Arsenal Midfielder Abou Diaby Suffers Further Injury Setback as He Continues Recovery Process

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby has suffered another injury setback as he continues his recovery from long-term injuries that have kept him out of action for over a year.

The French midfielder was in the process of coming back to first-team action and has appeared in a number of reserve team games this season and even started Arsenal's game against Southampton in the League Cup.

However, Arsene Wenger has now revealed that Diaby has suffered a calf injury and will be out of action for an unspecified amount of time. The 64-year-old manager has put down these small injuries to the fact that the former Auxerre player has been out for a long period of time and takes longer than other players to recover following a game.

"He is not in the squad because he has a small calf problem. He has little injuries at the moment, never anything bad, but he has been out for such a long time that when he plays it takes him a long time to recover," Wenger said, as quoted on Arsenal's official site.

"It's much worse for Abou because Theo has not gone through so many injuries. You wonder where Abou gets the strength back to come back and work harder and harder and harder."

The Gunners boss has praised the midfielder's attitude and resolve to continue working hard despite having multiple injury setbacks. Wenger referred to the severe ankle fracture Diaby suffered early in his Arsenal career as a major blow.

"When you come in in the morning he's already in the gym to prepare. He has done extremely well - you cannot fault his attitude at all. You can only admire him for that. He is always in my mind. His first injury at Sunderland in the last minute - that was a huge blow in his career," the Frenchman explained.