Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Amos 
Date:Saturday November 28 2009
Time: 10:02AM
UK time is: 20:19:07
Choose your club
Other Sites
Network Navigation
Vital Partners
'If It's Football, It's Vital'
Robin out for most of the season
Arsene said he didn't like November because of the injuries it brought. The month only has hours left but the potential for bad news still hasn't been exhausted.
The club has issued a statement on it's official website announcing that further scans have revealed greater damage than was first diagnosed.
After a new scan and study in hospital, it was discovered that three of the four ligaments in his right ankle were ruptured in the friendly international game between Holland and Italy
Robin will undergo an operation to repair the ligaments in his ankle which will keep him out for 4 to 5 months. With a return potentially sometime in April losing such a player deals a blow to our ambitions for the season.
Clearly time was wasted through the misdiagnosis by the Dutch Association medical team and by Robin's pursuit of a magic cure before the Arsenal team were able to conduct a review of his treatment and injury.
RvP has expressed his own disappointment at the revelation.
"If I had known at the time what I know now, I would have been operated immediately," Robin says with his ankle in plaster. "We have all been steered in the wrong direction."
Things seemed to be going well for the player who had picked up player of the month awards just prior to his injury and confidence after protracted absence through injury in previous seasons was beginning to return:
"It is so frustrating to be out for months. I was having a super season with the team. I had never felt as strong and powerful as this year. Apart from, I think, two matches, I either scored or made goals in all the games we played this season.
"I was getting so strong, that I felt nobody could stop me anymore. That is the greatest feeling you can have as a player.
"It is such a pity that great run has been stopped for the time being by one kick in a friendly international match. It is a real shame for me, for the team and for the fans of Arsenal."
The team will have to adjust but there is no denying that this a setback.
Want to comment on this article? It's easy to register , simply click the link and enjoy getting involved (you can even win prizes!)
Message Board To visit the message board, click here. Get involved
Vital F1 Prediction League - Join now for Monaco
Your Comments
Surely we didnt let him fly to Serbia for treatment before we had properly checked out the extent of the injury? It would have made little difference to the recovery period but it seems p**s poor in terms of how we operate as a medical team. Bet the next game he plays is for Holland at the world cup.
iceman10
That seems to be the case. RvP returned to the club less than a week ago - after the diagnosis by the Dutch team - and his trip to Serbia!
Amos.
Its quite unbelievable he wasn't told to come straight back to Arsenal after the initial diagnosis.
iceman10
Gutted!
hackneyval
Terrible news, probably means AW will look to sign a striker in the January transfer window. Chamakh led the line brilliantly against Juve in midweek, but his transfer fee will be pushed up now with Bordeaux knowing how dsperately we are in need of a striker. Best we can hope for is that Bendtner, Eduardo and Vela can step up their performances.
bowiecokemirror
It's an absolute hammer blow and one that probably stops any ambitions we had at a tilt at the title. Yu'd say the same if Rooney or Drogba or Torres were out for that time at their respective clubs. There needs to be a thorough review of how the medical staff conducts their business because it's not close to good enough. Lest we forget that the last time RvP was injured two seasons ago, the medical staff let him play again far too early on the basis that Robin, "had never had a muscle injury before, I still felt some pain but I thought, why not give it a try?" Amateur.
Little Dutch
Maybe Gibbs played on tuesday a bit too soon?
iceman10
This isn't a failure by the Arsenal medical team, unless it was the failure to examine him themselves immediately after the injury. It seems they relied on the diagnosis from the Dutch doctors and that was the misdiagnosis. It was only this week that the Arsenal medical team got to take a look at him.
Amos.
As I understand it, the injury to Gibbs' foot on Tuesday was on his left foot, the one he picked up on international duty was his right foot.
Little Dutch
That is incredibly amateur. They let the player himself decide upon his own treatment before they even bothered to look at him? It's a mistake they've made with RvP before and I'm flabbergasted that they've made it again. With all the will in the world, even I thought they'd looked at RvP's ankle and conducted their own tests before they let him chose his own treatment.
