Wenger concerned by Giroud's hamstring injury

Arsene Wenger could be without striker Olivier Giroud until after the busy festive period after the France star suffered a hamstring injury.

Published : Jan 28, 2018 10:01 IST

Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud clutches his hamstring.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is worried by the hamstring injury that inflicted "quite big" pain on Olivier Giroud during the 1-0 EFL Cup win over West Ham.

Giroud's rare opportunity to start was ruined when he limped off clutching his right leg in the 78th minute.

Francis Coquelin was also hampered by cramp during Tuesday's quarter-final clash but is expected to be available for Friday's visit from Liverpool.

The news is less encouraging for France striker Giroud, who appears set to miss the festive period.

"It looks like that. We have to wait. Nowadays you do the scan 48 hours after the injury," Wenger told reporters at his post-match news conference.

"That will happen on Thursday, then we will have a precise kind of grade on what his hamstring [injury] is.

"When you listen to him, the pain is quite big, but the grade is not always linked with the intensity of the pain.

"In his statement [to me], it does not look very good."

Danny Welbeck netted a first-half winner with the game's only shot on target to move the Gunners into the competition's semi-finals for the first time since 2010-11.