Invisiblewall.net: Gilberto Silva News

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SPORT/football/01/12/england.gilberto/

LONDON, England — Arsenal’s injured midfielder Gilberto will not return to action for the Premier League champions until mid-April at the earliest.

The 2002 World Cup winner, who has been recovering in his native Brazil after suffering fractured vertebrae in September, is back in London and due for further medical checks this week.

Manager Arsene Wenger said: “The news I had from the specialist Gilberto has seen was rather good. But we want to check that with our own specialist.”

Wenger said mid-April would be the earliest date for a return “even if the news is positive” from the club’s experts.

With the 28-year-old all but ruled out for the rest of the season, and fellow Brazilian Edu free to talk to other clubs, Wenger could be tempted to sign a new midfielder in the January transfer window.

So – this week proving quite a big week for Gilberto – will he play another game for Arsenal this season?

As soon as news is known, check back here.

http://skysports.planetfootball.com/list.asp?hlid=249494&cpid=8&CLID=3&lid=&title=Gilberto+played+through+pain&channel=Premiership

Arsenal midfielder Gilberto has revealed that he played ten games this season with a fractured disc in his lower back.

The combative Brazilian played through the pain barrier but finally had to succumb and has spent the past three months on the sidelines.

Gilberto is set to see a specialist on Thursday and is hopeful of being given the all clear to make his comeback in February.

The player has now spoken of the full extent of his injury woe and of his intention to help the club back to the Premiership summit.

”It has not been easy – it was difficult after I did the injury but I just wanted to carry on so I could help the team,” said Gilberto.

”I don’t know how I did it but eventually it got so bad we did a scan on my back and it showed the fracture.

”I got the original injury playing against Everton. The pain continued but it got worse because I carried on playing and training with the back injury.

”But I am doing well now, much better. I had a scan on Tuesday and the Arsenal doctor saw the scan and said it looked great.

”I will be back soon. I am very positive and very happy and I think I will be back playing by the end of February.”

Well done Berty Boy – you make Arsenal proud.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?xml=/sport/2005/01/09/sfngil09.xml&sSheet=/sport/2005/01/09/ixfooty.html

Statistics never lie about Gilberto
By Roy Collins
(Filed: 09/01/2005)

Even the the Arsenal fans who have been most critical of the Brazilian star, Gilberto Silva, will join the welcoming committee outside Highbury for his return tomorrow. They may be among those in football who will tell you that there are lies, damned lies and the Opta stats. Yet, even allowing for the odd porky or a wrongly attributed pass, there is no doubting the veracity of the statistics showing that he is the man Arsenal have missed most this season.

Gilberto has been out since coming off injured against Bolton Wanderers on Sept 19 and will be lucky to play even a few more games this season. His problem? A badly damaged back, hardly surprising seeing that the people with the Opta notepads suggest that he has been carrying his team-mates on it when it comes to tackling, intercepting and blocking shots at goals; Arsenal’s failures in these areas have been at the heart of their problems this season.

Gilberto, 28, who played every minute of every game for Brazil in their 2002 World Cup triumph, has also proved a talisman at Highbury, having tasted defeat only five times in 67 league games, the last one against Leeds in May, 2003. He helped keep the back door secure when Arsenal were in their early season pomp, winning all six games that he completed and leading against Bolton when he came off.

All this might be unpalatable to the majority of Arsenal fans who have never warmed to him. But never in his absence has a player’s contribution been more appreciated and it is a huge blow to Arsenal’s hopes of retaining their title that he may not play again this term.

Gilberto, who has been recuperating in Brazil, is at least returning to Highbury. But Arsenal could be out of every competition before he returns to action, if at all, by April at the earliest.

Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, says: “The news from the specialist is good, but we want to check with our own specialist on Thursday. If the scan is positive, he can restart training, but it will be a 10-12 weeks job, which means that the best of Gilberto would be in mid-April. The bad news for us would be if he needs surgery.

“Yes, we have missed him, but I think the bad luck was that Edu was out at the same time so we had to use [Francesc] Fabregas and [Mathieu] Flamini, who had a lack of experience. Now those two are able to compete.”

Wenger was talking about the Carling Cup game tonight, when he touched on the issue of youth players learning from experienced players.

If you never give up then you always have a chance, and they got a great example from a World Cup winner. You only have to see where Gilberto was when we got the ball back and where he was when he scored his goal. Remember this is a guy who has won everything.

Taken from http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?article=351860

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/sport/football/articles/15831933?source=Evening

Gilberto comeback looms
By Steve Stammers, Evening Standard
7 January 2005

Gilberto Silva is planning a return to the Arsenal team next month after being out for more than 12 weeks with a back injury.

The World Cup winner is due back at Arsenal next week after recuperating in Brazil where a doctor told the midfielder he should be in full training by the end of the month. Although the player says he is feeling better, Arsenal will conduct their own specialist report next week before deciding when he will be fit to resume playing.

There have been fears Gilberto would miss the remainder of the season if surgery was needed.