Henry may miss Chelsea clash because of injury

LONDON, Dec 2 (Reuters) Injured Arsenal captain Thierry Henry may not be ready to face champions Chelsea a week today and says he has struggled for fitness all season.

Henry missed his side's 3-0 home league win over rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday because of a nagging neck injury.

''I have to rest,'' Henry told BBC Sport. ''If that includes Chelsea...I hope it is going to stop there.

''It might go further but I have been saying since the start of the season I'm nowhere (near) fully fit and I came back into the team trying to help.'' The striker said playing so many games in reaching the Champions League and World Cup finals earlier in the year had affected his fitness.

''I came back from the World Cup a bit tired. I played a lot of games and emotionally losing two finals like that is not easy,'' he added.

Henry, who is suspended for the crucial midweek Champions League trip to Porto, played down media reports that he had stormed out of Arsenal's training ground when told he would not face Tottenham.

''No-one forced me not to play, it was just a discussion we had,'' he said. ''I was upset about it because I do not like to not play. But you have to be honest and listen to your body.'' REUTERS PDS RK2050