Ramsey has not suffered a setback but Giroud ruled out, reveals Wenger
Aaron Ramsey has not suffered an injury setback despite Wales manager Chris Coleman suggesting that the midfielder will be out until November after Arsene Wenger confirmed that Arsenal expect to welcome him back into the side following the international break.
Ramsey has not played since picking up a hamstring injury in the opening weekend defeat by Liverpool on 14 August, and after originally being ruled out for three weeks, he has since suffered a much slower
recovery that has kept him sidelined.
The 25-year-old was left out of Coleman’s Wales squad for the upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Austria and Georgia, and he went on to claim that he had been informed that Ramsey had suffered yet another setback in his recovery.
However, speaking ahead of this weekend’s Premier League trip to Burnley, Wenger confirmed that Ramsey remains in course for a return after the international break, and should be back in contention for the visit of Swansea to the Emirates Stadium on 15 October.
“Aaron Ramsey should be available after the International break,” Wenger said, contradicting Coleman’s claims made on Thursday.
Wenger also ruled striker Olivier Giroud out of the trip to Turf Moor, although the Frenchman was not expected to challenge Alexis Sanchez for a place in the first team given the Chilean’s superb form of late. There was also a positive update on Francis Coquelin, who could yet return this weekend from the knee injury he suffered last weekend against Chelsea.
However, Wenger did suggest that Sunday’s encounter will likely come too soon for Coquelin, meaning he could be given the international break to fully recover from the knee ligaments strain.
"Giroud will be out. Coquelin is looking much better than we expected,” he continued. “He will have a test today but I think he will be short. The ligament is not as damaged as we thought but we have to be careful.”
Arsenal remain without Per Mertesacker, with the club captain sidelined until the end of the year, but otherwise have a fully fit squad to choose from in an effort to chase down Manchester City at the top of the table.