LONDON, England, November 20 – England striker Theo Walcott will miss Arsenal’s Champions League match against Montpellier at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday with a shoulder injury, manager Arsene Wenger said Tuesday.
Walcott suffered the injury during Arsenal’s 5-2 North London derby win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League in Saturday, but did play on and scored the Gunners’ fifth goal in added-on time at the end of the match.
He is now due to undergo a scan although Wenger said Tuesday he expected Walcott to be sidelined for only a brief spell.
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund will have to overcome the poor recent record of Bundesliga clubs in Amsterdam when they tackle Ajax on Wednesday requiring just a point to secure their passage into the Champions League Last 16.
The German champions turn up in the Dutch capital as the leaders of Group D with eight points, meaning a draw will suffice to put them into the knockout stages.
Ajax are placed third on four points – Real Madrid sit second on seven – following their 2-2 draw at Manchester City in their last run out.
History suggests Dortmund face a tough assignment with Ajax having won 12 of their last 13 home encounters against Bundesliga teams.
The Germans go into this fifth group tie in good heart after a 3-1 weekend win over Greuther Fuerth kept them in fourth place behind Bayern Munich, Poland striker Robert Lewandowski bagging a double and midfielder Mario Goetze getting the third.
It was Lewandoski who produced the late decisive goal in Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Ajax in the team’s first meeting back in September.
Despite only needing a draw, Dortmund will be looking for all three points, according to centre-back Neven Subotic.
“We won’t be going there for a 0-0 result, that’s really not our game,” he said.
