More Arsenal injury fears as Laurent Koscielny forced off with calf issue in BATE clash
The club captain was out for most of last year with an Achilles problem and could face another spell on the sidelines
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ARSENAL fans were sent into panic mode once again as Laurent Koscielny limped off injured.
The club captain lasted 56 minutes of tonight's Europa League clash with BATE Borisov before being replaced.
The Frenchman suffered a left calf problem early in the second half and his manager was not prepared to take any risks.
Unai Emery said afterwards: “We took him off as a precaution because he was not feeling too good. I hope he will be OK for our next match on Sunday or for the game next midweek.”
Koscielny missed much of 2018 with an Achilles problem in his right leg - but that is not his most recent injury.
Against Manchester United in the FA Cup defeat last month, Koscielny was caught in the face by Romelu Lukaku's boot and looked set to join Danny Welbeck, Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin on the sidelines.
There were concerns he had broken his jaw but missed just one game and then scored on his return against Manchester City.
Some good news for Arsenal fans is that Koscielny was replaced by Sokratis, who himself was returning from an injury of his own.
The Greek powerhouse had not featured since the United defeat due to an ankle problem.
And just four minutes later, Sokratis scored with his FIRST touch to head Arsenal into a 3-0 lead and all but confirm their spot in the last 16.
But Arsenal fans were still worried about Koscielny's curse striking again.
Jamie Middleton tweeted: "When are we going to cash in on Koscielny. The blokes always injured."
Another Gunners supporter asked: "Koscielny injured just as Sokratis returns. Why can we never have all our defenders fit?"
Meanwhile, Twitter user @Bowler_14 joked: "That’s unlike Koscielny to go off injured."