Makaay out as Henry promises passionate Arsenal assault

ARSENAL have been given a major boost ahead of their do-or-die Champions League second leg clash with Bayern Munich this week, after prolific Dutch striker Roy Makaay was ruled out due to a thigh injury.

Makaay, 29, tore a muscle in his right thigh in the final minutes of Bayern's 1-0 win over Werder Bremen at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday. Munich, who defend a 3-1 lead, are already without veteran midfielder Mehmet Scholl.

"It's completely bad news for us," said coach Felix Magath. "It's a big handicap in a crucial week."

However Magath is still brimming with belief, insisting: "With (Oliver) Kahn, (Robert) Kovac, Lucio and (Martin) Demichelis, it's hard to score a goal against us."

Thierry Henry has warned Bayern to expect the unexpected at Highbury, and insisted Arsenal would show the "passion" to complete a remarkable recovery.

Henry declared: "When Monaco lost 4-2 at Madrid, everyone was saying Real were already through and the same when Milan won 4-1 against La Coruna.

"You just never know. Even if Bayern score early, the game is not finished. Milan have defenders like Paolo Maldini and Alessandro Nesta but they still lost 4-0 after winning the first leg 4-1. Normally you would say that could never happen to them as they have experience, but it happened. Maybe we saw the wrong Arsenal in the first leg, but hopefully we can see the good Arsenal this time."

Meanwhile, Barcelona winger Ludovic Giuly has been given the all-clear to play against Chelsea tomorrow night but it has been confirmed that Rafael Marquez will be missing.

Giuly, who has missed the last two Primera Liga matches with a back strain, is likely to go straight back into the starting line-up, linking with Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o in a three-pronged attack. However, there is bad news for 26-year-old Marquez who went off at half-time against Osasuna on Saturday with a hamstring injury, which he will need a week to recover from. The likely replacement for the Mexican defensive midfielder is Gerard Lopez although Demetrio Albertini is another alternative. Italian Pierluigi Collina will referee the Stamford Bridge clash.

German Herbert Fandel will referee the second-leg meeting of AC Milan and Manchester United at the San Siro tomorrow night while Russian Valentin Ivanov will handle the Lyon v Werder Bremen at Lyon's Gerland ground.

In Serie A, an Alessandro Del Piero penalty gave Juventus a 2-1 victory at AS Roma, keeping them in step at the top with AC Milan.

Milan won by the same scoreline at Atalanta, Andrea Pirlo's winner with the last kick of the game putting them joint top with Juventus on 60 points after 27 games with Sampdoria a distant third 16 points behind.

A last-minute spot-kick from Adriano gave Inter Milan an ultimately merited win against unambitious Lecce.

An Ivan Cordoba header cancelled out a surprise opener from Alex Pinardi in the first half but, for all their possession, Roberto Mancini's men did not look like registering a winner until the penalty award.

David Beckham is doubtful for Real Madrid's Champions League clash against Juventus because of a back injury. Beckham was substituted in the second half of his side's 1-1 draw in Valencia before admitting he was not fully fit.

The draw allowed Barcelona increased their lead at the top of the Spanish championship to eight points after they won 1-0 at Osasuna. Primera LIga top scorer Samuel Eto'o grabbed the victory for Barca, finding the net from the edge of the area after 39 minutes for his 19th goal of the season.

*Former Argentina World Cup-winning captain Diego Maradona has had his stomach stapled to reduce his ballooning waistline.