Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed a double injury blow ahead of the Champions League clash against Lille at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Gunners returned to winning ways on Saturday with a 2-1 Premier League victory over Leeds United. They had to do it the hard way after falling 1-0 behind in the 55th minute.
Shortly after the comeback win, some players took part in a warm-down session at the Emirates, and it proved unfortunate for defender Piero Hincapie and midfielder Martin Zubimendi.
Hincapie suffered a painful ankle strain and had to be helped off the pitch. In the same session, Zubimendi also sustained a knock to his ankle, which needs to be assessed.
In his press conference today, Arteta confirmed that the pair are ruled out of the Lille game tomorrow, and they will undergo further scans before a recovery timeframe is set.
Arteta said about the duo: “We had a training session planned after the game for the players that didn’t have enough minutes to give everybody the recovery day on Sunday, and to get everybody in the right rhythm.
“In two very unfortunate actions, we lost two players, and yeah, not great. Yes; we need to assess them today. They have further scans to see where they are, and they will have a timeframe for how long they’ll be out. Both ankles [nature of the injuries].”
Hincapie has had a tough start to the campaign with just 160 minutes of playing time. He was nursing a minor groin injury before the international break and was left out of the Ecuador squad as a result.
The left-back made a full recovery during the three-week break. He came on as a substitute for Riccardo Calafiori on Saturday and looked on course to start against Lille tomorrow before his untimely setback.
Similarly, Zubimendi has had a difficult beginning to the season. He is no longer a regular starter in central midfield with Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Bruno Guimaraes and Mikel Merino ahead of him in the pecking order.
The World Cup winner has made a solitary start this term in the Carabao Cup third round, which came as a right-back. Like Hincapie, Zubimendi could have got a rare start against Lille tomorrow, but that won’t be the case.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com