adminLONDON. – Aaron Ramsey has played down fears over his fitness after he injured his ankle in Wales’s 2-1 Euro 2016 qualifying win over Andorra on Tuesday night.
Ramsey, who picked up the injury while twisting on Andorra’s much-criticised artificial pitch, said he was hoping to be fit to feature for Arsenal against Manchester City on Saturday.
“I’ll be all right – the pitch was very hard there’s no give in it so I rolled my ankle a bit,” he said.
“Hopefully it will be nothing and I’ll be available for Saturday. These are the games you want to play in and I’m looking forward to it.”
Uefa has said it will wait for the official report from the game before deciding whether the Andorra la Vella stadium can continue hosting European Championship matches.
Gareth Bale – who scored both Welsh goals in their 2-1 win – described the 3G pitch as “by far the worst I’ve ever played on”, while the manager Chris Coleman said: “In my opinion the pitch is not up to the standard of a Uefa qualifier . . . If you’re a passing team, forget it.”
Ramsey was yesterday in a race against time to get fit for Arsenal’s key clash with Manchester City on Saturday after suffering an ankle injury during Wales’s 2-1 victory over Andorra.
The midfielder was the victim of some rough house treatment and rolled his ankle after receiving a kick.
Manager Coleman said the extent of the injury would be revealed in the next 24 hours, leaving Arsene Wenger with a selection headache.
Ramsey was replaced by Emyr Huws in added time and was seen limping away from Andorra’s Estadi Nacional.
“He got kick on his ankle and twisted it,” said Coleman.
“Coming to the end of the game, we’ve got players with experience so it was pointless taking the risk. I won’t do that with any of the players.
“Hopefully he’ll be okay for Arsenal at the weekend but we’ll have to see what the next 24-48 hours holds.
“There were half a dozen challenges that weren’t very good. The ref should have clamped down but he let it go and we are a bit disappointed with that – we had a bit to contend with tonight.”
Ramsey has been in devastating form already this season, with two goals in three Premier League games, and he was influential on Tuesday as Bale scored twice to give Wales all three points on the Iberian peninsula.
Ramsey spent a large part of last season out with injury, however, and Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger would be at pains to lose him once again so early in the campaign. Arsenal host Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium at 1:45pm on Saturday, as the English Premier League makes its return following the international break.
Gunners boss Wenger will be desperate for a fully-fit squad as they welcome the champions to north London, hoping to pick up three points in a bid to assert themselves as title contenders. – The Guardian/Mailonline
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