Arsene Wenger last night left Cesc Fabregas fuming after ruling the Spaniard out of the Carling Cup Final.
The Arsenal captain, who limped out of Wednesday night's win over Stoke, is believed to have been at the club's training ground yesterday, giving the impression he would be able to play against Birmingham at Wembley on Sunday.
Wenger is understood to have put his foot down, so as not to risk his captain and star player ahead of Arsenal's Champions League showdown with Barcelona on March 8.
The Gunners boss - desperate to maintain the club's hunt for the Quadruple - had the final word last night.
Wenger said: "It is a very small injury, but certainly Cesc will be out for Sunday. For how long [beyond that] I don't know but definitely for Sunday.
"He is disappointed. We all feel sorry and sad for him. The only way we help him now is to win the Carling Cup, as he contributed a lot in this competition."e
Great decision by Wenger!
Asenal should win this easy without Fabregas. Its big difference between the skills of these two teams.
Logically, its probably the right decision considering we have barcelona and manutd to play in quick succession, but i gotta feel sorry for cesc. He said he really wants to lead arsenal out on his first final. Part of me hopes he does, and just gets subbed later on
Hope theo recovers soon