Gallas out for rest of season

Arsenal defender William Gallas has been ruled out for the remainder of the season by the medial knee ligament damage he suffered in the Champions League at Villarreal.

The Gunners will also be without goalkeeper Manuel Almunia for three weeks, after he suffered an ankle injury in Tuesday’s 1-1 quarter-final first-leg draw.

Full-back Gael Clichy will miss two weeks with a back injury, while Robin van Persie and Eduardo will undergo fitness tests tomorrow before Saturday’s Barclays Premier League match at Wigan.

The Gunners battled back to secure their draw at El Madrigal, where their Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor netted his third goal in two games with a superb overhead kick.

They were already resigned to being without Almunia for next week’s return at Emirates Stadium, and manager Arsene Wenger admitted yesterday he was expecting Gallas to be out for the rest of the season.

Arsenal do have veteran former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre fit again, however – so there is cover at the back for Gallas, who has been one of the Gunners’ most consistent players over the past few months.