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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss Manchester United clash and is likely to miss the FA Cup final, confirms Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

Midfielder unlikely to feature in final matches of the season

Jack Pitt-Brooke
Friday 15 May 2015 15:04 BST
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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injured his groin against Manchester United
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injured his groin against Manchester United (Getty Images)

Arsene Wenger revealed this morning that England midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is unlikely to play again this season.

The England midfielder has not featured for more than two months due to a combination of groin and hamstring problems.

He will miss Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford and while there is a slim chance of his being ready for the last game of the Premier League season, Wenger said this morning that he was unlikely to rush Oxlade-Chamberlain back for the last game of the season, or for the FA Cup final against Aston Villa.

“Look, he will not play next week,” Wenger said this morning, “and after, there’s only one week to go for the cup final. I think he will be short but you never know.”

“If he can be available for West Brom [on Sunday 24 May], maybe that’s the earliest he could be. It’s difficult to predict today.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain had been struggling with a groin problem since his last game – on 9 March – but Wenger revealed this morning that he has also “done his hamstring in training”. While Wenger denied that he would need surgery, it now seems highly unlikely that Oxlade-Chamberlain will play in either of England’s internationals in June, against the Republic of Ireland and Slovenia.

Wenger also said that Danny Welbeck would be “short a fraction” of being fully ready to face his former club, while Aaron Ramsey is likely to be fit to start.

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