Van Persie, Clichy out of first leg of Euro semi

Apr 23, 2009, 21:24 GMT

London - Arsenal will be without forward Robin van Persie and full-back Gael Clichy for next week's Champions League semi-final first leg against Manchester United, manager Arsene Wenger confirmed Thursday.

Van Persie had a groin injury while Clichy has a back problem.

Wenger confirmed that goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, defender Johan Djourou and striker Emmanuel Adebayor could all return for Sunday's Premier League game against Middlesbrough.

'We will rotate a little bit again, but we have no major injuries from Liverpool,' Wenger told Arsenal TV Online.

'Manuel Almunia was in full training on Thursday, and we will see how he responds. Djourou was in full training also, so we will see how he is, too. Both could come back into the squad.'

Wenger said that another 48 hours were needed to evaluate everyonen's availability.

'Emmanuel Adebayor should come back into training on Saturday. He could be in the squad,' Wenger said. 'But Robin van Persie is definitely out for Sunday and for Manchester United. Gael Clichy could be back for the second Manchester United game. He has a scan on Monday.

'We'll go from there. He has a chance to be back in full training next week.'