Arsenal are yet again sweating over the health of their players during an international break, with Danny Welbeck worryingly missing England’s first training session ahead of their clash with Germany, as reported by The Evening Standard.
Welbeck has been excellent for Arsenal since his return from injury, with the striker making his comeback after spending nearly a year on the sidelines with a knee injury. Arsene Wenger claims the former Manchester United man isn’t yet over the nasty injury, and Arsenal fans will be hoping he makes it through the international break unscathed.
“I had many hesitations to play him before the game because he is still not completely over his knee problem,” Wenger said.
“We have to be cautious but I pushed it because I knew this was now or never.”
The fact that he missed the first training session is certainly a concern, and Arsenal fans will be hoping it’s merely a precaution. The 25-year-old has only recently made his return, and both Wenger and Roy Hodgson may be keen to ease him back in. Hodgson is a known fan of Welbeck and while he doesn’t have as much of a vested interest in his welfare as Wenger does, he will want to make sure he remains fit for the Euro 2016 Championships in France this summer.
Unless Welbeck suffers an actual set-back or a new injury, it seems unlikely that he’ll be unused by Hodgson over the next two games. He’s missed plenty of international football, but the England boss will want to get him some game time before they head across the Channel.
The fact that Wenger suggests he only started Welbeck against Everton because he was desperate for the win says a lot about his squad selection, and shows just how little faith he has in Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott at the moment. Both players have been bang average recently, and Welbeck – while far from world class – has been putting them both to shame.
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It would be a blow for both Arsenal and England if Welbeck were to suffer a serious injury, but one missed training session is probably nothing to worry about.