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Arsène Wenger may be forced to field a patched-up team missing as many as nine first-team regulars for the visit of Manchester United tomorrow in a match that could make or break Arsenal’s season.

The club’s injury problems worsened yesterday when it was confirmed that Mikaël Silvestre has a broken nose and that Bacary Sagna was unable to train because of an ankle injury. They join a growing list of doubts that features Theo Walcott (shoulder) and William Gallas (hamstring). Emmanuel Adebayor (ankle), Emmanuel Eboué (knee) and Robin van Persie (suspension) have already been ruled out, in addition to Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo da Silva, the long-term injury victims who have yet to play this season.

Gallas called on his team-mates yesterday to “fight like soldiers” after a dismal run of three matches without a win, against Tottenham Hotspur, Stoke City and Fenerbahçe, and there is no doubt that Arsenal have been in the wars. Manuel Almunia, the Spanish goalkeeper, was able to return to training yesterday after a stomach bug and Silvestre is expected to play through the pain barrier, but Walcott and Gallas are unlikely to be risked against United.

Sagna was on the bench against Fenerbahçe on Wednesday and had been expected to return tomorrow, but that can no longer be guaranteed.

“Mikaël has a broken nose with an open wound on the side,” Wenger said. “Basically he should be capable of playing, but in the next 48 hours I will have to decide what we do.

“You cannot rule him out and I feel he can play. But I have to decide whether I go for the gamble or not. Manuel Almunia was back in training today so he will be available. We will not know about Walcott and Gallas before tomorrow afternoon. It is 50-50 for both. As for Sagna, there was a gamble on him that I did not want to take on Wednesday. We could not take it today in training either. He still needed to be out of impact work. I think he should be OK for Saturday, but there is still a slight concern.”

Wenger is struggling to raise an XI for a match that his team cannot afford to lose if they are to retain genuine title aspirations, a far cry from the situation facing Sir Alex Ferguson, who rested Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville and Anderson from the 1-1 draw with Celtic on Wednesday, with Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney starting on the bench.

Arsenal’s back four should be just about recognisable, but their options are severely limited in attack, particularly on the right-hand side of midfield. Wenger is considering giving Aaron Ramsey his first Premier League start in the unfamiliar role on the right that he occupied with modest success against Fenerbahçe, because his only other options would involve moving Denilson or Alexandre Song from their favoured positions in the middle. Arsenal’s plight is almost as severe up front, with Wenger having no choice but to ask Nicklas Bendtner to lead the line on his own and Abou Diaby tucked in behind.

Bendtner was jeered by his own fans after a lacklustre performance against Fenerbahçe, but, in keeping with his natural confidence, insists that he will put things right against United. “This could be the biggest game of my career,” he said. “I try not to focus on the players who are out. I focus on myself and, if they are available, it’s good for us. I still try to do the best I can to play.

“I always feel comfortable about whoever I play. I go to play to my strengths and we go to play altogether; it’s not just one player against the whole team. If we all play well, that should be enough.”