Arsenal star Aaron Ramsey admits he is set to miss the start of the Premier League season after Euro 2016 heroics for Wales
AARON RAMSEY admits he is set to miss the start of the season for Arsenal after his heroics for Wales this summer.
Ramsey missed last night's defeat Euro 2016 semi-final defeat to Portugal through suspension and is now to be given time off by Arsene Wenger.
And that means that the Gunners could get a makeshift XI out of players that are either injured or knackered because of international duty this summer.
'Rambo' will now jet off on holiday before belatedly reporting for Gunners duty on August 1 - just 13 days before their televised curtain-raiser against Liverpool.
And the midfielder believes that boss Wenger will not consider him for the early games, taking into account his track record of giving the likes of Alexis Sanchez time off after Copa America stints.
Ramsey told the : “I am back on the August 1 so I have a few weeks off but obviously it kicks off a couple of weeks afterwards.
“I know [Arsene likes to give players a long rest] – a few years ago Germany won the World Cup and they came in just a few days before the first game of the season but they missed that.
“So he does like to give players a little break and I’ll be getting the same treatment. I feel I need a few weeks off now.”
The Gunners are also set to be without France stars Laurent Koscielny and Olivier Giroud as well as Germany ace Mesut Ozil because the trio are all set to play in tonight's second Euro 2016 semi-final - meaning at least one of them will make the final on Sunday.
Chile man Sanchez suffered horrific leg bruising after a filthy challenge in the Copa America final win over Argentina and is also a doubt - with Colombia keeper David Ospina having played throughout the tournament as his country finished third.
Joel Campbell also featured for Costa Rica.
Gunners stars Petr Cech, Hector Bellerin and Granit Xhaka also played at Euro 2016 for the Czech Republic, Spain and Switzerland respectively - and have all been given time off as Arsenal returned to training yesterday.
And that raises the possibility that they too could be eased back into action, although that is an unlikely scenario for England man Jack Wilshere after missing last season recovering from a broken leg.
Carl Jenkinson and Danny Welbeck will also miss the opening months of the season through injury.