London, Apr 18: Arsenal's bid to repeat last season's league and cup double was dealt a potentially crushing blow yesterday when skipper Patrick Vieira admitted he could be out for the rest of the season.
The gunners are already facing the daunting prospect of having Sol Campbell banned for four matches following the England centre-back's red card for elbowing in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Manchester United. Vieira was due to have an x-ray yesterday to assess the state of an injury to his right knee which forced him off after 34 minutes of Wednesday's draw. But he immediately ruled himself out of today's difficult trip to Middlesbrough and admitted the prognosis could be much worse.
"I hurt the knee again when I landed heavily after a challenge," the French midfielder said.
"What I need is a rest to cure the problem. I will definitely not be able to play on Saturday and I am not optimistic for the rest of the season. I can just hope for the best."



Losing Vieira would be a devastating blow but the absence of Campbell would arguably inflict even greater damage on Arsenal's title prospects because of the lack of adequate cover.


Bureau Report