Toure shock for Gunners

• zocoss

  23 Jul 08, 11:56

  

  BLOW ... Kolo Toure is struck down with disease

  ARSENAL were last night reeling from yet another blow — with news that central defender Kolo Toure has contracted MALARIA. 

  Toure, 27, picked up the disease at home in the Ivory Coast and is now a doubt for the start of the new Premier League campaign. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has already lost Alex Hleb to Barcelona, Mathieu Flamini to Milan and Gilberto Silva to Panathanaikos. And his plans to bring in new faces has been interrupted with the news of Toure’s illness.

  The player was taken to hospital while on the club’s mini pre-season tour of Austria and Hungary. After tests, he remained at the team hotel in Austria last night while the Gunners played out a 1-1 draw across the border against Szombathelyi Haladas with Theo Walcott on the scoresheet.

  Toure was said to be in good spirits last night and was not believed to be too concerned about his illness. Malaria is extremely common in Africa. Yakubu, Celestine Babayaro and Lomana LuaLua have all returned to the Premier League over the last couple of years having contracted malaria.

  Krisztian Kenesei opened the scoring for the home side last night. But Walcott gave his team-mates a finishing lesson by smashing home from the edge of the box after being put through by Nicklas Bendtner just before the break.

   

• youyayu

  23 Jul 08, 12:00

  0.o hahahah even disease don't like arsenal

• zocoss

  23 Jul 08, 12:09

  But its a good thing it happen now rather than at the start of the season... He still has almost a month to recover so still quite ok lah...

• Saltiga

  23 Jul 08, 17:15

  yes and no if you ask me, no proper pre-season training does harm the player during the season

• omgukilledkenny

  23 Jul 08, 19:27

  big lost.

• dinky1409

  23 Jul 08, 21:12

  wah damn suay.. hows de eduardo progress?

• gunner77

  23 Jul 08, 22:08

  Originally posted by dinky1409:

  wah damn suay.. hows de eduardo progress?

  
  going well

  expect him to come back in the new season

• Gackt247

  24 Jul 08, 01:26

  Aiyo.. sibei jialat leh..

• weewee

  24 Jul 08, 01:33

  start of season not so impt la...stay at top only gets lots of pressure only.

• SiMiLaiEh*

  24 Jul 08, 02:33

  1st game west brom shud be no rpoblem

• zocoss

  24 Jul 08, 15:11

  Originally posted by weewee:

  start of season not so impt la...stay at top only gets lots of pressure only.

  
  Yeah man, I agree with you on this... invite all the pressure only... Then everybody start to look at you... and want to beat the leader...