The Chilean will now miss a vital game, but can Arsene Wenger really be surprised?
Alexis Sanchez has been ruled out of this Saturday's clash with Tottenham.
The Chilean missed last weekend's crushing win over Aston Villa with a hamstring strain but was expected to return for the north London derby at White Hart Lane.
However, Arsene Wenger has confirmed he is "not yet ready yet" and won't face Spurs on Saturday lunchtime.
That shouldn't really surprise the Arsenal boss though, with Wenger having played the forward for 815 out of a possible 900 minutes since declaring Sanchez was "in the red zone" on December 5.
That's 94% of the maximum possible game-time when he steps onto the pitch.
Wenger claimed that the former Barcelona man "recovers very quickly", something supported by anecdotal evidence from his time in Spain where he once returned from injury in just under three weeks when Barca's medical staff had predicted a 12-week lay-off.
"He is of course very difficult to keep quiet," said Arsene Wenger today of the injured Sanchez. And players who have trained with him at past clubs testify that he has previously refused to tell coaching staff about knocks he was feeling, purely so he wouldn't miss out on gametime at the weekend.
Whether his manager can afford him to continue doing this and risking injury is another question, but despite him being in "light training", you fear the energetic Chilean doesn't know the meaning of taking it easy.
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