LONDON, England, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Giovanni van Bronckhorst is stepping up his recovery from injury but Arsenal are still fearful of gambling on the fitness of Robert Pires, manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday.
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Van Bronckhorst: Returning
(CliveMason/Allsport) |
Van Bronckhorst, the Netherlands international who had knee surgery in March, will resume training next week but Pires, who also had an operation after damaging knee ligaments last season, is looking at November for a competitive return.
'Gio should join in next week,' Wenger told reporters. 'But
he had his operation six weeks ahead of Robert, so there is a
gap.
'Robert could play tomorrow but the surgeon's recommendation
was not to play for six months after the operation.
'Robert had surgery on April 25 so he should not play before
October 25...I will not risk him for a couple of weeks because
it could kill his knee.'
Ray Parlour and Lauren are set to return from injury for
Arsenal's English premier league match against Bolton Wanderers
at Highbury on Saturday. Captain Patrick Vieira is suspended.
Wenger said he would decide on Sunday morning whether to
include Dennis Bergkamp in his squad for next Wednesday's
Champions League first phase group match at PSV Eindhoven.
Bergkamp, the Dutchman, refuses to fly and would have to
travel by land and sea, something Wenger has been reluctant to
let him do in recent years.
Wenger will delay a decision on whether to include Dennis
Bergkamp in his plans for next week's Champions League game at PSV Eindhoven
until Sunday morning.
Bergkamp, who does not fly, has declared himself ready to be driven back to
Holland for next Wednesday's tie.
'I will make a decision on Sunday morning,' revealed Wenger. 'It does
necessarily not depend on any injuries, although if we have five injuries up
front, Dennis will have to travel.
'After the game against Bolton, I will see how he is and then make a
decision. He certainly knows the way to Eindhoven, but there is about four or
five hours' driving involved.
'My first target is to get through the group and PSV Eindhoven are a
difficult team to play. I will just see how we go against Bolton and then make a
decision.'
Freddie Ljungberg, who had summer surgery on his hip, is already back in
action and the third long-term injury absentee, Robert Pires, could be back in
the first team at the start of November.
'We had a recommendation from the surgeon that we should not play Robert
within six months. He had surgery on April 25 so that leads us to October 25,'
explained Wenger.
'He could play tomorrow but time is needed to consolidate the ligament to be
completely sure that it is strong. I wouldn't risk bringing him back two weeks
early and then killing his knee.'
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