12.03.2010
Fabregas desperate to play through the pain barrier
Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas insists he is ready to play through the pain barrier to help the Gunners end their long wait for silverware.
Fabregas has struggled with hamstring injuries this season and was ruled out of Tuesday's Champions League win over Porto as a result of his latest setback sustained against Burnley last weekend.
The troublesome hamstring looks set to sideline the Spain midfielder again when Arsenal travel to Hull on Saturday, but Fabregas will put his body on the line as soon as possible and insists he would never miss a match at such a crucial stage of the season if it was left up to him.
Arsene Wenger's side are just two points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United and moved into the last eight of the Champions League after routing Porto.
"I never (ask to be rested). I love playing football, I was feeling good when the injury happened against Burnley and you never know when that is going to happen," Fabregas told Arsenal TV.
"As long as you are feeling good you just want to play. It's a little bit better. I'm getting there day by day."
With so much at stake for Arsenal, Fabregas admits he is frustrated to be bothered by the same injury time and again.
"All the time it is the same hamstring and last season I missed the Manchester United game because of the same thing," he said.
"It's four or five times now in the same area. I don't know what's going on.
"It's not that I have strained it, it is just a little bit of fluid that is there and it keeps me out for between five and six days."
Fabregas is not the only Arsenal star to be sidelined this season and he believes the serious injuries suffered by Aaron Ramsey, Robin van Persie, Kieran Gibbs and Johan Djourou have united the rest of the squad.
"The Aaron thing, Robin, Gibbs, Johan Djourou, they made us more united," he added.
"We haven't seen Robin for four months, we don't know anything about him but Gibbsy and Johan we see them all the time and they would love to be in our position, so that is making us more united as a team.
"Hopefully we can do it for the club, for the fans and also for them.
"We have never talked (about the title), we just kept going and going. But now even more it is the time to be doing our talking on the pitch because we have a great opportunity."
Source: © 2010 AFP - Ian Kington
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