There’s an old saying that just when you think things can’t get any worse, they do – that was how Arsenal fans felt early on Friday.
It had already been the grimmest of weeks for the Gunners, with German star Kai Havertz ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury. A properly painful blow after the club failed to bring in a new striker during the January transfer window.
Havertz of course is only one of the major injury issues for Mikel Arteta in attack. Gabriel Jesus is out for the season with an ACL injury while Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli are both recovering from hamstring injuries.
Late last night (Thursday) things looked to have taken another miserable turn with The Sun reporting that Saka could be out for another EIGHT WEEKS, rather than returning as expected next month.
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This was a bitter blow for Gunners fans, who had been boosted by pictures of Bukayo undergoing rehab in the weight room in Dubai this week. So what’s the actual deal?
Well this morning (Friday) we had Arteta’s press conference ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Leicester, as the Gunners look to cut the seven-point gap to Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
Arteta answers Saka setback questions
The manager was, of course, asked about the reports of a Saka setback, and his response was the first bit of good news we’ve had this week.
When asked if there had been a setback, Arteta’s response was a simple “NO”. Good start, Mikel.
He went on: “We have a long-term injury, what is faster? In a ten-day injury, three days is a lot. But its too early, he’s in an early stage of rehab. When we do more we will stack on more load.”
So no definitive news on just when Saka will be back (he’s been out since December of course) but at least no setback.
The Gunners are right down to the bare bones for Saturday’s trip to the Midlands – Ethan Nwaneri, Leandro Trossard and Raheem Sterling appear to be the only options Arteta has at his disposal.