LONDON — Mohamed Elneny should be fit in time for the World Cup but is likely to miss the rest of Arsenal’s season, manager Arsene Wenger said.
Elneny damaged ligaments in his left ankle after landing awkwardly in a 4-1 win over West Ham United at the Emirates on Sunday and there had been initial fears that the Egypt international’s World Cup campaign could be in danger.
However, Wenger eased those concerns at his news conference on Wednesday by saying Elneny could even be back for the team’s final Premier League game at Huddersfield Town on May 13.
“Mohamed Elneny is [probably] out for the rest of the season. He has a little, little chance to play at Huddersfield,” Wenger said. “But I think he will be available for Egypt at the World Cup, but not anymore for Arsenal.”
Elneny is one of Egypt’s key players, having started all six of their World Cup qualifiers and 11 of their 14 full internationals in 2017.
Wenger also confirmed that Henrikh Mkhitaryan will not be back in the squad for Thursday’s Europa League semifinal against Atletico Madrid.
However, Mesut Ozil, Jack Wilshere and Petr Cech all trained on Wednesday and should be available after missing the West Ham game.
Mattias is ESPN FC’s Arsenal correspondent. Follow him on Twitter: @MattiasKaren.
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