Blog: Walcott out for months

By Benson Petit-Clair

Arsenal and England fans received some bad news today when reports out of England indicated talented Striker Theo Walcott will be missing the rest of the EPL season and possibly the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his left knee.

According to the Gunners’ website, Theo is likely going to be out for six (6) months because the ligament injury he suffered in the club’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham this past weekend.

“After coming off injured in Saturday’s 2-0 win against Tottenham Hotspur, the club regrettably announces that Theo Walcott has sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament of his left knee,” read a statement on the club’s official website.

“Theo will have surgery in London in the near future and is expected to be out for at least six months, therefore missing the remainder of the season and the World Cup in Brazil in the summer.”

Olivier Giroud, Nicklas Bendtner, Lukas Podolski and Yaya Sanogo are the other options left at striker for Gunners manager Arsene Wenger; however, they are all dealing with their own injuries.

Arsenal is strongly expected to be on the market for a dependable striker during this winter Mercato. The Gunners have shown interest in Álvaro Morata of Real Madrid and Diego Costa of Atletico Madrid from the Liga BBVA.

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, who recently signed a contract with Bayern Munich of Germany, was viewed as a potential winter mercato acquisition by the Emirates Stadium side. He unfortunately slipped away from the Gunners by joining the reigning ECL and Bundesliga champs.

The Gunners are also expected to compete with other EPL clubs for the services of Croatian striker Mario Mandžukić; his contract with Bayern Munich will expire at the end of this season. 

As for the England national team, head coach Roy Hodgson will likely look towards the likes of Andros Townsend of Tottenham, Adam Lallana of Southampton, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain of Arsenal and Raheem Sterling of Liverpool as eventual replacements for Walcott.