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Arsenal's Eze could be out for month with injury

Arsenal's Eberechi Eze puts his hand to his chin after the League Cup final defeat by Manchester CityGetty Images

Sami Mokbel

Senior football correspondent

Eberechi Eze is set to miss a crucial spell ofArsenal's season amid concerns he will miss about a month through injury.

Eze, 27, suffered a calf injury in last week's win over Bayer Leverkusen, which caused him to miss Sunday's Carabao Cup loss to Manchester City and withdraw from the latest England squad.

Sources have indicated initial fears are the attacking midfielder could miss between four to six weeks.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said Eze will have a definitive scan this week to determine the full extent of the injury.

Nevertheless, the loss of Eze will come as a blow to Arsenal as they pursue three trophies, with crucial Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup fixtures on the horizon.

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However, the impending return of captain Martin Odegaard will help ease the impact of Eze's loss.

Odegaard has a knee injury and has been unavailable for a month, but there is hope he will be fit to play after the international break.

The midfielder will miss Norway's games against Holland and Switzerland to focus on ensuring he is available as early as possible.

While losing Eze comes as a blow, the fact the injury comes as the international break starts will help minimise the impact created by his absence.

Arsenal's next game is the FA Cup quarter-final at Southampton on Saturday, 4 April - a competition in which Arteta has looked to rotate members of his squad.