EXCLUSIVE: Vermaelen ankle injury is a major worry for Arsenal



Major concern: Thomas Vermaelen having injections

Thomas Vermaelen has had an anti-inflammatory injection in the hope of avoiding ankle surgery. It is Vermaelen's second ankle injection this season.



He missed Saturday's 1-0 win at Sunderland, but will return to light training this week.



Vermaelen is now facing a race against time to be fit enough for the Champions League second-round clash with Bayern Munich on February 19.



Kieran Gibbs and Laurent Koscielny are both nursing injuries, while Carl Jenkinson is facing a suspension after being sent off at the Stadium of Light.



But Jack Wilshere should be fit for the Bayern game after injuring a thigh on Saturday.

He could even play in Saturday's FA Cup clash with Blackburn, but boss Arsene Wenger will consider resting him.



Wenger, and Wilshere, repeatedly threw their arms up in disgust at referee Anthony Taylor for the attention Sunderland paid the 21-year-old.



But Titus Bramble's meaty tackle was legal, Lee Cattermole's 88-second booking was for a foul on Aaron Ramsey and he was forced off after he was caught by Wilshere.



Wilshere also went off injured but the collision with Alfred N'Diaye which preceded it was accidental.



Little protection: Jack Wilshere is clattered by Titus Bramble

Wenger said: 'It was frustrating because Jack Wilshere didn't get the free-kick he deserved. But it is a question, I hope, of him taking four or five days to recover.



'From very early he was handicapped. It is down to the referees to protect him when it is needed.'



Jenkinson's second yellow card aided Sunderland's revival after Santi Cazorla's strike.



Wojciech Szczesny twice denied Steven Fletcher, and Bramble screwed wide.



Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill said: 'We've got to make this an uncomfortable place to come.

'We've got to aim for that sort of intensity.'

Meanwhile, Arsenal's defender Andre Santos arrived in Brazil over the weekend to finalise his loan move to Gremio.



