London, April 10 (Inditop) Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says he expects footballer William Gallas to bounce back from the knee injury that will see him miss the rest of the season.
Gallas suffered the injury in the 1-1 draw at Villarreal in the quarter-finals of the Champions League Tuesday.
Wenger said it would be a surprise if his fellow Frenchman plays again this season, but said Gallas was strong mentally and would recover.
“Has he played his last game? That’s a big question,” Wenger said.
“No, because he has one year on his contract to go. I envisage him being here next year. He had a challenging season.
“He has certainly had to cope with a major disappointment (losing the club captaincy), but, on the other hand, we have to give him a lot of credit, because he came back with great performances, so he dealt well with the situation.
“And he’s turned up in the big games with goals, when it matters, so that is very important. It was a good surprise.”
Wenger will also be without defender Gael Clichy and goalkeeper Manuel Almunia after they picked up injuries. Clichy will be out for three weeks with a back injury, while Almunia, who suffered a knee injury, should be back after two weeks.
The good news for Wenger is that Cesc Fabregas has just returned to action after a similar problem to Gallas’ that kept him out for three months.
“It is a grade two medial knee ligament injury,” Wenger said of Gallas’s problems. “Fabregas was also grade two, but he is a bit less (serious) than Fabregas.”
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