Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz
A first half that ends with two stretchers is a bad night for two clubs, not just one coach. The scan van leaves before the equaliser. The diagnosis arrives after the point.
International football does not wait for a title-winning centre-forward to feel right. Thirty minutes is enough to take him out of the next three games in the window.
The club date that matters is still two weeks away. That is the only calendar that softens the news.
READ MORE: Kai Havertz injury update after being substituted for Germany
Kai Havertz was sent for an MRI after going off injured in Germany’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in Amsterdam. The Athletic reports a suspected hamstring injury in the first half of Jurgen Klopp’s first match as Germany coach.
Jamal Musiala had already been withdrawn in the warm-up with a thigh problem. Klopp spoke to RTL after the game.
“At the moment both are on the MRI (scans),” he said. “I hope we get the diagnosis tonight. But of course that’s not great now. I hope this is just nothing bad. The boys are probably out for us. But hopefully then also relatively quickly available again.”
Felix Nmecha had put Germany ahead. Cody Gakpo equalised in stoppage time for Xavi’s Netherlands. Brian Brobbey, the Sunderland striker, also went off in the first half with a suspected hamstring.
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Goal had reported that Havertz clutched the back of his thigh after a kick above the knee from Quinten Timber. The Athletic’s line is the hamstring. The scan will settle it.
Havertz has started all five of Arsenal’s Premier League games this season and scored twice. He has been Arteta’s first-choice centre-forward while Viktor Gyokeres has 29 league minutes and no goal.
Germany have Serbia and Greece still to play in this Nations League group. Klopp expects both Havertz and Musiala to miss the rest of the break.
For Arsenal that is the tolerable version: out of international football, back for Leeds on 10 October. The worse version is a hamstring that keeps him out of the first weeks after the window.
William Saliba is still targeting late October. Jurrien Timber trained alone with the Netherlands and did not play in Amsterdam. Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera are working their way back. Losing Havertz for any stretch would put Gyokeres and Christos Tzolis in a different conversation.
Until the scan is read, it stays suspected. Klopp’s hope is “nothing bad” and “relatively quickly available”. Arsenal will want him on a plane as soon as Germany sign him off. Two league goals and five starts are why he went to Amsterdam. A hamstring in the first half is why the next 48 hours matter more than the 1-1.
Manchester City corner flag
Manchester City corner flag