Broken leg rules out Nasri for up to three months

(GETTY IMAGES)

Arsenal's pre-season preparations have suffered a major blow with their midfielder Samir Nasri breaking a leg. The France international suffered a fractured right fibula during yesterday morning's practice session at Arsenal's Austrian training camp.

Nasri is expected to be out of action for up to three months. The injury seriously disrupts their manager Arsène Wenger's plans for the new campaign, particularly when allied to the £25m sale of Emmanuel Adebayor, although the midfielder Tomas Rosicky has returned to fitness. The 28-year-old Czech has missed the past 18 months with a combination of knee and hamstring injuries.

The loss of Nasri allied to the sale of Adebayor will place added pressure on Wenger to strengthen his squad further during the transfer window

Nasri, 22, joined from Marseilles in 2008 for £12.7m, signed as a replacement for Alex Hleb on the left side of the midfield. He made 44 first-team appearances in his first season in English football, scoring seven goals.

Last night a strong Arsenal team – though still without Rosicky – defeated SC Columbia 7-1 in a pre-season friendly in Austria, with Nicklas Bendtner and Aaron Ramsey and Robin van Persie each scoring twice.