The latest Arsenal injury news ahead of their key match against Liverpool, including updates on Bukayo Saka and Martin Ødegaard.
Arsenal may have two wins from two matches to start the new Premier League season, but that doesn’t mean that everything has gone entirely according to Mikel Arteta’s plans – and a serious injury sustained by Bukayo Saka is the latest issue the Gunners’ manager has to deal with.
Not only has Saka gone down, but there are fitness concerns over Ben White and club captain Martin Ødegaard, while Kai Havertz and Christian Nørgaard are also among the players who could miss out on this weekend’s crucial game against Liverpool at Anfield.
Ahead of that potentially massive showdown, we’ve got the latest injury updates on all of Arsenal’s stricken players and their expected return dates when available below.
Will Bukayo Saka be fit to play Liverpool?
Saka went off the field during the second half of Saturday’s eventual 5-0 win over Leeds United with a hamstring injury, a similar injury to the one which sidelined him for three months last year.
The news is better this time, but BBC Sport still report that Saka will be missing for up to four weeks, likely ruling him out of the next three games, including the trip to Anfield and the home games against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, as well as England’s upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Andorra and Serbia.
Should his recovering go according to plan, then he will most likely return for the trip to St. James’ Park at the end of September, but while the injury is less severe than last season’s it remains probable that he will be unavailable for several games which could have a significant impact on this year’s title race.
How long Martin Ødegaard & Ben White be injured for?
Like Saka, Ødegaard also had to come off against Leeds, in this case being replaced in the first half by Ethan Nwaneri following an apparent injury to his right shoulder. Arteta has confirmed that the 26-year-old will undergo a scan to determine the extent of the injury, the results of which have not yet been made public.
The Evening Standard have reported that the “damage is not as bad as first feared” but there is still no clarity as to whether he will be available for Sunday’s game with Liverpool.
Another player whose status remains uncertain is right-back Ben White. The defender was left out of the squad for the victory against Leeds after picking up an unspecified knock during the opening-weekend win over Manchester United. White missed open training prior to the game against Leeds and was eventually rested over the weekend.
Arteta has suggested that leaving White out against his former side was precautionary, however, and it is believed to be probable that he features against Liverpool, although that has not yet been confirmed by the club.
Christian Nørgaard and Kai Havertz injury latest
Summer signing Nørgaard has yet to make his debut for Arsenal due to an unspecified minor injury, but comments from Arteta suggest that he is close to seeing his first action for the club.
Arteta told the media that he would be out for “another week or so”, suggesting that there is some chance that he will be involved against Liverpool this weekend. Failing that, he should be ready to play Nottingham Forest on 13 September.
There is still some doubt as to the severity of the knee injury sustained by Kai Havertz. Early media reports suggested that he could be set for a lengthy lay-off, but Arteta has cast doubt over that diagnosis since.
Prior to the Leeds match, Arteta said that the club would need “a bit more time and some more tests” before they knew how much time Havertz would miss, and was otherwise cagy about the prognosis. It is not believed to be likely that Havertz will be available against Liverpool.
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