This is my first big injury. That’s how it should be put into perspective. Yes, I miss a World Cup, with a good bunch of pals and great players, but there is worse in life. I am in good health, my family too.”
Koscielny was pictured at London Colney yesterday where he bumped into new boss Unai Emery. He appeared to be in one of the club’s new medical facilities at the training ground, already making progress after a difficult few weeks.
“After the operation, I stayed for a fortnight completely immobilized at home in London,” he revealed.
“The weather was long with a foot plaster. My home trips were limited. We run quickly in circles in this situation. My routine? Television, crosswords and Nintendo. All, with your leg up!
“The surgeon then removed the stitches and plaster. I am now wearing a boot, which allows me to walk on crutches. I gradually resume a social life coming out of my home again.”
Great to hear! Just don’t rush back lolo.take your time.I’m sure Johnny evans will be an able deputy until you return! :3
I think we can do a great deal better than Johnny Evans. We need someone long term with a bit more class as I can’t see Koscielny being more than an occasional player as sad as that is. The effects of the injury and his age are against a regular role.
Jonny Evans? No thanks, I’m sure we can do better than that. Kos is a fighter, I’m sure he’ll come back better and won’t have to play through the pain.
For 3 million pounds, Johnny Evans would be a decent cover until the young guns mature a bit and Kos comes back.
Our main def targets are likes of diallo,soyuncu,pavard.other than that sokratis is linked but reported a 2 year contract.and johnny evans rounds up the list.So if we are gonna spend say 45m of our budget on def,what would you rather do? buy a top prospect for 35m plus and evas as a decent old head for couple season? or sokratis for 20m and go for a cheaper after that?Thats why I want evans really,If the board can manage funds,i’m all in for someone better.
Lolo sounds almost philosophical. Wishing you a speedy recovery without complications.
January maybe, realistically. If he is only retouching his balls in five months then it will take time to get him to match fitness.
I retouch my balls every 5 minutes
I miss upvotes right now
Why m i not ablr to vote
System is broken – we’re trying to get it fixed asap
Out of all the comments asking about votes you reply to the ‘whymmnahablvoute?’
Thanks though blogs, at least now we finally know.
I did leave a comment elsewhere about it too!
Thumbs up 🙂
Don’t bother, all we get are clickbaiters on, whether positive or negative and lots of people replying to the first comments.
What benefit do we get from lots of thumbs up or down that can’t be expressed by someone saying ‘what a great comment’ or similar?
Would be interested to hear.
True,Pedant.
It’s an easier way for a greater quantity of people to express their opinion/sentiment. Imagine how this page would look if 100+ people posted “what a great comment” below one post.
Sometimes you don’t have anything meaningful to add to the conversation, but still want to express appreciation for a good thought or funny joke.
I’m not expecting 100 comments, just if one or two post something like that it would show that most people like/love the comment (or others could say why not if the likers/lovers are actually in the minority).
I’d much prefer that to having to read people (no names) that delight in talking sh*te in order to get attention.
What a great comment
We all know the system is broken. Revolution I say!
I feel really bad for him as it will take him awhile to really get back to his best even after he returns & with the new manager his spot isn’t guaranteed any longer. Best wishes for him as he has been a terrific player for us.
We all know his career is pretty much done, he’ll take Mertesackers place as ‘experienced bench player who rarely plays’ before joining the coaching staff.
It’s a shame such a good player didn’t win all he could have
32 is not that old for a defender
No but it is for a defender who relies on his recovery pace and has a knackered achilles
With his achilles,it very well could be.But you never know,maybe with Unai our defenders won’t feel like a pebble against tsunami…
Koscielny doesn’t say the weather was long, rather that time was long, i.e. it goes slowly.
And he doesn’t run quickly in circles, the expression translates as stir crazy
Thanks for the translation assist. I was wondering what he was on about. Get well Soon Koscielny
Loved the photo. Reassuring two hand handshake from Unai: “I feel your pain my young Padawan, well get through this”.
