Obviously there isn’t a good time to pick up a major injury, but the timing of Callum Chambers’ latest injury blow is just awful for various reasons.
In case you missed the news, a report from Arsenal’s official site has confirmed that Chambers ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, which carries a possible rehabilitation time of up to nine months.
That means his season is over, but it’s also likely that he will miss the whole of the pre season and start of next season too.
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When you consider that Mikel Arteta has just taken over, it really is the worst time to pick up such a bad injury. It’s so easy to get forgotten about when a new regime takes over, especially if they have two transfer windows to shape their squad while you’re injured.
There’s also the timing in terms of Chamber’s career. He turns 25 in a couple of weeks, so he can’t use the excuse of being a young player any more. It often looked like he wasn’t commanding enough to be a centre back, while lacking the pace to be an elite full back either.
This kind of injury could impact his athleticism going forward, while this time in his career should be where he truly kicks on and establishes himself.
It might seem like a dramatic conclusion to reach, but it’s very possible that he takes a couple of seasons to get over this, by which team he will turn 27 and he might not manage to re-establish himself in the Arsenal team. That could leave him in a position where he needs to move to save his career.
Obviously that’s the worst case scenario, let’s hope he comes back stronger than ever and fulfills his potential. Even if you don’t support Arsenal, you can’t help but feel sorry for him for the timing and severity of the injury.