Arsenal injury news: Sokratis ‘working to get back as soon as possible’ amid Unai Emery’s defensive crisis
The Greek defender is set to be out of action until the end of February
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Arsenal centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos says he is “working to get back as soon as possible” after hobbling off with an ankle injury in Arsenal’s 3-1 FA Cup defeat to Manchester United.
The Greek international took to Instagram to post a picture of himself at home using a recovery machine.
Sokratis sustained the injury in an aerial collision with Jesse Lingard during the defeat.
Unai Emery initially had played down initial concerns over Sokratis’ injury, saying: “I think they weren’t big injuries for Sokratis [his ankle]. Maybe Laurent Koscielny is going to hospital to [analyse] what injury he has. Maybe he’s broken [his cheek or jaw] but I hope not.”
However, the club later confirmed the defender is now expected to be out of action for a month and will miss fixtures against Cardiff, Manchester City, Huddersfield, Southampton and Bournemouth.
The news comes amid a defensive crisis at the club with Laurent Koscielny, Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding also currently injured.
Koscielny was originally feared to have suffered a broken jaw after accidentally being kicked by Romelu Lukaku, but although there is “bruising and soft tissue swelling” to the club captain’s face, it’s hoped he will be able to return sooner.
One player who is ready to return to the squad is Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who Emery confirmed has now been “integrated back into full training”.
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