Havertz has picked up a knee injuryplaceholder image
Havertz has picked up a knee injury | Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Arsenal have been sent an update over the Kai Havertz injury after days of nervous waiting.
Arsenal fans have been sent an update over the concerning Kai Havertz injury that rocked the Gunners this week. Mikel Arteta did not have much luck with injuries last season, with Arsenal struggling with a number of setbacks, particularly at the top end of the pitch, with Havertz and Gabriel Jesus missing much of the second half of the season.
The Gunners lacked depth last season after selling many of their fringe players to make ends meet following a couple of years of big spending, and the injuries saw them pay for that lack of depth. This season, the situation looks better in terms of depth, but the Gunners could yet offload many of their fringe players, again to balance their big spending.
Jesus remains out, and that was supposed to leave an intense striker battle between Viktor Gyokeres and Havertz, but the latter pulled up in training with a concerning knee injury this week, leaving everyone connected with Arsenal concerned.
Bild have now reported that the striker has ‘problems with the cartilage and loose bodies in his knee’. They add that Arsenal are hoping to manage the situation with rest and treatment, that will include injections, but they won’t know if the striker needs surgery until that process plays out. That process is set to take around two weeks, and the decision will then be taken over surgery.
Gyokeres will help bridge the gap, but TalkSport’s Troy Deeney has doubted the impact of the signing, saying: “Gyokeres, for me, isn't the answer. I know he's only one game in, and people will say he's rusty, but if you look at his movement, the way he was running...There was an incident when he went through and stood on the ball. I think you are going to see Havertz start more games than Gyokeres over the course of the season."
There is some good news in that the injury is not an ACL, MCL or patella tendon injury, which are the main knee issues that typically keep players out for much of the season. But as Arsenal saw with Ben White last season, even small knee procedures are likely to cost a player a couple of months, and Arteta and Havertz will be hoping surgery is not required.
Arsenal have agreed a deal for Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, and that signing will help bridge the gap, although Eze is a very different player to Havertz, being a number 10 or a winger. Gyokeres will be the only main option up top, and other options include using a false nine like Eze or Mikel Merino.
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