Little Dutch
It does sound a bit bizarre, and in hindsight a bit sloppy, but if it was a mistake they'd made before then it was made by a different team. Arsenal appointed a new club doctor 9 months ago and their chief physio afew months before that as both the previous doctor and physio went off to work with the FA.
Amos.
In the words of Roger Daltrey, meet the new boss same as the old boss. Different team, same mistakes. The bottom line is shouldn't happen, the new medical team should have known what happened with van Persie last time (frankly, they should be bloody experts on every injury every Arsenal player has ever had) and to repeat the mistakes of their predecessors is still unforgiveable. New Labour didn't try to resurrect the poll tax.
Little Dutch
The sheer irritation caused by hearing this news has inspired me to finally become a member so hi everyone! Who is everyone's favored central striker for the rest of the season now? I have to say I'm hoping Bendtner will be able to do the job for us once he is fit and despite Robins injury im not convinced we should buy in jan. Shocking how quickly optimism for the season can fade away isn't it?
Kyle_Foogul
Those are the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Kyle. Despite his size I am not sure that Bendtner is really a front man and Walcott, Vela and Eduardo all have different qualities but in many ways similar players. The chances of bringing in another player as a 'target' man in January may have been increased but I would hope that we've found a way to play without RvP before then.
Amos.
Well the current formation does seem to be a lot more fluid and if as you say we haven't adapted to this problem by january then i fear that any new signings won't make much impact either. I guess we shall see how the team responds to this setback come tomorrow.
Kyle_Foogul
What disappointing news to wake up to this morning. Feel so much for Robin, he's been so unlucky again. :-((((((((
Gooner_Vin
take him to the serb horse placenta woman.
pachna_spurs
u can loan pav from us
pachna_spurs
We need B52 back and on form
ajwb
Might be a good opportunity to give Walcott a try in the central striker role. I'd go for the followng lineup- Almunia - Sagna Gallas Verm Eboue - Song Denilson Fabregas Rosicky Arshavin - Walcott. Go for a quick passing pacy players, I think that's the best way to trouble the Chelsea back line.
bowiecokemirror
we need arshavin, rosicky, nasri and pretty all of the other attacking players to be on song to compensate. Gutted, absolutely gutted and now I do feel we need to buy in jan
DBerg
" I shall be doing my physio in the red light district of Amsterdam again lads....I just cant get enough of this placenta!"
Love Robin
mutters
bowiecokemirror, walcotte can not take the ball with his back to the goal. whenever he recieved the ball with his back to the goal he cant turn. he would be great when he master that first. he can only run into or behind defenders.
Gooner SA
Completely agree with the criticism of the club doctors and medical team. This is not the 1st mis-diagnosis (even though this is a new team). I'm surprised why Wenger tolerates such inefficiency. Gallas was mis-diagnosed 2-3 seasons back, and our medical team is ***** poor at predicting player comeback times. How the ***** can Wenger plan his squad if they get it wrong, all the time?
prits
Bad blow that hes world class when on form.
HuddersfieldYiddo
As I said before I doubt the injury length would have reduced If the Arsenal Medics had picked it up earlier but this has called into question the clubs policy in regards injured players. Its just not good enough.
iceman10
It wasn't the Arsenal medical team that misdiagnosed his condition. The criticism of the current medical team is misplaced - other than you could say they shouldn't have taken the word of the Dutch medics. Once our medic team saw him they were quick enough to accurately assess the extent of the problem and act upon it.
Amos.
What a horrible start to my day!
Gutted. Disgusted.
I am not going to take the Arsenal med team to task. Probably the only difference is that he would have been back a few days earlier - but that is insignificant.
Our title hopes have been derailed. Now to concentrate on things post December. And surely we need to go for some forward.
Sajit
GUTTED!!! I had a great day out then came back to see this. Terrible news!!! I hope the players aren't affected and stay focused on Chelsea. How long before Bendtner comes back btw?
