Gyökeres, Ødegaard & Havertz: Latest Arsenal injury news and expected return dates ahead of Bayern Munich gameplaceholder image
Gyökeres, Ødegaard & Havertz: Latest Arsenal injury news and expected return dates ahead of Bayern Munich game | Getty Images
The latest Arsenal injury news and return dates ahead of their Champions League showdown with Bayern Munich.
Arsenal will look to build upon their impressive 4-1 rout of local rivals Tottenham Hotspur this week when they welcome German champions Bayern Munich to the Emirates in the Champions League – but Mikel Arteta will still be sweating on the fitness of several key players ahead of a challenging match.
Viktor Gyökeres, Martin Ødegaard and Kai Havertz are among the players pushing to return from injury but who remains major doubts for the match against Bayern and for the weekend’s Premier League game against Chelsea, and with defender Gabriel Magalhães also out, Arsenal could be forced to make do without as many as five first-teamers.
Ahead of Wednesday's match, we’ve collated all of the latest injury news below, along with the absent players’ expected return dates when available.
Will Viktor Gyökeres or Martin Ødegaard be fit to face Bayern Munich
Among the players watching Sunday’s one-sided north London derby from the sidelines were striker Gyökeres and club captain Ødegaard, both of whom are pushing for imminent comebacks from recent injuries.
Mikel Arteta was typically cryptic about the status of both players during his Friday pre-match press conference, telling reporters only that they would be “with us soon” and that they were in the “final stage” of their return to full fitness.
Of the two, Ødegaard may have the best chance of being involved against Bayern Munich, with The Evening Standard reporting that the Norwegian was “pushing” to make the squad for the match against Spurs after a knee injury, although he fell short in the end. Gyökeres, who is dealing with an undisclosed muscular problem, is more of a doubt but has not been ruled out of the midweek game entirely. The Chelsea match is a more realistic target for the Swede, who has now missed Arsenal’s last three games, although Arteta has not offered enough information to make a clear-cut assessment of his chances as yet.
When will Kai Havertz be back for Arsenal?
Another player who had reportedly been pushing for a comeback after the international break was German forward Havertz, but it now seems as though the 26-year-old will have to wait a little longer to return to the fray.
Arteta told the media last week that Havertz had endured “a minor relapse” of the knee injury which has kept him out since August and that he will be back “towards the end of the year.” A December return remains on the cards, but he will miss the coming week’s games.
Defender Gabriel, similarly, will be out “for weeks” after sustaining a calf injury during Brazil’s 2-0 friendly win over Senegal. He is expected to be available again around Christmas, although Arsenal are waiting for the results of a second scan before setting a target date.
Striker Gabriel Jesus, likewise, is unlikely to be involved until late December at the earliest despite returning to training following an ACL injury sustained back in January. Arteta has described the forward as being “full of energy” but a comeback around the return of the year remains the likely target. Winger Gabriel Martinelli, meanwhile, is available for the Bayern Munich after making the bench against Spurs, although he was ultimately not brought on.
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