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Arsenal have received a welcome boost with the news that Robin van Persie will be fit to face Blackburn this weekend.

Van Persie returned from international duty in midweek with a minor knee problem, but Arsene Wenger confirmed the Dutch striker had not suffered any long-term damage.

“He’s all right – he will be in the squad,” Wenger said. “It was a kick on his knee but he had a test this morning and felt all right. If he has no reaction overnight, he should be okay.”

With Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott available, Wenger is keen to ensure he has no other injury woes if Arsenal are to challenge rivals Manchester United for the Premier League title.

“I am an optimist so always I hoped it would not be too severe,” Wenger said. “That was the case – for once we had good news. We all [hold our breath] because it’s the final part of the season and losing a player now is basically losing them for the rest of the season.

“We are in the final sprint for the championship so we want all our players available.”

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David Moyes has confirmed Everton striker Louis Saha is set to miss the rest of the season through injury.

Saha suffered an ankle injury during the 2-1 victory over Fulham last month and has since undergone surgery on the problem.

The striker had scored nine goals already in 2011, and his injury now leaves Everton with a shortage of strikers and means a heavy reliance on Jermaine Beckford for the final weeks of the season.

Everton are also suffering from injuries in midfield and defence, with Mikel Arteta and Marouane Fellaini certain to miss Saturday’s game at home to Aston Villa on Saturday and Jack Rodwell, Seamus Coleman and Tim Cahill all doubtful.

“We have got a lot of injuries,” Moyes said. “Louis has had an operation this week which will probably rule him out for the season.

“It is football, isn’t it? You pick up injuries and we try not to talk too much about them but we have a spate of them at this present time.

“Mikel has been away in Spain for a few weeks, recuperating and recovering from his hamstring problem. He is due back over the weekend and we will see how he is.”

Moyes believes international friendlies, such as England’s game against Ghana on Tuesday, are contributing to clubs’ injury problems.

“To have a friendly at this stage of the season is difficult,” he said. “I understand why the national teams want them but we are into the last six or seven weeks of the season and you can see the amount of injuries players are having, probably on the back of the World Cup and other international tournaments.

“I think that is why you are probably seeing so many injuries if you look around the Premier League. People are probably not getting to see the best players right now because the football is taking its toll on them.

“They are all involved in so much football and they need a break.”

He added: “I do take a lot of pride because I want them to be selected for their country, but I am beginning to doubt if that is what I want.

“I am just beginning to look and say, ‘Is it worth it?’. We have lost quite a few players. They don’t pay the players’ wages – we have to.”

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Andrei Arshavin believes Arsenal’s end of season run-in gives them the edge in the race for the Premier League title.

Second-placed Arsenal trail leaders Manchester United by five points, with a game in hand, but have a much less congested schedule after being dumped out of the Carling Cup, UEFA Champions League and FA Cup.

Meanwhile, United face neighbours Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and must play both Arsenal and the Blues in the league next month.

Arsenal, who have not won a trophy for six years, only have the Premier League title still to play for and while Arshavin would prefer to be fighting on all fronts he feels a sole focus could be beneficial.

“I think our schedule is not so bad, that is why if we win all our games we have a good chance to be champions,” Arshavin told Sky Sports News.

“I think everyone in our team would prefer to have more possibilities than only one trophy, but everything is in the past, that is why we have to concentrate on the Premier League matches.

“Straight after it was very difficult for everyone, but now we have come back after the internationals and have refreshed our minds and maybe it will help us. I think we are in the race.”

Arsenal resume their Premier League campaign with a home clash against struggling Blackburn Rovers while United face a tricky trip to West Ham. Arshavin joked: “I met with Avram Grant yesterday, we had a chat and I have asked him to steal some points from Manchester United this weekend!”

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Jose Mourinho has hinted that Real Madrid stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema will not be fit for Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s La Liga clash with Sporting Gijon, Mourinho claimed Ronaldo, Benzema and Marcelo would not be available until next weekend game against Athletic Bilbao.

The news will come as big boost for Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp who is suffering a defensive injury crisis and is preparing to go into the game with just two fit centre-backs.

Mourinho said: “Cristiano, Marcelo and Benzema can only play in Bilbao.”

Ronaldo, Real’s leading goalscorer, has been struggling with a hamstring injury while fellow forward Benzema, who is in a rich vein of form, picked up a slight thigh strain on France duty and full-back Marcelo suffered a blow to the ribs while training with Brazil.

On a brighter note for Madrid, Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain could make an earlier-than-expected return following back surgery.

Higuain has been included in the squad for Saturday’s game against Gijon, and Mourinho said: “His recovery is a positive surprise because we thought he may miss up to the final 15 games of the season and having him is important.”

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Friday night’s Bundesliga game between St Pauli and Schalke was abandoned with two minutes to go because of crowd trouble at the Millerntor-Stadion which saw an object thrown at an assistant referee.

In a stormy game which saw the home side have a goal disallowed and two men sent off, Schalke were leading 2-0 when the action was halted after goals from Raul and Julian Draxler.

With moments to play, referee Deniz Aytekin took the players off the field after his assistant Thorsten Schiffner was struck by an object, apparently a mug of beer, thrown from the crowd.

“There is no explanation for this,” St Pauli coach Holger Stanislawski was quoted as saying on Kicker. “Things like this should never happen in a football stadium.

“We on the bench do shout and scream a lot and there’s always a lot of aggression on the field but anyone who throws things is always endangering other people.

“In the name of St Pauli Football Club I would like to apologise to the assistant referee.”

The German football association (DFB) must now decide whether the result will stand, with the possibility of a 3-0 defeat and further sanctions hanging over the Hamburg-based side.

Raul had already hit the bar when he put Schalke ahead in the 26th minute, the former Real Madrid man heading home after Jefferson Farfan whipped in a corner.

Fin Bartels sent a swerving shot just over as the hosts finally enjoyed some pressure but Schalke almost doubled their lead when Edu headed wide while Raul sent a 45-yard chip on to the roof of the net on the brink of half-time.

With 25 minutes left, St Pauli were denied a goal thanks to a dubious offside decision and Schalke went down the other end to score, Draxler bundling the ball over the line for his first Bundesliga goal.

Just three minutes later St Pauli were down to 10 men when Jan-Phillip Kalla received his second yellow card for a challenge on Farfan.

Eleven minutes from time, St Pauli’s woes worsened when Bartels was given a straight record for a lunge on Farfan.

And the Hamburg club’s evening came to the worst possible end when the match was called off in the 88th minute.

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