Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas is set to be fit to face to face Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, according to his father.
The Spaniard sustained bruising to his right leg and knee in Saturday’s Premier League draw at Birmingham and was considered a doubt for the Barcelona tie after missing training on Tuesday.
A statement on the Arsenal website had indicated that the Spaniard was struggling to be fit for the tie.
“There is a chance that the Arsenal captain will be available for selection against the Spanish champions,” read the statement.
“He didn’t appear in training because at the moment he is not fit to play. We will give ourselves 24 hours more to assess the situation,” Arsene Wenger said on Tuesday.
“It is too early to say. Sometimes 24 hours more can help. You don’t want him to get another kick so it was better that he didn’t train.
“The medical staff tell me he still has a chance to play. We will decide on how he is in the warm-up on Wednesday.
“That tells you how late we will leave it. At the moment it is 60 percent against him playing.”
But the Arsenal manager admitted he would only select Fabregas if he is fully fit.
“Would the game be today, he would not play. If he is full capacity we will play him. If he is not fit to play I wouldn’t even put him on the bench,” Wenger added.
“Cesc is desperate to play in every single game we play. Who wouldn’t want to play in a game like this? He always wants to play every day and I believe it is the mark of a great player that they want to do that.
“He wanted to run off the injury on Saturday. I will know on Wednesday whether I made a mistake or not in keeping him on the pitch.”
However, Fabregas’ father, Francesc, was more optimistic about his son’s chances of playing, telling The Sun: “The blow hurts a lot less now and it seems to be just a knock, nothing more serious.
“I think Cesc will play. Although he may not be at his best he will do everything he can to be part of it.”
