Freddie hopes Gunners injury woes are over

Fredrik Ljungberg hopes his injury problems are over as he returns to strengthen Arsenal’s triple assault on silverware this season.

Swedish midfielder Ljungberg made his first start for a month in the Champions League win at Celta Vigo in midweek after breaking a rib against Middlesbrough and initially trying to play through the pain.

His availability ahead of tomorrow’s London derby with Charlton at Highbury is one piece of good news on the injury front at a time when Arsene Wenger’s squad are blighted with niggles.

Faced with an intense run-in, including 12 Premiership matches and quarter-finals in both Europe and the FA Cup, Arsenal are without Ray Parlour, Sylvain Wiltord and Jeremie Aliadiere for the foreseeable future.

Gilberto Silva (ankle) and Ashley Cole (back) are both doubtful for the visit of Alan Curbishley’s men north of the Thames but Ljungberg is feeling his way back.

“It felt really good to be back,” he said, following the 3-2 win. “The Champions League is always special to play in and I was really pleased to be playing again. It’s always boring to get injured and especially if you have had cracked ribs then you’re a bit scared at the beginning.

“But you get confidence with each game that it won’t happen again, so that’s really good.

“I had an X-ray which showed some flakes around the rib but it feels a lot better now. I had a bit of an injection on it but it felt good.

“It will take a bit of time before I’m back to my sharpest again but I felt really happy in the first half and the important thing is we won the game against Vigo.

“It’s very important for everyone to stay fit. Unfortunately, Ray Parlour is out for some time so it’s important that we don’t get any more injuries. We don’t have that big a squad but everyone bonds very well together and it works really well on the pitch.”

It is that togetherness which has kept the Gunners unbeaten in 26 league matches this season.

Dennis Bergkamp did not travel to Spain but should return to action, probably in place of Jose Reyes.

Two-goal hero Edu, meanwhile, is confident of shaking off a problem with his left ankle.