Coquelin to miss 12 weeks with knee ligament injury

Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin will miss 12 weeks of action as he recovers from a knee injury, manager Arsene Wenger revealed on Tuesday, tacking on an extra month of recovery time to the initial diagnosis.

"It is what we feared, basically," the manager told reporters after his side's 3-0 Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb. "Let's be realistic and count 12 weeks."

Wenger had indicated on Monday that Coquelin would sit out for at least two months, but subsequent scans found ligament damage in his right knee, a problem he suffered during the 2-1 defeat to West Brom last weekend.

The latest update certainly rules Coquelin out of the busy Christmas fixtures, but the injury doesn't require surgery, Wenger said.