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Freddie Ljungberg is still not ready to return to first-team action. Despite his reserve team comeback the other week
he is apparently still not fully over his achilles problem (he finished his second comeback game completely shattered, apparently).
Oleg Luzhny is also still out with a calf injury.
But apart from that Arsenal have an embarassment of riches.
Some of the team that beat Man Utd at Old Trafford 2 days ago
will have to take a back seat again, as Henry Bergkamp and Gilberto are expected to return. Patrick Vieira did miss training on Monday, with an ankle injury picked up on
Saturday. But this is thought to have just been a precaution.
Ajax have more problems though. Brazilian winger Wamberto is out for a few weeks (ie the rest of this phase of the Champs League) with a broken metatarsal. Coach Ronald Koeman is missing
another 9 or so players including ex-Liverpool playmaker (and one they've missed badly) Jari Litmanen, defender John O'Brien, midfielder Rafael van der Vaart, and striker Ahmed Hossam. Defender Jelle van Damme was coughing up blood after a heavy blow damaged a lung during their draw with Feyenoord last weekend, and pulled out of Belgium's friendly last week. Ajax picked up after that draw with a win this weekend just gone, 2-1 over Groningen. But the official Ajax site doesn't sound all that confident with their headline... "Slim victory against Groningen does not give Ajax much confidence for Arsenal". That's what we like to hear!
Striker Victor Sikora is doubtful, with cartilage damage in his right knee, and Egyptian striker Mido missed the Groningen game with a thigh strain. But midfielder Richard Witshge and defender Andre Bergdolmo are back in the squad after injury.
One experienced player who is available is crafty Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic (who Arsenal were allegedly interested in, he's good enough that people have suggested him as a potential replacement for Bergkamp).
They've also been forced to field a number of youngsters recently. But if Ajax's famous youth academy is even half as good as it used to be, players like 18 year old midfielder Wesley Sneijder (who plays in front of the back four and made his debhut just a fortnight ago) should not be underestimated. Dennis Bergkamp came out of the same school, after all.
See this Guardian article for more on Koeman, Ajax, and their young team,
Ajax are currently second in the group table, with a win and a draw (same as Arsenal).
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