Aaron Ramsey will miss Arsenal’s Europa League semi-final, first leg clash with Valencia on Thursday after failing to recover from a hamstring injury in time.
The 28-year-old limped out of their win at Napoli in the previous round on 18 April, after which head coach Unai Emery suggested he would be sidelined for two-to-three weeks.
Tomorrow marks a fortnight since that match but Standard Sport understands Ramsey is not considered fit enough to be involved and is also a doubt for the Gunners’ penultimate Premier League game against Brighton at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Ramsey’s absence is a huge blow to Emery, who has seen his team lose all three matches since the Welshman picked up his latest injury, conceding nine goals in total against Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leicester City.
Arsenal have been forced to rely on Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira in central midfield but the pair have shown signs of fatigue while Mohamed Elneny and Matteo Guendouzi struggled badly when rotated into the team against Palace.
Since January 25 – just a few days before Ramsey publicly confirmed he would join Juventus on a free transfer at the end of the season – the Gunners have played eight times with the midfielder in the starting line-up, winning seven and drawing once.
In 11 games without him, Arsenal have won four and lost seven including the last three.
Emery will hope the return to this competition - which he won in three consecutive seasons between 2014 and 2016 with Sevilla - will instigate a revival in confidence and performance after a dreadful run which leaves Arsenal in serious danger of missing out on a Premier League top four finish.
Xhaka told this newspaper on Monday that their best chance of Champions League qualification may now come through winning the Europa League but Valencia will pose a tough challenge, having overcome Villarreal in the quarter-finals and currently sitting sixth in La Liga.
