The Belgian international did not travel with the rest of the squad to Vietnam, where Arsene Wenger's side won 7-1 in a pre-season friendly against the national side.
He stayed in London to recieve treatment, but scans have shown the stress fracture in his lower back to be more serious than first thought.
Vermaelen joined Arsenal from Ajax in 2009 for £10m.
Restore Data
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | PTS | |
| 1 | Liverpool | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 28 |
| 2 | Manchester CityMan City | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 23 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 22 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 22 |
| 5 | Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 22 |
| 6 | Tottenham HotspurSpurs | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 19 |
| 7 | Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 19 |
| 8 | Aston Villa | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| 9 | Newcastle UnitedNewcastle | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 18 |
| 10 | Fulham | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 18 |
| 11 | Brentford | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 17 |
| 12 | Manchester UnitedMan Utd | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 15 |
| 13 | Bournemouth | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 15 |
| 14 | West Ham UnitedWest Ham | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 12 |
| 15 | Everton | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 11 |
| 16 | Leicester CityLeicester | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 23 | -8 | 10 |
| 17 | Wolverhampton WanderersWolves | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 28 | -8 | 9 |
| 18 | Crystal Palace | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 8 |
| 19 | Ipswich TownIpswich | 11 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 22 | -10 | 8 |
| 20 | Southampton | 11 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 21 | -14 | 4 |
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