Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain injury: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hopes midfielder is not out 'for seven weeks'

Oxlade-Chamberlain suffered the injury in collision with Javier Mascherano

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain grimaces after suffering the injury against Barcelona (Getty Images)

Arsene Wenger revealed this morning that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could miss as many as seven weeks with a knee injury after being “cut in two” by Barcelona’s Javier Mascherano on Tuesday night.

The England midfielder is seeing a specialist this weekend with suspected knee ligament damage after limping out of Tuesday’s game. Wenger admitted that if the injury is as bad as feared, he will miss all of March and the start of April.

“He is devastated,” Wenger said at his pre-match press conference this morning. “Let’s hope that we get good news that it’s only two or three weeks, not six or seven.”

Oxlade-Chamberlain’s season has been affected by injury, but Wenger said this was a new problem, rather than the return of the old one.

“It is not a recurrence of a previous injury,” Wenger said. “It is a new injury. He has been cut in two by Mascherano and he did his knee. We have to see how big the damage is in his knee. Hopefully we will have good news later. I don’t think it was a malicious tackle, it was a fully committed tackle.”

With Oxlade-Chamberlain certain to miss Sunday’s trip to Manchester United, Wednesday’s game with Swansea City and the crucial north London derby next Saturday, Wenger will have to choose between Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck on the right wing.

Wenger said that he would not rush Welbeck back despite his recent promising performances.

“I haven’t picked my team yet for Sunday,” he said. “I cannot tell you that now at the moment. Welbeck is back in the squad but we still have to be cautious with him. He is still in the squad and he is not completely over his knee problem. He has done really well and is very fit. I have to analyse that.”