Walcott To Miss World Cup Qualifiers

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott misses England's World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland as he is billed to undergo an abdominal surgery, Wednesday.

Despite initially being named in the team, Walcott, 24, did not play in Arsenal's win against Stoke on Sunday.

"Theo will be out for a few weeks," said Gunners manager Arsene Wenger.

"He has developed some damage to his posterior abdominal wall. It's not a hernia, but it's a little structural problem in his abdomen."

England face Montenegro on 11 October, before completing their qualification group fixtures against Poland four days later.

Walcott, who scored his first goal of the season in the 2-1 win over Marseille in the Champions League last Wednesday, was replaced in the starting line-up against Stoke by 18-year-old German Serge Gnabry.

He has suffered with a similar injury before, having withdrawn from the England squad with a pelvic muscle problem in March and on that occasion was out for three weeks.

But Wenger was quick to brush away any major concerns, adding: "He will have the procedure in Germany on Wednesday and, because it's so minor, we can begin his rehab immediately.

"We are pleased it's being dealt with quickly and he shouldn't miss too many Arsenal matches. But he will miss the forthcoming international matches with England."

Source: Legit.ng