Hector Bellerin out for month but Alexis Sanchez could face Man Utd

By Stephen Turner

Image: Hector Bellerin will miss four weeks of Arsenal's season

Arsenal's Hector Bellerin is out for four weeks with an ankle injury, Arsene Wenger has revealed.

The Gunners boss said "a strong tackle" from Tottenham's Danny Rose was responsible for ligament damage which will sideline the right-back for an important run of games, starting at Manchester United on Saturday.

Alexis Sanchez will need assessing ahead of Old Trafford after a hamstring problem kept him out of one of two Chile World Cup qualifiers during the international break.

And there is still no date set for the return of Santi Cazorla, who is yet to take part in training a month after suffering a recurrence of his Achilles trouble.

"Hector is out for four weeks," Wenger said at his press conference on Thursday. "He got injured in the last 10 seconds against Tottenham in a very strong tackle from Rose."

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Wenger had urged Chile not to play Sanchez against Uruguay this week after he sat out their goalless draw with Colombia, but in the end the Arsenal forward started and scored twice before he was substituted in the 84th minute.

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"He texted us that he's in good shape," said Wenger, who stopped short of criticising Chile's decision. "We have to wait and see tomorrow morning to see if he can be involved in the squad.

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Image: Alexis Sanchez will be assessed on Friday ahead of the trip to Manchester United

"What I will consider is the risk of injury because he played recovering from a hamstring injury. It depends a lot on the honesty of the player."

Bellerin, meanwhile, will miss the Champions League game with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday and must now be considered a doubt for the Premier League trip to Manchester City on December 18.

Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez's fitness will be assessed 24 hours before their game at Manchester United, according to manager Arsene Wenger

Mathieu Debuchy has been out of the picture all season so Carl Jenkinson, who last month made his first Arsenal appearance since May 2014, is in line for a run in the side.

Cazorla's absence is also a concern, and Arsenal have failed to win two of their three league games since the Spain midfielder was injured.

Wenger said: "Cazorla is still out. For how long exactly I don't know. He's not even out training."

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