Arsene Wenger has admitted that he fears centre-back Laurent Koscielny will miss this summer's World Cup after suffering a suspected ruptured Achilles in Arsenal's Europa League semi-final defeat to Atletico Madrid.
The France international was stretchered off the field early into the contest at the Wanda Metropolitano after going to ground without any contact from an opposition player.
Koscielny lost his footing off the ball and was left in pain on the ground, clutching his lower leg as Arsenal's physios made their way onto the pitch.
With the World Cup in Russia now just six weeks away, Wenger doubts that the 32-year-old will make France's squad if his worst fears are confirmed in a scan in the next 24 hours.
"It doesn't look very good. His Achilles is... You can always hope for a miracle in the scan that he will have but the first signs don't look very good," he told reporters post-match following his side's 2-1 aggregate loss.
Asked if Koscielny had ruptured his Achilles, Wenger replied: "You will know that more soon. It looks like it could be that. I'm a bit cautious [about confirming that] because nobody could say that without looking at it clinically.
"His World Cup chances? That depends on the scan, if he has a ruptured Achilles his chances are non-existent. We will know more after the scan."
Koscielny has been capped 51 times for France, whose World Cup campaign begins Australia on June 16.
Daniel Lewis
