by Arsenal still have a number of injury concerns heading into the October international break, including a new key concern.
Manager Mikel Arteta hopes such problems do not worsen over the next fortnight, after seeing influential captain Martin Odegaard injured while away with his country last month.
Arsenal go into the break third in the Premier League table, behind title rivals Manchester City on goal difference and behind early leaders Liverpool by a single point after goals from Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka saw them come from behind to beat Southampton 3.-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Arteta will now look to get as many players back as possible in the coming days, with a key showdown with Liverpool looming at the end of the month following meetings with Bournemouth and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Here’s all the latest injury news from Arsenal, with the Gunners receiving a boost this week as Mikel Merino and Takehiro Tomiyasu returned to action.
Kai Havertz
The striker played 90 minutes against Southampton but will not join the Germany squad for the international break due to knee problems.
The German Football Association confirmed on Sunday that Havertz would not take part in Nations League matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands.
“Kai Havertz will miss the next international matches due to knee problems,” they said in a statement. Get well soon, Kai!
Havertz’s fitness will be a concern for Arsenal, who play three important matches in eight days against Bournemouth, Shakhtar Donetsk and Liverpool after the international break.
He scored for a fourth consecutive game in Southampton’s win, and Arsenal will hope he will be fit after a two-week break.
Potential return date: October 19 vs Bournemouth
Martin Odegaard
Arsenal have been without their inspirational skipper for the last seven matches in all competitions after suffering “significant” ankle ligament damage while on duty with Norway in the Nations League last month.
Arteta has been positive about his recovery but reluctant to set a precise timetable other than “a few weeks” and after the October international break, saying on Friday that Odegaard had ditched his walking boot earlier than expected as he tried to do so. come back as soon as possible.
“Martin is very difficult, I expected it again with the boot and a lot of things and he is working so hard and feeling good and he is pushing so it’s difficult to give a timetable,” Arteta said.
However, Odegaard provided an encouraging update on Saturday, writing in Arsenal’s matchday programme: “I just wanted to start with the latest news on my injury and my rehabilitation. Over the last week I have done very good progress.
“I’m getting better and better every day and I feel like it’s going well. When you feel like things are moving forward, it motivates you to do more and work harder. Today is our last match before another international break, which also gives me a little more time to work on rehabilitation.
“I hope it won’t be very long; I think we’ll know more as soon as I get on the training grounds and see how my ankle reacts to that.
“At the moment it’s progressing well and it’s looking better than we thought, but we still have to take each day as it comes.”
Potential return date: Unknown, potentially late October
Jurrien Bois
Jurrien Timber – who missed almost his entire debut campaign in English football after knee surgery – has been excellent for Arsenal so far this season, demonstrating his valuable versatility by impressing at both left-back and wide. right rear.
However, he also suffered knocks and was substituted at half-time of Tuesday night’s Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain after Arteta said he had regained something muscular.
Timber has been left out of the Netherlands squad for upcoming Nations League matches against Hungary and Germany, although the Arsenal manager suggested on Friday he could play a role against Southampton before to finally be excluded.
“We had to change the training of a lot of players,” Arteta said when discussing Timber, Ben White and Tomiyasu on Friday. “We did the same thing today because of the load they had, so it’s a decision to make this afternoon, whether to involve them, yes or no. They are close.
The fact that Timber was reportedly set to be involved against the Saints suggests he may well play straight after the break with no international games to focus on before then.
Potential return date: October 19 vs Bournemouth
Ben White
White remained absent against Southampton with Timber, leading Arsenal to deploy midfielder Thomas Partey as a makeshift right-back at the Emirates.
The former Brighton defender has not played since being substituted at half-time in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City last month, sidelined with a knee problem .
Like Timber, the fact that he was described as potentially close to being selected against Southampton should hopefully bode well for his chances of featuring immediately after the break.
Potential return date: October 19 vs Bournemouth
Alexander Zinchenko
Like Odegaard, Oleksandr Zinchenko has been absent for Arsenal since the 1-1 draw against Brighton in August.
The Ukrainian full-back is suffering from a calf injury, although Arteta is confident he will be back in contention after the international break.
“Oleks probably after the international break, if everything goes well he is progressing very well,” Arteta said on Friday.
Potential return date: October 19 vs Bournemouth
Kieran Tierney
Kieran Tierney’s return timetable remains unclear after he was stretchered off with a serious hamstring injury while playing for Scotland against Switzerland at the Euros 2024 in June.
Such a problem dashed his chances of leaving Arsenal on a full-time basis after spending last season on loan in Spain with Real Sociedad.
Potential return date: Unknown
