Unai Emery fears the worse as Danny Welbeck is rushed to hospital

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has feared the worse as he admits Gunners striker Danny Welbeck was rushed to hospital following a leg injury.

The England striker went down in the 25^th minute during Arsenal’s crucial Europa League group stage game against Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon when Welbeck fell awkwardly after meeting a header inside the penalty area.

The former Manchester United striker was stretchered off with a brace on his right leg and required oxygen to cope with the pain, and Emery admitted after the match Welbeck had suffered a “very big injury”.

Injury woes for the Gunners

Speaking to the press after the game, the Spaniard said: “He has been taken to hospital, we are going to wait. The worst news tonight is the injuries, we think it’s a serious injury for Danny (Welbeck).

“His injury was hard for the mentality of the players because they looked at the injury. But when you are playing football in competitive matches it can happen.”

As well as Welbeck, Arsenal defender Stephan Lichtsteiner was also forced to come off after the veteran fullback picked up a muscle injury halfway though the second half.

Emery said: “Lichtsteiner is muscular, we will know tomorrow better about his injury. His injury changed our idea on the match, we wanted to change for Eddie Nketiah and give another chance for the striker, but when he had the injury we needed to play with a right-back which was the reason we played with Ainsley (Maitland-Niles).

Arsenal progress to last 32

Despite the injuries to two important squad players, the Gunners were able to gain qualification to the next round of the Europa League despite the 0-0 draw against Sporting.

Due to Qarabag beating Vorskla in Ukraine, Arsenal sealed passage to the next round of the Europa League with two games in the group stage to spare.