The latest Arsenal injury news - with updates on William Saliba, Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli, Riccardo Calafiori and more.
Arsenal’s win over Crystal Palace at the weekend gave them a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League, but it came at a cost – with William Saliba, Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli and Riccardo Calafiori all seemingly struck by injuries during the game.
Saliba was withdrawn at half-time, Rice and Calafiori both had to make way during the second half, and while Martinelli made it to full-time he was seen limping down the tunnel at the Emirates. If all four are rendered unavailable, then Mikel Arteta could be heading into this week’s matches against Brighton & Hove Albion and Burnley missing as many as eight first-team players.
We’ve got the latest updates on all of Arsenal’s injured players below along with their expected return dates ahead of Wednesday evening’s EFL Cup Last 16 tie against Brighton and the trip to Turf Moor in the Premier League on Saturday.
William Saliba & Gabriel Martinelli set to miss time for Arsenal
Saliba, who was replaced halfway through the win over Palace by Cristhian Mosquera, is now set for a spell on the sidelines, with Arteta telling the media on Tuesday that the Frenchman “is out – we are assessing him, but he won’t be involved [against Brighton].”
The same seems to be true for winger Martinelli: “It looks as well that [Martinelli] is going to be out,” Arteta said. “We have to, again, do some more tests and see the extent of the injury. But this game is going to be too early for him.”
In both cases, Arsenal have not offered any information regarding the nature of the injuries, so estimating a return date is impossible as it stands. Tests will take place during the week and we are likely to obtain more details during Friday’s pre-match press conference ahead of the away game against Burnley.
The good news is that both Calafiori, who sustained an unspecified knock, and Rice, who suffered a cut on his leg, are expected to be fit to face Brighton if required. Arteta described them as “fine” and “available” for Wednesday’s match. The same is true of Bukayo Saka, who also appeared to take a minor knock.
When will Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz & Martin Ødegaard return?
At least four players will be absent alongside Saliba and Martinelli this week, although Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and club captain Martin Ødegaard all appear to be making good progress from their respective injuries.
Arteta has said that there is no “definite date” for Ødegaard’s comeback but he is expected to return from his knee injury in November, most likely immediately after the international break.
Havertz and Madueke, meanwhile, are working to similar timelines as they recover from their own knee problems, with Arteta telling the media that Havertz is trying to “break every timeline” to get back to fitness. If he succeeds, he could be back before the international games. Madueke is believed to be back in light training and doing fitness work, but has yet to return to team training.
The final player out for an extended period is striker Gabriel Jesus, who is still recovering from a ruptured ACL. The Brazilian is said to be “progressing really well,” as Arteta said last Friday, but it remains unlikely that he plays again before late December at the earliest.
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