Walcott the latest victim of Arsenal injury crisis

As the international break comes to an end and Arsenal enter a hectic fortnight in which they will play five times, Arsene Wenger once again finds his best laid plans hit by an all-too-familiar injury crisis.

The latest casualty is Theo Walcott who was stretchered off during England's 3-1 victory over Switzerland after just 15 minutes. While his prognosis is comparatively good - he should only be out for two or three weeks - Walcott has been one of Arsenal's most effective performers up to this point and will be sorely missed during the looming fixture congestion.

Also troubling for Wenger is news that the injury to talismanic striker, Robin van Persie, is worse than expected. He initially hurt his ankle in Arsenal's 2-1 win over Blackburn in August, but was only expected to be out for a couple of weeks. Now it seems that the best Wenger can hope for is a return in five to six weeks.

With van Persie gone, Wenger's attacking options are severely limited. Nicklas Bendtner is also out until mid-October, meaning that only Marouane Chamakh and Carlos Vela are left to fill the attacking void - two players who are by no means the finished article.

Samir Nasri is also out but should return to training this week. That could mean he can play some part in the next two week's fixtures although he is unlikely to make Saturday's clash with Bolton.

Also injured are Aaron Ramsey, who is slated for a November return, and fellow teenager Emmanuel Frimpong who – having been talked up by Wenger as the primary back-up for Alex Song – is now out for the season. ·