Collision forces Fabregas to sit out remainder of season for Gunners

The Gunners captain had been a doubt for the game which ended in a dramatic 2-2 draw at Emirates Stadium, after suffering severe bruising to his knee and leg at Birmingham.

However, after coming through a fitness test in the warm-up, Fabregas returned to lead the side against his boyhood club – and played a pivotal role in their comeback after falling 2-0 down to a brace from Zlatan Ibrahimovic which looked to have all but killed off the tie.

During the closing stages, after substitute Theo Walcott had pulled a goal back, the Gunners captain – who would have missed the second leg against his old club anyway after being booked in the first half – was bundled over by Carles Puyol and awarded a penalty.

It was during that collision with the Barcelona captain, who was shown a red card by Swiss referee Massimo Busacca, that Fabregas suffered the latest problem.

However, while Fabregas will miss the rest of the domestic season, the 22-year-old should still be fit for the World Cup with Spain.

An Arsenal statement read: "Following a scan this afternoon, the club can confirm that Cesc Fabregas has suffered a small crack in his right fibula as a result of the collision with Barcelona defender Carles Puyol during Wednesday evening's match.

"As a consequence, Cesc will miss the remainder of the domestic campaign as he will be out of action for at six weeks.

The news will be a devastating blow to the plans of manager Arsene Wenger, who had only just got his captain back into full action after a hamstring injury earlier in the campaign.