November, so when we sell mustafi we wont have any central defenders, unless we go with rob and callum, Hmmm, lets see
If we sell Mustafi you’re quite right which is why we must buy at least one class central defender. Chambers looked very solid towards the end of the season and Holding and Mavrapanos certainly are promising.
It’s such a pity you went political in the “Emery just a cog….” piece Blogs. I come here for all things Arsenal, there’s enough noise about other issues on other sites.
You get all things Arsenal.
I’m also a person. And it was hardly overt.
I like the IRS (Ivan/Raul/Sven) moniker BTW.
Although maybe now with Emery in, Gazidis will try to be his own pole in the triangle and position himself between MMslintat/Sanheli and Emery.
He’s a shrewd man and politically it makes sense to take the in between position to point the finger in either direction if it goes wrong or be the one that holds it together if it is deemed a success.
That is way too early, I know of so many stories of people re-rupturing that tendon coming back too soon from it. More realistic would be to aim for January, but even then there is always the chance of setbacks with the same injury or other ones as many Arsenal players have had with recoveries from long absences. The other thing he needs to really watch out for is his other Achilles tendon as there could be an imbalance between the two and he has had issues as I recall with both of them in the recent past.
I think we should see any feature by Koscielny as a bonus and this season is his swan song. We do ourselves little favour planning with him in frame. If anything I would consider selling him in January. We should bring in a new Cback to pair with Mustafi, I don’t see Lichsteiner nominally a rback and about the same height as Mustafi at 6′ as any upgrade to Koscielny. We could do with more height back there but also a specialist. Then we need to make a decision with our many younger Cbacks. Chambers has quietly improved but really… Read more »
Ambivalent about taking on another player like Lichsteiner as temporary fix. We already have plenty of temporary band aid/hedges in Jenko, Perez, Asano, Campbell just taking space. If anything, they are cautionary tale that they may come cheap (except Perez) but they can also be difficult to move on (remember Bendtner and Chamakh took a while to get off the books too) and will add to salary handicap Is Lichsteiner the new Silvestre or Squillaci? De Vrij was a free transfer too why were we not in for him? May have to throw 15m to ward off Inter but it… Read more »
For 3 million quid, Jonny Evans would be a waste of 3 million quid, plus another 6 for his wages, even if only for a couple of years at 60k a week.
I’m sure we can find a better option for that sort of money
Both are a waste. We need to show better ambition in Cback and a bit more future rather than stop gap band aids. Wenger’s gone but we still seem to be working the same matrix. Stepha De Vrij was available for free transfer from Lazio. He is 6’2 and only 26yrs and has had a great season and is a specialist Cback. Clement Lenglet may cost more but won’t break the bank either off of a good season for Sevilla. Whilst we have too many young Cbacks, at 21yrs, Lenglet has had 2 full seasons in La Liga in competition… Read more »
Great photograph.
A solution? The same solution that we’ve known over the last 10 years under Wenger. The same solution your mum’s uncle’s blind 3 legged dog also knows, we need some ‘top top top’ central defenders for
f¥€k sake!
Accept Wenger is gone and we are still buying top top defenders like Lichsteiner/Squillaci
😉
I mean sorry to be that guy…. but do we have to ask questions about Koscielny’s eyesight as much as anything else?
and to be that guy again… could it be that he didn’t see Griezman coming (?)
That’s great news. But to be safe I think December may be safer to assume. I’m not sure a new RB/CB in Lichsteiner (if Ornstein has got this correct) is the ay to go. As Blogs said, it is interesting to see how the dynamics plays out with (well put moniker) IRS and Unai. Certainly get the feeling that prior to Emery’s arrival, the fact that IRS were identifying targets for areas that have been highlighted this season is a good thing. BUT if they proceed without due regard for the new manager, this is a very bad thing. It… Read more »