Walcott injured again

Walcott injured again

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger lamented a knee injury to Theo Walcott which overshadowed the 3-1 Barclays Premier League win against Birmingham.

The England forward was making his first start of the season for the Gunners, having been sidelined since August because of a back problem.

However, following a strong, sliding challenge by Blues defender Liam Ridgewell, Walcott eventually hobbled out of the action just after the half-hour.

Walcott will undergo a scan to assess the damage, which could now signal another spell on the sidelines for the World Cup hopeful.

"It is difficult to assess at the moment, whether it is a ligament which is twisted or just a kick," said Wenger.

"The fact he says he felt a little unstable when he was running is not good.

"We will scan him on Sunday. If he has just a kick, then he has a chance to play on Tuesday (away to AZ Alkmaar).

"But I believe he will not be available. It is not a cruciate problem, but it could be more than a week."

The incident brought back memories of Martin Taylor's X-rated challenge on Eduardo at St Andrew's during February 2008, which left the Croatia striker with an horrific double leg fracture and out of the game for almost a year.

After that match, Wenger had lambasted the Blues defender whom, in the heat of the moment, he claimed "should never play again", a statement later retracted.

This time, the Arsenal manager felt it was difficult to judge just how much intent Ridgewell put into the challenge, which referee Lee Probert had not given as a foul.

"It was a tackle which cut through, without any restriction," said Wenger. "I felt it was a tackle meant to impress.

"I do not know whether he wanted to play the ball. If he touched just the ball, then that is part of the game.

"That is my first impression from the bench, but I would have to see it again."

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish felt there was little wrong with Ridgewell's challenge.

He said: "It was a fierce defender's tackle.

"Liam must have caught Walcott because he stayed down and got treatment, but I don't know whether it was dangerous. There was no free-kick given

"If you are going to penalise every tackle, it would be a different game."