Arsenal will have to wait until hours before their game against Hull on Saturday before knowing whether Hector Bellerin will be able to feature.
The Spanish full-back was substituted early in the first half of Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Chelsea after taking an elbow to the head from Marcos Alonso as the Blues wing-back scored the opener.
Bellerin is still being assessed as part of the graduated return to play protocol for players who suffer concussion – manager Arsene Wenger confirmed after the defeat to Chelsea that the 21-year-old had been unaware of the score when he was taken off – and has yet to return to training.
Whilst Wenger’s options in midfield have been swelled by the return of Mohamed Elneny from the Africa Cup of Nations he will not be able to decide on Bellerin’s involvement until Friday at the earliest.
“From last Saturday we have Elneny back available in the squad,” Wenger said. “Apart from that, we have the question about Hector Bellerin.
“He’s going for tests and the process every day and we’ll only know tomorrow if he gets the green light from the medical people to practise or not. At the moment he has not practised.”
With Arsenal taking on Bayern Munich in the Champions League round of 16 four days after Hull’s visit Wenger will be reluctant to gamble on the preparedness of Bellerin, who is crucial to his side in attack and defence.
Should the Spaniard miss out then centre-back Gabriel would once more be expected to step in.
Elneny resumed training at London Colney on Wednesday after recovering from a calf injury that ruled him out of the Afcon semi-final.
The 24-year-old suffered heartache in the final, scoring the opener to set Egypt on course for an eighth continental title only to see Cameroon snatch the trophy with an 89th minute winner.
Wenger is backing Elneny to overcome his disappointment and will need him to swiftly settle back into the rhythm of club football, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain the only other option to partner Francis Coquelin in Arsenal’s midfield on Saturday.
“He trained yesterday with the team. He’s fully focused and as always, a fantastic player with a great mentality.
“He is disappointed that Egypt lost in the final but we had a quality session yesterday.”
Hector Bellerin is set to miss the Gunners’ Premier League fixture against Hull City on Saturday, after suffering concussion in the 3-1 defeat to Chelsea.
The Spaniard was forced off after being caught with an elbow by Marcos Alonso in the incident which led to Chelsea’s opening goal.
The 21-year-old has yet to rejoin full training with the rest of his teammates, as the club await the results of the MRI scan which was carried out at the weekend.
However, even if the MRI scans give Bellerin the all-clear, Arsenal are unlikely to field him against Marco Silva’s side on Saturday, according to Football.London.
FA guidelines on treatment of players who have suffered such injuries state that no player who’s been cared for in an “enhanced care setting” should return to training for at least six days prior to the original incident.
Gabriel replaced Bellerin at Stamford Bridge, but Wenger could opt to field Carl Jenkinson against Hull after the Englishman was given a run-out at Everton on Monday night for Arsenal’s U23 side.
Bellerin is expected to return to action in time for Arsenal’s Champions League knockout tie against Bayern Munich on February 14th.
Thierry Henry has dismissed Arsene Wenger’s claims that Hector Bellerin was fouled in the build-up to Chelsea’s opening goal against Arsenal on Saturday.
The Spanish right-back was clattered to the ground by Marcos Alonso as the Chelsea defender headed home to put the Blues 1-0 up at Stamford Bridge in the 13th minute.
Bellerin had to be substituted after suffering a knock in the challenge, before goals from Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas put the result beyond doubt in west London.
Olivier Giroud netted a late consolation for Wenger’s men but it ended up being a humiliating loss for the Gunners.
Wenger claimed in this post-match interview that Bellerin was fouled by Alonso as the Spaniard scored Chelsea’s opener.
However, Arsenal legend Henry was quick to dismiss those claims after the game.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the final whistle, Henry said of Wenger’s comments: “He’s going to say that.
“If you’re a neutral, he attacked the ball like he should’ve attacked the ball.
He carries momentum, it looks bad, that’s what it is, but I think it’s a fair challenge.
“They are both looking at the ball, he jumps in the air, I think it’s a goal.
“Going back to what Arsene said, I can understand from the Arsenal corner that he’s going to say that – is that why you lost the game? I don’t think so.
“Things went your way the other game against Burnley, things are going to go your way against Everton, so, you know, things come and go.
“But the way they played today, we knew, be careful against Chelsea, you’re going to exposed on the counter if you don’t sense the counter quick enough, and that’s where I think they lost the game today.”
Hector Bellerin has reassured Arsenal fans he is "recovering well" following his clash with Marcos Alonso during Saturday's 3-1 loss at Chelsea.
The right-back received a heavy blow to the head when colliding with the fellow defender, as Chelsea took a 13th-minute lead at Stamford Bridge, and had to be withdrawn.
Arsene Wenger confirmed after the game that Bellerin was "concussed", with Gabriel replacing him as Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas wrapped up the three points in the second half.
“Thank you for all the messages," the right-back wrote on Instagram.
"I'm recovering well at home and will soon be back on the pitch to help the team fight back!
Wenger was adamant after the game that Alonso's goal should not have stood following the collison, telling reporters: "Of course it was a foul but they allowed the goal.
"
Bellerin didn't know the result of the game at the time."
Antonio Conte, however, felt the challenge is what he has come to expect in English football.
"Alonso jumped more than Bellerin," he said. "To hear this in England, I must be surprised that this is a foul. In Italy, maybe."
Arsene Wenger has criticised referee Martin Atkinson for allowing Chelsea's first goal to stand in his side's 3-1 loss at Stamford Bridge.
Marcos Alonso opened the scoring for the Blues 13 minutes in after reacting quickest to tower over Hector Bellerin and nod the ball in from a rebound.
The Spaniard did appear to lead with his arms as he leapt and caught Bellerin in the face, leaving his compatriot groggy and needing to be replaced by Gabriel Paulista following some on-field treatment.
Wenger says that he did not have to think twice before bringing off the full-back, but believes that the officials should have spotted the infringement in the build-up to the key opener.
"The decision to take him off was very quick," he told reporters.
"You have to respect it's the head. One of the particularities of the game today is that referees are much more severe with tackles on the ground and let more go with elbows in the face.
"It is not only today. In many games I see that but it is more dangerous to hit the head. But we are maybe not good enough in possession to make our game more dangerous.
"We lost goals in positions where you cannot afford to lose it. It leaves us to focus and prepare on the next game.
It is very difficult to come out individually on players. We were not at our best in some positions."
Eden Hazard and former Gunner Cesc Fabregas went on to put Chelsea three goals ahead, before Olivier Giroud pulled one back for the visitors in added time.
Mustafi signed for Arsenal last summer in a £35million move from Valencia.
The German has since gone on to impress alongside Laurent Koscielny in the centre of the Gunners defence.
And Bellerin has been impressed with the German World Cup winner.
“He has been a great addition to the team,” the Spanish right back told Arsenal Player.
“He has adapted really well to the way we play. He likes to come out and look for people up front, and doesn’t kick long ball balls, he looks to play the ball on the floor and that’s really important to the way we play.
“Defensively he has grown since the first day, he is really confident around the other players, he will tell you what to do, he is a World Cup winner as well and a leader.
“The stats show he is a very positive defender and he is helping us get clean sheets.
“From the first day he was here we got on really well, on and off the pitch. From his time at Valencia, he speaks very good Spanish so that makes it easy - not just with me but other people in the back four.
“I feel very confident when I play with him because I know someone has got my back as well - not just the goalkeeper, you also know Shkodran will be there. I really like playing with him.”
