Fabregas injury is only minor

London: Arsenal are confident that Cesc Fabregas will be available for the matches against Manchester United and Chelsea next month after the results of a new scan showed only minor damage to his hamstring.

Fabregas suffered his fifth hamstring setback in a year during the 2-0 Champions League defeat against Braga on November 23 to leave Arsene Wenger admitting that he did not know when his captain would recover.

However, the injury has been fully assessed and the expectation is that Fabregas will return for potentially season-defining matches, starting against United at Old Trafford on December 13. After that, Wenger intends to manage Fabregas carefully, with matches in the Premier and Champions League likely to take priority.

One major surprise was the expected inclusion of Emmanuel Eboue in the squad just seven days after he was carried off with suspected medial knee ligament damage against Braga. A scan on his knee showed bruising rather than a ligament tear and he passed a fitness test yesterday.

However, Sebastien Squillaci was expected to miss the match with a knee problem. The return of goalkeeper Manuel Almunia from an elbow injury also presents a selection dilemma following Wojciech Szczesny's solid performances in the Carling Cup wins against Newcastle and Tottenham. In attack, Wenger intends to give Robin van Persie the chance to build match fitness and will consider starting him in the usual Fabregas role, just behind the central striker. Indeed, the explanation for Arsenal's apparent decision to place more emphasis on the Carling Cup is the increased strength in depth of a squad that has two full internationals for just about every position. "We are two points from the top in the Premier League, we are in the quarter-final of the Carling Cup, with a good chance to qualify in the Champions League," said Wenger. "Our target is to get to Christmas in a strong position in all the competitions." Wigan have been inspired by a team-bonding trip to the O2 Arena for the ATP Tour final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, according to their manager Robert Martinez. "I think Federer and Arsenal is a fair comparison. They have a very, very arrogant way to play football — in the right way. Their principles are quite clear."