Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says William Saliba, Jurrien Timber, Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard all remain doubts for Saturday evening’s tie against Wolves.
After last weekend’s late setback against Aston Villa, the Gunners must respond with a win to keep Manchester City from closing back in.
Their preparations haven’t been helped by a growing injury list, with those four absent from Wednesday’s 3-0 Champions League win over Club Brugge.
Gabriel, Cristhian Mosquera and Kai Havertz are also unavailable, while Riccardo Calafiori is suspended after accumulating five yellow cards.
Addressing injuries on Friday morning, Arteta confirmed that Saliba has yet to return to training with the squad.
“Yesterday we didn't train, he hasn't trained with us yet, so we have an extra day. We train this afternoon. Let's see if he can be available or not.”
Adding more detail on Saliba’s situation, he explained: “It was something quite small. It came from an ankle injury that he had and then he started to modify the way he was running, and he started to overload an area, which is something common.
“But at some point, he was uncomfortable continuing to be able to train and play and we had to stop it.
“It looks better, but we have to wait and see if it's enough for him to be able to train with the team.”
The update on Timber was much the same: “It was a knock that he picked and he wasn't feeling comfortable. Again, I think it's a matter of days, but whether it's tomorrow or not, we'll see.”
Rice, who didn’t travel with the squad on Wednesday due to illness, is also doubtful for the weekend: “Let's see how it is today. He was ill. Normally, in a few days it gets resolved, but we have to wait and see how far he can push.”
While Trossard, who scored against Aston Villa but was substituted despite starting on the bench due to a minutes restriction, is similarly ‘a matter of days’.
However, Arsenal received some positive news this week with the return of Gabriel Jesus, who had been sidelined for over 11 months due to an ACL injury.
The 28-year-old made a promising 30-minute cameo, showing flashes of his former self and coming close to adding to the scoresheet on his return.
Arteta believes Jesus could now take advantage and push for the starting spot.
“A player of his quality, a player that has given us so much. He comes with the energy that he came the other day. He's certainly a player that has to be pushing and aiming for that,” he said.
Arteta also confirmed that he has no intention of selling Jesus, particularly given Arsenal’s current injury issues.
“No, I don't consider that, especially with the situation that we have right now. I think Gabriel has a lot to offer to the team and he's proven that straight away in the first minute that he was available to play. He's put so much to be in this position again and now the focus is to be with us.”
With Wolves sitting at the bottom of the table and struggling for form, Saturday presents an ideal opportunity for the Gunners to bounce back with a win and maintain their position at the top.