Fabregas out for three weeks

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has been ruled out for up to three weeks with a hamstring problem and looks set to miss the showdown with Premier League leaders Chelsea.

The Spain midfielder suffered the injury as he netted a freak goal at Sunderland on Saturday, the ball kicked into him by Anton Ferdinand and it looped back into the goal.

Fabregas, 23, had just been finding his form having returned late after reaching the World Cup final. With Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner all still sidelined, the loss of another key man is an additional blow to manager Arsene Wenger.

Fabregas used his personal Twitter account on Monday to reveal he hoped to be playing again in two weeks, saying: “I have some fluid but nothing bad in the muscle.”

However, the official club line yesterday was more cautious.

“Arsenal have confirmed that Cesc Fabregas will be out for two to three weeks,” a statement read.

“The extent of the injury was discovered after a scan on Monday afternoon.”

The Gunners skipper will miss Saturday’s visit of West Brom, as well as next week’s trip to Partizan Belgrade in the Champions League, and it remains to be seen whether he has recovered in time to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on October 3.