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Arsenal Star Kai Havertz Opens Up on Recent Injury Battles

kai havertz

Kai Havertz has come home. The Arsenal striker/midfielder and Germany international began his senior football career at Bayer Leverkusen, Arsenal’s opponent in the UEFA Champions League tomorrow night.

After playing with the youth team from 2010 to 2016, Havertz scored 36 goals in 118 appearances over a five year span with the senior side.

UEFA Champions League Round of 16

Arsenal at Bayer Leverkusen Leg 1 of 2

Kickoff: Wed March 11, 5:45 pm kickoff, Bay Arena, Leverkusen, Germany

Latest Injury Updates: go here Early Arsenal FC Team News: go here

Google Result Probability for 90 Min: Arsenal win 62% Draw 22% Bayer Leverkusen win 16%

kai havertz

When he transferred to Chelsea in 2020, he broke the transfer fee record for a German born player. He’s been with Arsenal since 2023, and now gets the chance to face his boyhood club.

He heads into this monumental match feeling fine, but having just overcome a very injury prone period.

The 26-year-old underwent two surgeries last year, the first to repair a torn hamstring that had occurred during warm weather training camp in Dubai.

Then, as the new season got underway, he encountered a knee problem that required repair. He wasn’t able to make his 2025-26 season debut until late January.

kai havertz

“We all know it [the season so far] was not what I expected it to be,” Havertz said at his pre-UCL media availability earlier today.

“But I always think that things happen for a reason and now I’m back and I feel good. I’m happy to help the team again.

Asked by a reporter is his season has been “stop-and-start,” Havertz agreed, and said: “but sometimes football is like this. I haven’t really faced a challenge like this before in my career, so I just tried to give everything to be back as soon as I could.

“Now I’m just happy to be back and be here and help the team.”

kai havertz

He was also asked about the process of just learning to trust his body again.

“I had two injuries, now three injuries behind each other,” he responded. “But, for me, it was just tough because I never felt that pain before in my life.

“And it just came like randomly. But I tried to go through these things and obviously I got my support from at home as well, my family, you know, that helped me a lot during that time.

“But obviously, you know, having two surgeries after another is not easy.

kai havertz

“I’m professional enough to know that also this is part of football sometimes. And I know that there are so many players out there that went through stages of their career also. And I think I’m still young, so I have a lot of years hopefully in front of me.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta discussed Kai Havertz having his homecoming tomorrow night.

“He spent 10 incredible years here,” the Gunners boss said at his prematch press conference earlier today.

“The way he talks about the club, the people here, the culture, what he’s learned and how hard this journey was for him to continue his next chapter in England.

arsenal kai havertz

“I’m glad to see how people are receiving him the moment he’s walking around the building, and I’m not surprised.”

According to Arteta, Havertz has been back in a normal, fully match fit, groove for three weeks now, and he’s building a lot of positive momentum.

“Now it’s been three weeks that he’s had total consistency in terms of training, preparation and gametime, and we’re going to continue to roll that because we know how Kai can impact this team,” Arteta said.

“It’s been something new for him. When you look at his injury record, it’s just blank.

kai havertz

“He never had a muscle injury and last year he had his hamstring injury that required surgery and then the knee injury, so it’s been a tough period.”

Arteta is right- up until the past couple of years, Kai Havertz had not been injury prone at all.

Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank.He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.