The latest Arsenal injury list and potential return dates as Mikel Arteta’s stars feature on the international stage
Arsenal went into the international break in far from ideal circumstances - they saw their dream start to the new season ended abruptly, as Mikel Arteta’s side suffered a 3-0 hammering away to Brighton. The result saw the Gunners lose ground in the title race, with Man City - who have some rather more serious problems of their own to deal with - now three points clear atop the Premier League.
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It’s been a hectic international break for a number of Arsenal’s top players - Bukayo Saka, Ezri Konsa, Eberechi Eze, and Miles Lewis-Skelly have all been busy on England duty, David Raya, Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi have been away with Spain, and both Gabriel and Bruno Guimaraes have travelled all the way to Australia for two games with Brazil.
As Arteta presumably watches his players feature for their nations from behind the sofa, with the fear of injury setbacks ever-present during the three-week extended international break, we’ve got the latest Arsenal injury list and updates ahead of their return to action against Leeds United next month.
How long will Odegaard be out for?
Martin Odegaard was injured on international duty with Norwayplaceholder image
Martin Odegaard was injured on international duty with Norway | NTB/AFP via Getty Images
Martin Odegaard picked up an ankle injury during Norway’s 2-1 home defeat to Portugal last Sunday. The player discussed the incident in an interview post-match, suggesting that while it was a painful knock, he expected to be back in action within a few days rather than weeks. It remains to be seen whether he plays any further part in the international break, but he should be fine to feature in Arsenal’s next game on 10th October against Leeds.
Meanwhile, there was a real boost concerning Ezri Konsa, who was initially a doubt for England’s comfortable 2-0 win over Czechia on Tuesday evening. Despite missing training before the fixture, Arsenal’s summer signing was able to be part of Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the trip to Prague and could yet feature in their remaining two remaining Nations League fixtures in this break.
Kai Havertz picked up a hamstring strain during Germany’s 1-1 draw with the Netherlands last Thursday. It looks to be bad news for Arsenal, with their star forward set to be out of action for four weeks. He should be back in time to face Everton on October 24th, although the Gunners may well target getting him back to full fitness before that date.
Arsenal injury news latest: White and Mosquera close in on return
The return of Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera will give Arsenal some much needed depth in defenceplaceholder image
The return of Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera will give Arsenal some much needed depth in defence | Getty Images
Gunners midfielder Declan Rice missed out on the international break due to an unspecified injury, and will no doubt benefit from the rest after racking up an extraordinary number of minutes for club and country last season. He’ll be back in the starting line-up for Leeds’ visit to the Emirates Stadium next month.
It’s also good news regarding defenders Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera. The former has been out since 12th September with a groin injury, but is closing in on making his return against Leeds. It’s the same case for Mosquera, who is coming back from a hamstring strain. Arteta’s defensive ranks are expected to offer plenty of depth come the middle of October.
Piero Hincapie missed the international break with Ecuador due to a muscular complaint. But like White and Mosquera, it would be a surprise not to see him included in the squad to face Leeds. William Saliba, however, is not set to return from his back injury until at least mid-November - potentially after the next international break, when Arsenal face Newcastle United on November 21st.