Theo Walcott fears he will be out until after the November international break with the calf problem he suffered in Arsenal’s 3-0 Capital One Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night.
The forward came on as an early substitute for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who injured a hamstring, and also faces an anxious wait before he discovers the full extent of the damage.
Walcott was forced off in the 19th minute of Tuesday’s tie and the early signs are he will miss Swansea City away and Tottenham Hotspur at home, either side of next Wednesday’s Champions League match at Bayern Munich, together with England’s friendlies against Spain and France.
Despite stating after the defeat by Wednesday that Arsenal’s youth players were not up to the challenge, Arsène Wenger has added that he regrets fielding so many of his senior squad at Hillsborough. “We are short now with the injuries,” said the manager, who has six other first-team players out.
“I have to manage the workload of the players and at the end of the day I still think I maybe brought too many experienced players here.”
It is a setback for Walcott, who has been in good form of late in a central striking role. Wenger is already without Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck, Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta and David Ospina.
