Calf injury keeping Podolski out.
Mystery has surrounded the fitness of Lukas Podolski since he was surprisingly eased out of the Arsenal starting X1 last month.
The forward has not started a match for his club since the Champions League first leg against Bayern Munich on February 19, and was surprisingly a substitute for the league matches against Aston Villa and Tottenham.
A few eyebrows were raised when he was called up to the Germany squad to face Kazakhstan this week. “Fully recovered from my injury, back on track ready to help the team soon, aiming the 3 points #GoArsenal,” tweeted the German.
A calf problem has affected Podolski over the last six weeks, rather than the long-running ankle complaint that led to him being substituted so frequently in the first half of the season.
The German’s calf setback was regarded by Arsenal as relatively minor in comparison to the ankle injury, which could require surgery in the summer.
