Coach complains Arsenal knew about star’s injury before loaning him out

Roma head coach Paulo Fonseca has suggested that Arsenal knew of Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s injury before loaning him to the Italian club.

The Armenian winger has been ruled out for up to three weeks after complaining of groin discomfort in Roma’s win over Lecce on Sunday, with scans revealing an adductor injury that forced him out of their Europa League draw with Wolfsberger on Thursday.

Before that game, Fonseca was asked if Mkhitaryan had been injured when he first signed for the club.

“He was already complaining of a discomfort to the adductor and with this density of matches it was clear he could feel some discomfort,” he said.

“As a preventive measure I had kept him out against Atalanta and he had recovered well. Then he got hurt against Lecce.”

After a disappointing spell in the Premier League, Mkhitaryan had enjoyed a promising start to his Roma career by scoring on his debut against Sassuolo, which was their first win of the season. However, the Italians will not be happy that the 30-year-old, who is one of their highest earners, will be out for most of the month.

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