The only downside to an otherwise wonderful 4-0 Arsenal victory over Newcastle in Wednesday’s Carling Cup clash was that about 30 minutes into the game Arsenal fans had to watch their Left Back Kieran Gibbs hobble off the pitch sporting an injury. It’s been a tough year or so for the young Englishman. On the 24th November 2009, Gibbs broke a metatarsal in his right foot which saw him sidelined for the remainder of the season.
He featured frequently in pre-season this year, putting in a number of performances that led Wenger to announce that he expected Gibbs to make a number of starts over the course of the season. Whilst Clichy’s form withered and waned, Gibbs went from strength to strength and was slowly but surely becoming Wenger’s first choice Left Back.
Unfortunately, disaster struck Gibbs once more as he suffered a suspected break to a metatarsal in his left foot in extra time against Spurs in the Carling Cup. In a small change of fortune it was later discovered that no metatarsal was broken on this occasion and that Gibbs had only suffered severe bruising to his left foot. He made his return only a week later against FK Partisan.
All of which leads us to the ligament damage that Gibbs received against Newcastle. Thankfully the Arsenal website reports that the scan on Gibb’s foot was positive and that his “absence will be relatively short term”. In realistic terms I think we could see Gibbs back in 2-3 weeks time.
But Gibb’s case is a sad one. If not for injuries, it’s possible that he would right now be holding down the Left Back position at one of the biggest clubs in Europe. Thanks to his bad luck, each time he returns from injury he has to prove himself once more and stake another claim for the position.
The consistency of his injuries is a real worry. To develop as a young player you need as much game time as possible, yet in the last year or so, Gibbs has spent far more time on the treatment table than he has the football pitch. You only hope that he’s not another case like Robin van Persie, who has never really had an extended opportunity to show just how great a player he is thanks to a career blighted by injury.
Gibbs doesn’t come across as a frail or brittle player. Perhaps he’s just incredibly unlucky. As an important prospect for both Arsenal and England, there’ll be plenty of people out there hoping that his luck will change soon.
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