Tomas Rosicky could be in line to start against Blackburn on
Saturday.
The Arsenal midfielder has been out of the side since the 3-0
victory over Tottenham on December 2 because of a hamstring injury.
The Czech Republic international was due to play at Liverpool in
the Carling Cup Quarter-Final on Tuesday. The postponement of that
game has given him a few days more preparation.
Mathieu Flamini (shoulder) is fit and, as reported on Thursday,
Justin Hoyte will come in for Emmanuel Eboue (ankle). There is no
change with the other injured players.
"Flamini is back," said Arsène Wenger at
Friday's press conference. "But Gallas (thigh) is not,
Henry (hamstring) is not and Lauren is not yet. Eboue (ankle) is
out so Hoyte will come in at full back.
"But Rosicky is back and has a chance to start."
Lauren is now fit after 11 months out with a knee injury. He was
due to be on the bench at Liverpool but he needs a gentle
re-introduction at right back, even though the opportunity for a
return has presented itself against Blackburn.
"He played 70 minutes in a friendly against a Vietnamese
team," said Wenger. "But he needs three or four games to
be completely back. We cannot just throw him straight back in after
such a long period out."
Arsenal.com reported on Thursday that Abou Diaby (ankle) will be in
line for a first-team return in six weeks.
"He is planned to start training with the squad on January
5," the manager added on Friday.
12/1 - Arsenal v Blackburn Rovers: Arsenal to win 3-1
Copyright 2013 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source 22 Dec 2006
