Reports this morning suggest that Alexis Sanchez could miss the start of the season as he recovers from an ankle injury picked up during the Copa America final.

The Chilean star has kept people up to date with his progress via his Instagram account, posting various pictures of his mangled ankle joint which was swollen, bruised and, frankly, disturbing looking – like if you had never seen a foot and were asked to make one from clay after a vague description.

Anyway, speculation that he might not be fit in time for the opening of the new campaign should come as no surprise. Even without an injury, he needed time off to recover from what has been a monstrous physical effort over the last three seasons, so the ankle issue adds another layer to proceedings.

It probably adds some more urgency to Arsenal’s efforts to improve the forward options as Olivier Giroud will be on holidays until the first week of August, Danny Welbeck is likely to miss most of the season with his knee injury, leaving only Theo Walcott as an established option for Arsene Wenger.

The Arsenal manager appeared unconvinced by his efforts last season, but will certainly choose him ahead of the likes of Yaya Sanogo or Chuba Akpom.

Whether Arsenal add new faces before the opener against Liverpool on August 14th remains to be seen, but the need for reinforcements will grow if Sanchez is ruled out.