Arshavin ready to fly back to London

By Aries

Andrey Arshavin has, on his return to Russia to join up with the national team, revealed that his injury is a groin strain but more importantly that he has been injured for some time prior to the Manchester United match.

"I had problems with the groin before and in this match I reached out for the ball and the pain became very sharp."

His intention is to have a scan to determine the seriousness of the injury and if so fly right back to London.

"Of course if the scanning shows that there no or minimal chances to participate in the matches of the national team then I won’t go to St. Petersburg, I will rather return to London."

Unfortunately I cannot calm people down saying that everything is all right with me," said Arshavin.

"It is a fact that I have an injury but there is a question how long will it take to cure it”

Groin strains normally take up about two weeks to clear up. That is if they are not that serious. But unforunately Andrey has been playing with the injury so it may in fact take longer to heal.

Arsenal’s next match is in twelve days time away against Manchester City followed up four days later by the Champions League game against Standard Liege in Belgium.


Information on groin strains

What is a groin strain?

A strain is a stretch or tear of a muscle or tendon. People commonly call such an injury a "pulled" muscle. The muscles in your groin help bring your legs together.

There are two muscles that may commonly get injured in a groin strain: the adductor magnus (the large muscle running down the inner side of the thigh) and the sartorius (a thinner muscle that starts on the outside of your hip, crosses your thigh and attaches near the inside of the knee).

How is it treated?

Treatment may include:

• Applying ice to the strained muscle for 20 to 30 minutes every 3 to 4 hours for 2 or 3 days or until the pain goes away.

• Taking an anti-inflammatory medication prescribed by your healthcare provider.

• Wearing a supportive bandage called a thigh wrap or taping your thigh or groin.

• Doing the rehabilitation exercises you are given.

While you are recovering from your injury, you will need to change your sport or activity to one that does not make your condition worse. For example, you may need to swim instead of run.

How long will the effects last?

The length of recovery depends on many factors such as your age, health, and if you have had a previous groin injury. Recovery time also depends on the severity of the injury.

A mild groin strain may recover within a few weeks, whereas a severe injury may take 6 weeks or longer to recover. You need to stop doing the activities that cause pain until the groin has healed. If you continue doing activities that cause pain, your symptoms will return and it will take longer to recover.