Laurent Koscielny could miss the World Cup after suffering a suspected ruptured Achilles in Arsenal‘s Europa League semi-final defeat against Atletico Madrid.

The France defender was carried off on a stretcher early on during the 1-0 defeat at the Wanda Metropolitano.
The 32-year-old lost his footing while moving towards Diego Costa off the ball and was in obvious distress as he clutched his lower leg.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger revealed after the game that he was fearing the worst for Koscielny with the World Cup on the horizon.

“It’s not good,” Wenger told BT Sport. “It looks (like) an Achilles rupture. Maybe we’ll have good news but the first signs are not very good.”

The injury forced Arsenal into a change after just 12 minutes with Calum Chambers replacing Koscielny – who has been nursing an Achilles problem for most of the season.

The Gunners, who have three games remaining in the Premier League, lost the semi-final 2-1 on aggregate and will finish the campaign without silverware.

France will face Australia, Peru and Denmark in Group C at the World Cup in Russia this summer, with their first game – against the Socceroos – scheduled for June 16.