Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez is willing to risk the prospect of worsening his thigh injury by playing in Chile’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Uruguay on Tuesday, potentially infuriating manager Arsene Wenger.

Sanchez suffered “a low-grade muscle tear” in his right quadricep while training with his national team earlier this week, with a scan revealing the damage and ruling him out of Thursday’s World Cup qualifier against Colombia.

But with Chile struggling in the South American World Cup qualification, Sanchez is ready to risk further injury in order to return much earlier than expected. Chile are currently in fifth place in the South American table, with only the top four guaranteed a place at the next World Cup in Russia. Finishing fifth would mean they would face a play-off against a nation from the Oceania region, with the winner qualifying for Russia 2018.

Arsenal are still in contact with the Chilean Football Association over Sanchez’s condition, but they will be dismayed to read of Sanchez apparently telling friends that he will play next week despite the threat of worsening his muscle tear.

According to Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, Sanchez told friends: "It is hurting a bit but I'm fine. I'll be back for Tuesday."

However, there are already fears that Sanchez’s injury could be worse than originally thought, despite Chile cutting down his expected recovery time from six weeks to three. A source close to the national team claimed that a muscle tear can “evolve” in the 24 hours after it happens, and it could get worse in the time between Sanchez having his initial scan and a secondary one in the next few days.

"The ultrasound was performed immediately. The doctors commented that with these injuries you must wait 24 hours to determine the recovery time, because the tear evolves," the source told El Mercurio.

"If it's nine millimetres today then it could be eleven tomorrow [Wednesday]."

Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Bernd Leno - 5/10 Has been really good since replacing Petr Cech in net but today won’t be a day he looks back on fondly (on a personal level anyway). He should’ve done much better with Spurs’ equaliser and that goal cost Arsenal their momentum in the game. He did make some good stops, mind. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Shkodran Mustafi - 6 An uncomfortable performance from Mustafi. Always looks like he’s going to score a goal going forward but his defending is suspect and got too tight to Kane quite often. REUTERS Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Sokratis Papastathopoulos - 7 A slightly better performance than his central defensive partner but there’s not much in it, really. PA Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Rob Holding - 5 Much improved player but like Leno, a huge error in decision-making cost his side a goal. Slid in on Son for the second goal and despite the limited contact, it was a ridiculous tackle to make. Getty Images Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Hector Bellerin - 7 A threatening performance going forward and can’t really blame himself for anything defensively in the game. REUTERS Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Lucas Torreira - 8 He’s certainly what Arsenal have been missing for the last few years with a bit of grit and determination in the heart of midfield. Scored the fourth goal of the game which was an absolute beauty. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Granit Xhaka - 7 Strangely enough, Xhaka was a bit of a passenger and that’s unusual for him as he’s normally involved, one way or another. Didn’t make any errors either though so that’s got to be considered a good day. Getty Images Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Sead Kolasinac - 8 The Bosnian full back, like his Spanish counterpart on the right hand side, was fantastic. A constant menace to that Spurs back line and sent in some delightful crosses. Getty Images Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Henrikh Mkhitaryan - 7 He was one of the key reasons Arsenal came storming out of the blocks early in the first half but he slowly laboured and lost his impact on proceedings and was replaced at half time. REUTERS Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 9 Scored the penalty that gave Arsenal the lead and chased a lot of causes down both wings. Will be remembered for his second goal which was a little bit special. The curl on the ball and the way Lloris stood to watch it fly past was glorious. Assisted the fourth goal with a classy pass to put the icing on the cake. Action Images via Reuters Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Alex Iwobi - 5 The least threatening of the forward players and his decision making often let him down, too slow to react to potentially promising situations. Replaced at half time by Lacazette. REUTERS Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Hugo Lloris - 7 Made some crucial saves during Arsenal’s early onslaught and was quick to come off his line at the key times. Conceded four times but didn’t really deserve it. Getty Images Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Serge Aurier - 6 Was a physically distressed figure after the first 20 minutes and was taken apart on Arsenal’s left hand side. Improved as the match went on but always seems to be playing games on the edge. AP Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Juan Foyth - 5 Not brilliant himself and has been another player who plays on the edge, and always looks like making a rash decision. Nothing particularly bad this afternoon but the first 20 minutes were enough to wobble any defender. Improved in the second half with some key interceptions. REUTERS Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Jan Vertonghen - 4 Has reason to be rather unhappy with his return to the starting line up, giving a penalty away for a needless handball and simply being rather unnerving to watch at the back. Unusual for him. Arsenal rampant against him. Shown a red card with 5 minutes to go to top off a bad day. REUTERS Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Ben Davies - 6 Not a particular threat going forward but nor was he ripped to shreds like his fellow full back partner. Didn’t add too much to proceedings though, either. Taken off for Rose in the latter stages. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Eric Dier - 7 A typically gritty performance from Dier who received his customary yellow card but also scored a goal to silence to the Emirates. Sadly for him, it didn’t last. AFP/Getty Images Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Moussa Sissoko - 5 He’s one of Spurs’ most improved players recently but today wasn’t his finest. Struggled to dominate the midfield. Action Images via Reuters Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Christian Eriksen - 7 Set up the equaliser with a fabulous free-kick, curled in perfectly and low. Otherwise played some neat passes in key areas but fpund himself on the back foot for a lot of the game. PA Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Dele Alli - 5 Like Eriksen, struggled to really impose himself on the game, and unlike Eriksen, didn’t make a meaningful difference to proceedings but did get himself a yellow card. Getty Images Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Harry Kane - 6 Scored the penalty and potentially had a good 5 minutes in the game but rarely threatened the Arsenal goal. Getty Images Arsenal vs Tottenham player ratings Son Heung-min - 7 Won the penalty to give Spurs the halftime lead, as well as winning the free-kick that enabled them to equalise. However, he squandered a number of chances, too. Action Images via Reuters

Should the 27-year-old decide to take the risk and play against Uruguay next week, he is likely to infuriate Arsenal manager Wenger, who has already spoken of his desire to manage Sanchez’s playing time in an effort to prevent him injuring himself or burning out. The two have clashed in the past when Wenger substituted the forward, and his displeasure at being replaced reared its head once again this season when he was withdrawn in the games against Ludogorets at the Emirates Stadium and Swansea.

Loading....



With Arsenal playing Manchester United once the Premier League resumes after the international break, Wenger will want one of his star players – and joint-top scorer – available for the trip to Old Trafford, and having voiced his unhappiness with how players are handled on international duty in the past, the pair could well be on a collision course.