Arsenal are sweating on the fitness of Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly and Daphne van Domselaar ahead of this week's Champions League semi-final with Lyon.
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Russo & Kelly withdrew from England duty last weekVan Domselaar suffered ankle blow with NetherlandsArsenal face Lyon in Champions League semi-final on SaturdayFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
All three players picked up knocks on the international break last week: Kelly withdrew from the England squad before their first fixture of the window due to a foot problem, while both Russo and Van Domselaar had to pull out between games after suffering injuries of their own.
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As a result, the trio are doubts for Tuesday's Women's Super League clash with Leicester, in which Arsenal could close the gap to leaders Chelsea to three points with a win. Crucially, four days later, the Gunners have an even bigger game that they'll hope all three are fit for, as they host eight-time European champions Lyon in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.
WHAT SLEGERS SAID
Speaking about team news in her press conference on Monday, Slegers described all three as being "touch and go" for Tuesday's game. Asked if they could be fit for the Lyon match, Slegers said: "We'll see. It's a day-by-day thing. It's small knocks, so we'll have to assess it day-by-day. Tomorrow might come too early, but then we'll have to reassess for Saturday."
The Arsenal boss did, however, admit that Van Domselaar, the Gunners' No.1 goalkeeper, could be missing for up to six weeks. "It's looking positive and she's doing well but at the moment, we're still assessing, getting specialists to look at it," she added. "We're trying to get all the information possible to get her back as soon as possible. When that is, I can't share yet. We don't know exactly how long it will take. On the long end, it will be six weeks, but she can be back earlier."
DID YOU KNOW?
In more positive news, Slegers did reveal that defender Lotte Wubben-Moy is "back training with the team" after being sidelined for over two months now, saying: "She's really progressing, which is positive." Laia Codina, the centre-back who won the World Cup with Spain in 2023, is "still being managed", though.