Arsenal sweat over defender’s fitness

Arsenal now have reasons to worry after defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos picked up an ankle injury during the international break.

This means that Papastathopoulos might be unavailable for the Unai Emery side when they line up against Leicester City on Monday night.

The Greek player made his way out of the pitch before the end of the game against Finland on Monday night and there are fears he might have strained his ankle.

However, a scan is expected to be carried out on the 30-year-old full-back to ascertain the actual situation with his ankle but his chances of being available against the Foxes at the Emirates Stadium remains slim.

With about four days in-between, before the game, the Spanish manager will monitor the situation with the player but will immediately begin preparation of Rob Holdings and Shkodran Mustafi as the only full-backs available for the game.

There is no doubt that Papastathopoulos will be missed in the heart of the Arsenal defence having won the heart of the Spanish manager to retain his place since his arrival at the summer.

Arsenal will return from the international break to host Leicester City in the Premier League before going ahead to face Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League competition.

It will be important to have Papastathopoulos available when the North London side face Liverpool afterwards.

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