Arsenal Expected To Be Without Sokratis Till February End

Arsenal defender, Sokratis Papastathopoulos has finally spoken since picking up a highly distressing ankle injury in the 1-3 FA Cup defeat to Manchester United last Friday.

The Greek international posted a picture on Instagram holding his infant son on a sofa with his left ankle attached to a recovery machine. The equipment wrapped around his foot and is called an S1 Portable by PHYSIOLAB. The caption of the post read, “Working to get back as soon as possible.”

Sokratis made his way over to the Emirates last summer from Borussia Dortmund and has quickly established himself as the club’s leading figure in defence. While his introduction has not improved the Gunners defence this season (some would even argue that it is even worse from the previous season under Arsene Wenger), the 29-year-old alone is still one of the key pieces that has kept the team competitive.

Sokratis’ defensive partner Laurent Koscielny returned from an Achilles tear last month to return to the club’s starting lineup. However, he had to be rushed off to the hospital in the United game over suspicions of a broken jaw. He is still being assessed with a return date yet to be revealed.

Rob Holding has already been ruled out for the rest of the campaign only to heighten Unai Emery’s defensive concerns. Sokratis is expected to be out till the end of February.

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