Soccer

Danny Welbeck ruled out of FA Cup and England/Ireland friendly

Striker has had an injury setback ruling him out of Aviva tie and Wembley final

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger does not expect Danny Welbeck to be fit enough to be in contention for the FA Cup final, casting doubt over the striker’s availability for England duty next month. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger does not expect Danny Welbeck to be fit enough to be in contention for the FA Cup final, casting doubt over the striker’s availability for England duty next month. Photo: Adam Davy/PA Wire
Wed May 27 2015 - 12:27

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck has been ruled out of Saturday's FA Cup final and England's forthcoming internationals with a knee injury.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said the former Manchester United forward has no chance of being fit for the Wembley showpiece with Aston Villa and has been withdrawn from the England squad to face the Republic of Ireland on June 7th and Slovenia on June 14th.

Welbeck has scored four goals in his last five games for England, and he will now join Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge on the sidelines. Sturridge is a long term injury absentee. Wayne Rooney and Harry Kane will now offer the main English goalscoring threat in the Aviva stadium.

Wenger said he has yet to decide who will replace Welbeck as Arsenal look to seal back-to-back FA Cup titles, but he did say playing Theo Walcott in a central role was an option.

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Wenger said: “Danny Welbeck will not be fit, not for us, nor for England.

“We called them yesterday, the FA, to explain that his bone bruising of the knee has not healed.

“I don’t know what he will say, Roy (Hodgson), the England boss.”