Wenger admits Henry's return was premature

Nick Harris
Thursday 27 October 2005 19:00 EDT
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Henry also played the full 90 minutes of Saturday's Barclays Premiership game with Manchester City at Highbury, but the manager Arsène Wenger revealed the 28-year-old had suffered a setback. "There is a bit of uncertainty about Thierry," Wenger said. "He had a little bit of a setback. We pushed him in a little early and we need to get him completely back to where he can perform. At the moment he is not there."

The loss of his talisman striker for the match with the Gunners' rivals is a clear blow for Wenger, who had issued caution against rushing Henry back into action too quickly, but saw his hand forced by a succession of injuries.

The striker Jose Antonio Reyes has, though, recovered from his bruised ribs and Freddie Ljungberg is also fit after a hamstring injury forced him off during the first half of the defeat at West Bromwich. The England defender Sol Campbell returned to the starting line-up in the midweek Carling Cup victory against Sunderland for the first time since limping out of England's World Cup qualifier with Austria earlier this month.

With the full-back Ashley Cole still out because of a stress fracture in his foot, the veteran's availability could not have come at a better time and will add some extra spice for the trip back to his old stomping ground. The midfielder Alexander Hleb, though, remains on the sidelines with a knee problem.

The Arsenal managing director Keith Edelman has warned Wenger that the sale of Highbury will not generate any funds for the January transfer window.

This weekend Arsenal will begin selling off 711 one, two and three-bedroom apartments which will be built at Highbury after the Gunners long-awaited move a few miles down the road to Ashburton Grove.

Despite the cash generated Edelman revealed the money will be going towards the Gunners' new £357m, 60,000 all-seater stadium rather than on new players. "The money won't be available to Arsène Wenger, it's just a plan to make the club financially stronger for the future," Edelman said.

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