Santi Cazorla has suffered a setback in his return from a serious knee injury and is now unlikely to be fit in time for Arsenal’s Champions League second-leg tie against Barcelona.
The Spain international has been sidelined since November after suffering knee ligament damage in the 1-1 draw against Norwich and had been expected to return for Arsenal’s trip to the Camp Nou.
However, Arsene Wenger has confirmed the 31-year-old is now a major doubt for that fixture after picking up a case of Achilles tendonitis that could see him miss the rest of the month and leave him in a race to prove his fitness ahead of the Euro’s in the summer.
“Santi is not doing too well, he has some Achilles problems that hold him back,” Wenger is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
“His knee is doing well but his Achilles has inflamed a little bit and we have to put him off impact work. We have to see now how he responds.”
Without Cazorla ticking things over in midfield, Arsenal have understandably struggled and they are now six points adrift of Leicester.
In fact, no player averages more passes per game in the Premier League this season than Cazorla (82.1) and Arsenal’s win ratio in the league is slightly lower without him in the starting XI (53.8%).
For more stats on Santi Cazorla, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
