Arsenal captain Koscielny facing two months out if scans confirm broken jaw after being kicked in face by Man Utd's Lukaku

The Arsenal defender has only recently returned to action following a seven-month lay-off due to a ruptured Achilles.


Now Gunners boss Unai Emery is sweating over his skipper again as he faces up to a growing Emirates injury crisis.

Koscielny was taken to hospital on Friday after he was caught in the face by Romelu Lukaku’s boot during the 3-1 FA Cup defeat by Manchester United.

Arsenal’s medical team are hoping the 33-year-old Frenchman will not require surgery which would involve having his jaw wired shut.

They will give Emery a full update when the team returns to training tomorrow but Koscielny is definitely out of Tuesday’s game at home to Cardiff.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos is also out after coming off with an ankle sprain, but Arsenal are confident he does not have serious ligament damage.



That could mean a first appearance of the season for Konstantinos Mavropanos, the 21-year-old Greek centre-half signed for £2.2million last January.

He has been sidelined by a groin injury for the past six months but came through a 70-minute run-out with the Under-23 team last week and is now available for selection.

Emery could return to a three-man defence against Cardiff, with Nacho Monreal or Stephan Lichtsteiner joining Mavropanos and Shkodran Mustafi at the back.

Defenders Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding have been ruled out for the season by cruciate injuries while winger Henrikh Mkhitaryan is recovering from a broken foot.

Arsenal could be in further trouble after a coin was thrown at United’s Jesse Lingard by a fan during Friday’s FA Cup KO.


FA disciplinary chiefs are still awaiting referee Craig Pawson’s report into the 85th-minute incident.

It followed a nine-man fracas sparked by Sead Kolasinac’s clash with United striker Marcus Rashford.
Arsenal were fined £40,000 for failing to control their players in last month’s North London derby against Tottenham.

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