Swiss hopes over Arsenal defender Djourou dashed

(GETTY IMAGES)

Johan Djourou will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, despite a statement to the contrary from the Swiss Football Association.

The Arsenal centre-back dislocated his shoulder in Saturday's FA Cup defeat to Manchester United and Arsène Wenger immediately diagnosed him as absent for the rest of the season. A Swiss FA statement, however, said that Djourou "had new hope that his season is not over yet", as his ligament damage was shown "not to be in a serious condition".

The 24-year-old will, however, undergo surgery later this week and will miss the final 10 matches of Arsenal's Premier League campaign. With Thomas Vermaelen also injured, this leaves only Sébastien Squillaci and Laurent Koscielny as fit senior centre-backs.