GoonerLou
Gooner SA, I agree Walcott isn't good with his back to the goal but we can still play through balls and balls over the top. I suspect Chelsea will defend deep to counteract this, but that may allow our midfielders more space in midfield and some shooting opportunities. It's not ideal but in the absence of Bendtner and RvP it might be worth a try.
bowiecokemirror
What's with the blame of the medical team?
Tom14
Apparently the gods have decreed that we gooners have no right to hope for a season where we get a break with injuries -- and that includes RVP never having a chance to prove he can be one of the world's best strikers, right up there with Drogba, Torres, Villa, Eto'o et al. The criticism of the medical team is spot-on, imo.
jaelle
Gutted. Absolutely gutted. But surely the Arsenal PR machine could have waited till Monday to release the news as thats not what the players need! Hopefully Vela Eduardo and Bendtner will be able to step up to the mark, but surely this means we will have to buy someone in January?
itsup4grabsnow
I can't say anything that hasn't already been said, so I'll just say "F*ck!!!!".
Rocky7
I don't know how you can't criticize the medical team for the way the situation has been handled? RVP is 1 of the best forwards in Europe and we let him go off to Serbia without diagnosing the injury 1st? That is a joke im afraid and whilst they cannot be blamed for the original mis-diagnosis a policy that allows an injured player to not be immediately called in for diagnosis before flying off for 3rd party treatment is ridiculous. When you have an injury list like ours is it not best to do everything WE can before letting somebody rub horse placenta into 1 of our most valuable players?
iceman10
Having had our fair share of medical mishaps which have led to important players missing 6-10 months, I should really sympathise with you guys. But it's easier and more fun to laugh. So, ha!
Saf 91
Really dissapionting news that.
TeddyLyon
This is the worse news ever. Why Van?
naija_gooner
According to comments that Wenger made today van Persie may not have been released from Dutch Association care immediately in order for the Arsenal team to make their diagnosis. "There's a lot wrong in our sport that is detrimental to the clubs who pay a lot of money to the players. They go away, they are injured and the national team keeps them for 10 days. It doesn't exist in other sports. In basketball, if they get injured they fly back the next day." Maybe we are far too quick to find fault with those in our club as it appears we weren't allowed to act any quicker than we did.
Amos.
"He was accompanied to Belgrade by the club doctor Bryan English who has a reputation as one of the best in the business. Many of the clubs whose players have requested that they visit Kovacevic have kept an open mind because of her popularity among the players. Chelsea, mindful that arguably their most important playing asset was being placed in the hands of an unknown, sent Dr English as well." I bet Lampard was diagnosed by Chelsea before he went out there.
iceman10
Lampards visited Kovacevic more than 10 days after incurring the injury and when released by the FA.
Amos.
So during those 10 days im guessing Chelsea checked him over? Are we suggesting the Dutch FA refused to release RVP for such a long time he was unable to fly back to Arsenal before going to Serbia? Are we suggesting that the player shouldnt have been checked out prior to visiting Kovacevic? I disagree. The injury and the initial diagnosis is not the Arsenal medical staffs fault however the way we treated this case was poor at best.
iceman10
I would agree that, in hindsight, the club should have sought to protect the player's and their interests a bit better. They probably feel that way themselves. But if Wenger's comments are to be believed (if they aren't why did he make them?) then he was held in the care of the Dutch FA for 10 days. On the basis of the Dutch diagnosis they didn't object to him going to Kovacevic but wouldn't have been in a position to make a different diagnosis themselves until the Dutch FA released him into their care.
Amos.
