Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger regrets not resting Aaron Ramsey after seeing the midfielder suffer a fresh injury following his return from an intensive spell of duty with Wales.
Ramsey faces around a month on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring problem during the second half of the 2-0 Champions League victory over Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.
Wenger accepts he should have given Ramsey a breather at Watford last weekend, but remains unimpressed by Wales' decision to play the 24-year-old for 90 minutes against Andorra in Cardiff on October 13.
Both Ramsey and Real Madrid's Gareth Bale, himself carrying an injury concern, scored in the match, before which qualification for the Euro 2016 finals was already secured.
"Aaron Ramsey, after international break, he has a chance to be back, so it is a three to four weeks job," said Wenger, whose side host Everton on Saturday.
"Maybe he was overloaded a little bit with games. Ideally I think not him nor Bale should have played against Andorra, because they were qualified, but unfortunately I could not decide that.
"I was in a position after that where I thought I could rest him against Watford. In the end I didn't do it and of course after, against Bayern, I had not much choice and we got punished.
"Ideally he should have had a breather, or at Watford. Realistically, the real breather he could have had was against Andorra."
Asked if he now regretted playing Ramsey at Watford, where he scored in the final goal of a 3-0 win, Wenger said: "Yes, because he got injured."
Wenger accepts clubs are somewhat powerless to prevent international managers from deploying their players in whatever manner they deem fit.
"It is a point of friction between clubs and national teams," said the Gunners boss, who in the past has seen the likes of midfielder Jack Wilshere sidelined with problems sustained while away with England.
"I understand, when it's official games, you do not want to interfere in that because the country is important and they have to win the games.
"Once they play friendlies, or games where there is nothing at stake, you think they should accommodate the clubs as well.
"It is difficult because it is sometimes common sense and you cannot predict every single situation with a rule. It is more down to a good co-operation between clubs and countries that is important."
Arsenal resumed domestic action looking to move to the top of the Barclays Premier League, with leaders Manchester City taking on rivals United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Wenger is confident his side, who sit second in the table, two points off the pace, can maintain their momentum for what would be a fourth straight Premier League victory.
"Overall we are in a good run and that can help the level of confidence and belief going into the next game," he said.
"You gain credibility through consistency and when people think this could be a game where we could slip a bit and you respond in a positive way.
"It shows that our consistency is questioned by many people which is not based on mathematics and statistics, but more on preconceived ideas and it is down to us to change people's minds. The longer we last (at the top), the more people will give us credit for it."
Olivier Giroud came off the bench to score against Bayern, just as he had done at Watford.
England forward Theo Walcott has, though, retained his place at the head of the attack.
"It is always hard," said Wenger. "They are top players, I consider the form, the game on the day.
"At the end of the season both will have played their share of games, but at the moment it is Theo (starting), in a few weeks it might be Giroud. What is important is that both contribute."
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