THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON — Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas injured his right hamstring during the 3-1 victory over Burnley on Saturday and it’s unclear if the team’s leading goalscorer will be available for the Champions League match against Porto next week.
The Spain international came off in the 39th minute.
Five minutes earlier, Fabregas gave his side the lead with a side-footed volley from inside the six-yard(meter) box after Samir Nasri lobbed the ball over the Burnley defence. It was Fabregas’ 14th goal of the season in the English Premier League.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said Fabregas will undergo tests on Sunday.
"How big the damage is we don’t know yet because it’s too early," Wenger said. "We’ll see tomorrow and Monday. We will have to make a late decision if he plays on Tuesday certainly."
Wenger will be hoping that his captain recovers quickly to help Arsenal book a place in the Champions League quarterfinals. Porto brings a 2-1 lead into the second-leg match at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Fabregas is also Arsenal’s leading scorer in the Champions League with three goals.
He was sidelined for three weeks after aggravating the same hamstring on Dec. 27 against Aston Villa, a game in which he produced a 27-minute cameo appearance as a substitute and scored twice before limping off.
The issue is especially pressing since Arsenal’s attacking options have been stretched this season. Main striker Robin van Persie has been sidelined since November after sustaining serious ankle ligament damage while on international duty with the Netherlands. Wenger hopes to have him back by the end of April.
Van Persie’s fellow strikers Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo da Silva and Carlos Vela have had injury problems over the course of the season and have only 12 goals between them in all competitions.
Bendtner had a poor performance on Saturday against Burnley, missing at least four clear-cut chances in front of goal, and Eduardo hasn’t been the same since he broke his leg more than two years ago.
Wenger has had to rely on Fabregas and Andrei Arshavin to pick up the slack. On Saturday, Burnley striker David Nugent equalized to make it 1-1 in the second half. Theo Walcott put Arsenal back in the lead after a fine run and left-footed strike in the 60th minute before Arshavin added the third in the dying seconds of the match.
Wenger was particularly pleased with Walcott after the British media heavily criticized his performance for England against Egypt in a midweek friendly.
Walcott, who turns 21 on March 16, made bursting runs down the right and sent in dangerous crosses against Burnley.
"I think he does what a player has to do — not talk in the newspapers and let your performance talk on the pitch," Wenger said. "He didn’t answer critics other than with a good performance today.
"That shows that he’s mentally strong. I was interested as well how to see how he would respond today. I was quite sure he would respond with a good performance. But you never know how deep it affects you when you get criticized. The way he answered at his age is remarkable."