Szczesny hopeful over fitness

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny is hopeful of returning from injury before the end of the season.

Szczesny has been out of action sice suffering a finger injury in the UEFA Champions League defeat to Barcelona earlier this month.

The injury was expected to sideline Szczesny for up to six weeks, forcing Arsenal into luring former keeper Jens Lehmann out of retirement to provide cover for Manuel Almunia.

Szczesny admits the injury is frustrating for him after establishing himself as No.1 in Arsene Wenger's starting XI.
"There is not a lot of joint damage but the tendon is ruptured, so basically I have to keep my finger in a splint for four weeks and let the tendon heal," Szczesny told Arsenal TV Online.
"From then it will be a couple of weeks before I can be back in the squad. It is very hard, especially at a time when it was going well for me, but there is nothing you can do when it happens - you have to move on, work hard on your fitness and make sure you come back stronger than ever."