Oxlade-Chamberlain's season and World Cup over
Liverpool and England midfielder Alex Oxlade Chamberlain will miss the 2018 FIFA World Cup after the Premier League club confirmed his season is over because of a knee ligament injury.
The former Arsenal man suffered the injury to his right leg 18 minutes into Liverpool's pulsating UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg tie against Roma, which the Reds won 5-2 at Anfield, coming off second best in a tackle with Roma's Aleksander Kolarov.
Liverpool confirmed on Thursday (AEST) that Oxlade-Chamberlain will miss the remainder of the campaign for Liverpool, and is also no chance of making the FIFA World Cup finals in Russia with England.
"Absolutely devastated to have picked up this injury at such a crucial time in the season," Oxlade-Chamberlain wrote on his Instagram after the news had broken.
"Gutted I won’t be able to play any further part now in our Champions League run for Liverpool, and also the World Cup with England. But now it’s all about supporting the boys and getting behind them.
"I know we have what it takes to do something special in this tournament. I’m going to give everything I have to make sure I’m back as quickly as possible."
Neither Liverpool nor the player have revealed the exact nature of the injury, making it unclear how long Oxlade-Chamberlain will be out for.
"The 24-year-old was assessed by the club’s medical team at Melwood on Wednesday morning and no specific timescale is being placed upon his return to action at this stage," a statement on the club's official website read.
"Oxlade-Chamberlain will now begin a rehabilitation programme to enable him to reach full fitness again as soon as possible, returning to action next season."
This is the second time Oxlade-Chamblerain has missed a major international tournament, having also injured his knee ahead of UEFA EURO 2016 when playing for Arsenal against Barcelona in theUEFA Champions League.
That knock left him on the sidelines for two months, but Liverpool's vague description of this latest injury makes it unclear whether or not he'll be fit for the start of next season in August.
But he showed his class by putting his own misfortune into stark perspective.
"However, this all pales in comparison to how the family of the Liverpool fan badly hurt before last night's game must be feeling," he wrote, referring to an incident between rival fans outside Anfield ahead of kick-off that left a Liverpool fan seriously injured .
"My thoughts are with him and his loved ones. Thank you for all your kind words, messages and support. I’ll see you soon. #YNWA"
