Arsene Wenger admits concern over Danny Welbeck's knee injury

Arsene Wenger expected Danny Welbeck to be an option up front to begin the season. Instead, the Arsenal manager is baffled by Welbeck's prolonged recovery from a knee injury.

The Arsenal boss has now been without the former Manchester United player for 16 weeks and has voiced concerns over Welbeck's recovery from what was once considered a minor knee ailment.

"It is much slower than expected," Wenger said ahead of Sunday's match against Crystal Palace. "It was a bone bruising at the start. You think that it will be quite quick. He is an important player for us and the fact that he is not available is a bit of a concern."

It appears rest might be the only solution since Arsenal's medical staff have virtually ruled out the possibility of surgery.

“It is bone bruising and nothing wrong at all. They have done all kinds of scans that today are very sophisticated and some of them I don’t understand at all. But they tell me no," Wenger said when asked if surgery was an option.

Welbeck, who joined Arsenal last summer from United, only managed to appear in 25 matches before the injury in April ruled him out of the final weeks of the season.