Star striker Alexis Sanchez has been ruled out of the start of Arsenal's Premier League campaign due to an abdominal injury.
Sanchez is most likely to miss the opening two games, with manager Arsene Wenger also refusing to reveal if the club had received any bids for the 28-year-old.
Although Wenger insisted several times that Sanchez would not be sold, he confirmed that the forward would miss Friday's Premier League clash at home to Leicester besides a trip to Stoke the following weekend.
"Alexis will not be available. He has a little abdominal strain that he caught on Sunday morning in training, before he came to Wembley. He had a scan two days ago and he's out for a while," the Guardian quoted Wenger as saying.
"I don't know if it is two weeks or one more week, but he will not be available. I think he will not play at Stoke, yes," he added.
With less than a year remaining on Sanchez's current deal at the Emirates Stadium, the Chile international has been linked with a move away from the club and that he could even walk away for free at the end of the upcoming season.
Although Wenger admitted that entering the new campaign without Sanchez is a big blow for Arsenal, he pointed out that the striker would not have featured against Leicester even if he had not sustained the injury.
"For us Alexis Sanchez is a loss, of course. But we have all the other players prepared in pre-season and they are all ready. It can happen in pre-season and anyway, I don't think I would have included him on Friday night. I don't think I would have started him," he said.
Arsenal are slated to take on reigning Premier League champions Leicester at the Emirates Stadium on August 12.
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