Laurent Koscielny's World Cup in doubt after injuring achilles tendon

Courtesy: Reuters

MADRID: France defender Laurent Koscielny could miss the World Cup after injuring his Achilles tendon during Arsenal`s 1-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in Thursday`s Europa League semi-final second leg.

The centre back had to be carried off on a stretcher in the 12th minute after losing his footing at the Wanda Metropolitano and Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said it looked as if Koscielny had ruptured ligaments.

"It doesn’t look very good, you can always hope that the scan will say something different but the first signs aren’t very good," Wenger told a news conference. "It looks like it could be ruptured although I`m a bit cautious, no-one can say that clinically at the moment."

Asked about Koscielny`s chances of recovering in time for the World Cup, Wenger said: "That depends on the scan. If he has ruptured it the chances are non-existent."