Olivier Giroud out of Arsenal’s Uefa Champions League play-off with foot injury

Arsene Wenger can still turn to Alexis Sanchez, Joel Campbell and Lukas Podolski as Yaya Sanogo has been out of action sidelined with a hamstring problem and looks certain to miss Wednesday night’s qualifying second leg.

Olivier Giroud scored for Arsenal in their draw with Everton on Saturday. Andrew Yates / Reuters / August 23, 2014

Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud has been ruled out of Wednesday night’s Uefa Champions League play-off against Besiktas with a foot injury, manager Arsene Wenger confirmed.

Arsenal are awaiting the results of a second scan on Giroud’s ankle, amidst fears the France striker coud be sidelined for three months. A fuller assessment of how long Giroud will be out should come after he has seen a specialist.

“Olivier will not play against Besiktas and will see a specialist, then we’ll make an announcement of how long he’ll be out,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.

Giroud, 27, suffered the injury in the Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Everton on Saturday, shortly after ensuring a share of the points by scoring Arsenal’s 90th-minute equaliser at Goodison Park.

He needed an extra scan to reveal the full extent of the damage once swelling in the injury, which hampered initial investigations, had gone down.

Wenger may now be forced to dip into the transfer market in search of a replacement if the Frenchman faces an extended spell on the sidelines.

“It can be [a long term injury]. We’ll see tomorrow. I don’t know [if it’s broken]. It’s sad for us,” Wenger said.

Wenger can still turn to Alexis Sanchez, Joel Campbell, Yaya Sanogo and Lukas Podolski as attacking options.

However, Sanogo has been out of action sidelined with a hamstring problem and looks certain to miss Wednesday night’s qualifying second leg.

Arsenal are favourites to progress at the Emirates Stadium, with the first leg having finished 0-0 in Turkey.

Podolski’s agent brushed aside reports that Juventus and Napoli have made offers to sign the Arsenal forward. The Germany international has been linked with a move to Serie A this summer.

Podolski, 29, did not feature against Everton, increasing speculation about his possible departure.

“I read in the newspapers that Juventus and Napoli were interested in Lukas,” Podolski’s agent, Ali Pektas, told sports website TuttoMercatoWeb. “But there has been no approach from either of those clubs.

“I don’t know if he will go to Italy in this transfer window. I can’t say anything for sure.

“The only certainty is that Lukas has a contract with Arsenal.”

Podolski, who is also a target of Turkish side Galatasaray, joined Arsenal from Cologne in the summer of 2012 and has two years left on his contract.

If Giroud’s injury keeps him on the sideline for any significant period of time and Arsenal sell Podolski, the club could face a striker shortage.

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