Press conference

Emery - We need our players back for balance

After the comeback win over Leicester City on Monday night, Unai Emery gave an update on the latest injury situation.

Granit Xhaka was pressed into action at left back for the final half hour against Leicester, with both Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal unavailable. Sokratis was also injured, meaning untested teenager Zech Medley was the only defender named on the bench. 

Speaking in his post-match press conference on Monday night however, Emery was optimistic that players will be returning to action soon.

"Yesterday was a very bad day for injuries," the head coach said. "We had two in the same position. Monreal and Kolasinac came to training with a small problem, but we did group work today with both. 

"This morning the news was that they weren’t OK to play. Xhaka played 30 minutes at left back, but for us, for our balance, it’s better for Nacho or Sead to be OK to play in that position. We are going to look at how they are for the next matches, but I hope they are nearly ready to play, maybe not for Thursday, but I hope near.

"Sokratis was training yesterday and maybe he can be back on Thursday. Now with a lot of matches in a few days, it’s very important for our situation that our preparation is good and it’s very important to give our players time to rest."

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