At least Adebayor won't stamp on his head again.
jinkin jimmy dimmock
i think we do need to buy a striker in january. with rvp out for the rest of the season we have only eduardo, bendtner and vela to rely on. all three have had injury plagued seasons. in bendtner's case, he has had to undergo surgery and a groin problem has a high chance of recurrence, eduardo has had troubling thigh injuries. so the overall chance of these three players staying fit for the rest of the season is quite low IMO. Not to mention they would have to hit and sustain top form in an injury interrupted season which is highly doubtful. we are the only team besides united who is in the position to realistically challenge chelski for the title and we must do everything in our power to give ourselves the best chance of doing that. with arshavin last season we saw what a big difference a january transfer can make, especially when its wenger that's doing the buying. although chamakh would be champs lge cup tied, i would imagine he would provide a valuable contribution to our league aspirations this season. what do you guys think?
supersof
ompletely shocked
leeimp95
The Arsenal team was ok with the treatment. In fact, RvP checked with Arsenal before he few to Serbia. Why couldnt our medic team have said 'No, you fly down here first, we check you out before you fly out for some new age treatment?' Simple due diligence. The criticism of the Arsenal medic team is not misplaced.
prits
not to worry sure ye have wally walcott an eduardo an a grrrrrreat reserve team so im told
123spurs
Their ladies team isn't bad either. Hey, there's a thought, why don't you play some of those lot? Probably have more balls between them than half your squad!
Saf 91
Have Your Say
Recent Articles
Who Is Your Vital Arsenal Player of the Season? (Tuesday May 21 2013)
Newcastle United 0 Arsenal 1 (Monday May 20 2013)
VIDEO: Wenger Praises 'Exceptional' Attitude (Monday May 20 2013)
Arsene Wenger, Now Is The Time (Monday May 20 2013)
The Moment That Made It All Worthwhile (Sunday May 19 2013)
Happy St Totteringham's Day To Gooners Everwhere (Sunday May 19 2013)
Team News: Last Game Of The Season (Sunday May 19 2013)
The Squeaky Bum Preview (Friday May 17 2013)
Wenger Confirms Sanogo Deal Almost Done (Friday May 17 2013)
Mid-Morning Ablutions #11 (Thursday May 16 2013)
Archived Articles
Vital Members League (view all)
| 1. | nikolaijns | 60 |
| 2. | Rocky7 | 53 |
| 3. | Naijagunner | 46 |
| 4. | Wyn Mills | 34 |
| 5. | flv | 21 |
| 6. | Nwankwo25 | 20 |
| 7. | prits | 20 |
| 8. | gunnerkid107 | 19 |
| 9. | julieloveshenry4ever | 16 |
| 10. | No 10 | 15 |
League Results (view all)
| Latest Results | ||||
| Newcastle | 0 | - | 1 | Arsenal |
| Arsenal | 4 | - | 1 | Wigan |
| Q.P.R. | 0 | - | 1 | Arsenal |
| Arsenal | 1 | - | 1 | Man Utd |
| Fulham | 0 | - | 1 | Arsenal |
| Arsenal | 0 | - | 0 | Everton |
League Table (view table)
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1. Man Utd | 38 | 28 | 5 | 5 | 43 | 89 |
| 2. Man City | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 32 | 78 |
| 3. Chelsea | 38 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 36 | 75 |
| 4. Arsenal | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 35 | 73 |
| 5. Spurs | 38 | 21 | 9 | 8 | 20 | 72 |
| 6. Everton | 38 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 15 | 63 |
| 7. Liverpool | 38 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 28 | 61 |
Breaking League News
| Coates thanks friend Pulis
» Stoke : 22/05/2013 18:30:00
|
| Petrov Delighted With Assistant Coach Role
» Aston Villa : 22/05/2013 16:52:00
|
| Boateng Signs Two Year Deal
» Fulham : 22/05/2013 16:50:00
|
| Sullivan Warns Of Complacency!
» West Ham : 22/05/2013 16:49:00
|
| Lukaku Desire
» West Ham : 22/05/2013 16:48:00
|
| Carroll Withdrawal
» West Ham : 22/05/2013 16:47:00
|
| Carroll Fee Agreed
» West Ham : 22/05/2013 16:46:00
|
Current Site Poll (view all polls)
|
|