Arsenal are facing a long battle to keep Bukayo Saka fit after his recent spell on the sidelines with a serious hamstring injury, according to an expert.
Saka is set to make his return to Premier League action on Tuesday night as the second-placed Gunners host Fulham looking to close the 12-point gap on leaders Liverpool, who now look set to cruise to the title.
The Arsenal winger had to undergo surgery on his hamstring before being rehabilitated back to fitness – but injury expert Stephen Smith, who is the CEO and founder of Kitman Labs, insists this is just the beginning of the battle to keep Saka fit long term.
Smith told The Metro: “Absolutely Arsenal will be careful. It was a serious injury. They need to find the right balance to make sure he is strong enough and make sure he is capable of meeting the demands of the game while still playing that really explosive style of football he has.
“The scarring that we have seen is on the outside of his knee where his hamstring tendon attaches into the back of his lower leg. You have three muscles, two are inserted on the inside of your knee, one inserts on the outside of your knee.
“If that was on the inside of his knee in one of those tendons, that is a lot of force, a lot of power but not a lot of protection either. I am sure they will be extremely cautious with that.
READ: Big Final Run-in: Liverpool transfer prep, Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Maresca, Foden
“They need to find the right balance to ensure he is capable of delivering that kind of physicality he normally would. I have no doubt as they start to bring him back they will be monitoring and measuring everything around him that to make sure he is feeling good and responding well.”
Smith reckons there could be up to a three-month period from now where the risk of Arsenal star Saka sustaining another injury is at it’s peak.
The injury expert continued: “Once they get him out there and he has played his first game or two, there will be a two-to-three month period where they are paying very special attention to him across a number of different data points and metrics that will help Arsenal understand how he is transitioning back into normal performance management compared to an individual programme. So there’s lots to do still.
“Every time he plays they [Arsenal’s medical staff] will be straight back at it at the training ground, testing his hamstring muscle strength, testing his biomechanics, testing his muscular endurance.
“They will be looking at getting him that exposure [back to first team football], getting back to the training centre to see how he responds.
MORE ARSENAL COVERAGE ON F365…
👉Berta ‘knows first three Arsenal transfers’ as new sporting director reacts to his appointment
👉 Arsenal: £58m target ‘more prominent’ on three-striker list as Andrea Berta’s stance surfaces
👉Ten transfer requests welcomed by Premier League clubs ahead of the summer window
“From there, they can give him a bit more exposure, get him back in again and see how he responds again and make sure everything looks okay. They will keep doing that until they feel he has built of a level of resilience and robustness so they can start putting the pieces together more frequently.”
Smith added: “Saka has had a lot of downtime which in some respects is great but ideally they would have wanted him with more football under his belt to come back in at the end of the season ready.
“Of course, a world class player coming back in can really help drive them towards the end of the finishing line but they also have a player who hasn’t had a lot of football.
“Even if the physical side of things is great, will he be match fit, will he be sharp? Can he just slot back in tactically and technically? These are questions Arteta and his staff will find the answers to.”