Arsenal suffer blow as Mohamed Elneny picks up injury on international duty with Egypt

Arsenal have suffered a blow in the form of Mohamed Elneny as the midfielder picked up a calf injury, which ruled him out of Egypt's quarter-final clash against Morocco. The Pharaohs won the game 1-0 and will now move to the semi-finals, but there are major doubts over Elneny's involvement in the next game.

According to The Mirror, Elneny will return to England should injury rule him out of the next two fixtures –the final if they progress and the third place play-off if they lose in the next round. However, the medical staff is still working on his situation, but he is set to miss the Gunners' crucial game against Chelsea on Saturday (February 4), with the north London club already light in midfield.

Santi Cazorla is out for the long haul with an Achilles issue, while Granit Xhaka is suspended for the next three games after being sent off against Burnley following a tackle. Aaron Ramsey and Francis Coquelin are the only two players available for the Gunners at the moment, but Martin Keown has claimed that the duo may be injured, along with Mesut Ozil, for which they were kept out of their FA Cup squad against Southampton.

The Gunners demolished Southampton 5-0 in the fourth round of the FA Cup, with a double by Danny Welbeck and a hattrick by Theo Walcott, while fielding a youthful midfield, marshalled by the likes of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Jeff Reine-Adelaide. The manager will take inspiration from this performance and may choose to employ these youngsters to first team for a Premier League fixture should the Gunners struggle with respect to personnel.

They are currently second on the table, eight points behind leaders Chelsea, who take on Liverpool and Arsenal on back-to-back match days.