Arsenal are sweating on the fitness of new signing Mathieu Debuchy as the right-back is reportedly facing 2-3 months on the sidelines following an ankle injury he picked up during the Gunners' 2-2 draw against Manchester City.
Debuchy, who arrived at the Emirates from Newcastle for a reported fee of £12 million this summer, was carried off on a stretcher after landing awkwardly on his left ankle while challenging for the ball during Arsenal's English Premier League clash against Manchester City on Saturday.
According to the Telegraph, a test has revealed that the 29-year-old has not sustained a fracture on his ankle. But the report added that Debuchy has damaged some ligaments in his left ankle.
Although further tests are being carried out, it is believed that the Frenchman could be ruled out for at least two months.
This means that the Frenchman, who has started in all of Arsenal's fixtures this season, may miss up to six Premier League matches and Champions League fixtures.
The absence of Debuchy will be a big blow to Arsenal as they do not have any experienced players in the right-back position.
Calum Chambers, who was bought from Southampton for a fee of £16 million, will probably be the one to replace Debuchy even though he was deployed as a centre-back by Arsene Wenger in preseason.
Hector Bellerin is also another possible candidate to step in during Debuchy's absence, but he will probably only be used as a last resort if one of the central defenders - Per Mertesacker or Laurent Koscielny - gets injured and Chambers is asked to play in the heart of the defence.
Last season, the injuries of some key players, including Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott, Lukas Podolski and Mesut Ozil, cost the Gunners dearly as they struggled to finish fourth in the Premier League after starting the 2013/14 season on a very bright note -- following their opening day defeat to Aston Villa, of course.
The Gunners seem to be heading in the same direction this season as they have been already dealt a big blow following the injury news of Olivier Giroud, who has been ruled out until January.
