Arsene Wenger expects Olivier Giroud to be sidelined for at least three weeks with a hamstring suffered in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over West Ham on Tuesday night.
The Gunners booked their name in the semi-finals of the League Cup at the expense of their London rivals but it came at a cost, with Giroud now ruled out for the busy festive period.
Giroud was forced off with 12 minutes of normal time remaining at the Emirates and will miss Friday’s huge clash with top-four rivals Liverpool as Arsenal sweat on scan results.
The 31-year-old would not have started against Jurgen Klopp’s side but the France international will also be unavailable for at least seven matches over the next 21 days.
“It’s a positive night for us apart from the fact we lost Olivier Giroud,” the London Evening Standard quote Giroud as saying. “Francis Coquelin looks less problematic but Giroud looks to be out for Friday night.
“In his statement it doesn’t look very good. It looks like [he will be out for the festive period]. We have to wait normally 48 hours after the injury [to do the scan]. On Thursday we’ll have a precise idea what kind of grade his hamstring [injury] is.
“When you listen to him the pain is quite big but the grade is not always linked with the intensity of the pain.”
Giroud has proven a deadly option from the bench for Wenger in recent seasons and his absence will be a huge blow for an Arsenal side struggling to put chances away at the moment.
In fact, Giroud has scored at least three more Premier League goals than any other substitute since August 2015 (10).
