Print

Mail

wiki links

Henry out for the season

Arsenal captain Thierry Henry will miss the rest of the season after suffering groin and stomach injuries during his side's Champions League exit against PSV Eindhoven.

Henry will be out of action for the next three months of domestic and international football after damaging muscles in his groin and stomach soon after coming on as a second half substitute at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.

The France striker was already struggling with foot and hamstring problems, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hopes Henry's time on the sidelines will enable him to make a full recovery in time for the start of the 2007-2008 campaign.

Wenger told Arsenal's Web site: "Thierry Henry will be out for a minimum of three months. Unfortunately this means he will now miss the rest of this season both domestically and internationally, but we are confident that he will be ready for the start of next season."

It also means the forward will miss France's next Euro 2008 qualifier at Lithuania later this month and possibly the home games against Ukraine and Georgia in June.

Henry has started just 16 league games this season and his absence has been key to Arsenal's miserable recent run that saw them lose the League Cup final and suffer exits from the FA Cup and Champions League, all within the space of 11 days.

But the news that Henry has to rest will please his surgeon Professor Nicola Maffulli, who had earlier insisted the forward needed at least six weeks rest to cure the injuries that have dogged him this season.

Henry had admitted before the PSV match that he had been fully fit for just a handful of games this season as a result of the sciatic nerve problem he has had since the World Cup.

And Maffulli, who has created a fitness programs for Henry, believes his hectic schedule in the last year has taken its' toll.

He told the London Evening Standard: "The body is like a chain. If one part of the chain doesn't work properly, other parts can be affected.

"If the sciatic nerve is causing a problem to the hamstring, his style of running will be affected and other parts of the body will be stressed which were not stressed before.

"There is always a connection between the back and other parts of the body. The best way to manage it is to make sure the first injury is sorted out," Maffulli said.
This story has been viewed 1345 times.