Arsenal are set to be without a number of first-team stars for the final two games of the season.
The Gunners’ slim title hopes were ended by a 3-0 defeat to Brighton, during which Gabriel Martinelli limped off to add to the injury problems facing Mikel Arteta.
The main issues in recent months have come in defence for Arsenal, with Oleksandr Zinchenko joining William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu on the sidelines, while Mohamed Elneny remains out with a knee injury.
Here is your latest update of Arsenal injuries and return dates...
Gabriel Martinelli
Martinelli will not play again this season after picking up an ankle injury in Arsenal’s heavy defeat to Brighton.
The Brazilian initially tried to continue after the challenge from Moises Caicedo, but limped off after 20 minutes and left the Emirates Stadium wearing a protective boot after the match.
Ankle ligament damage will keep Martinelli out of the Gunners’ final two matches of the campaign, against Nottingham Forest and Wolves, but he is expected to be fit in time for the start of pre-season in July.
William Saliba
A back injury has kept Saliba out of action since March, when he was forced off early in the defeat to Sporting that saw Arsenal knocked out of the Europa League.
Standard Sport reported earlier this month that the Frenchman is expected to miss the rest of the season, with the Gunners keen to avoid any further setbacks and instead turning their focus to next campaign.
However, speaking ahead of the Brighton match, Arteta refused to confirm that Saliba’s season was over, though did confirm that a return was not imminent.
“With William [Saliba], it’s for sure that he’s not going to be fit for this game and we are doubting whether he will be fit for the next game as well,” the Arsenal boss said.
“But we want to keep the hope going and make sure that we give ourselves the best chance of having [him] back.”
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Zinchenko’s season is also over, with the left-back struggling with a calf injury.
Zinchenko missed out against Brighton after picking up the issue at St James’ Park against Newcastle, and like Saliba it is believed that he will not return in time to face Forest or Wolves.
Arteta initially insisted the defender could feature again this season but, ahead of facing Nottingham Forest, confirmed the worst as Zinchenko works to be fully fit for the start of pre-season as long as there are no setbacks.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
There is no doubt that Tomiyasu’s season is over, with the right-back undergoing surgery in March on a knee injury that the club described as “significant”.
His absence has hurt Arsenal, leaving the Gunners with just Ben White as a right-back option and preventing Arteta from using the English defender as a centre-back with Saliba out.
It remains to be seen whether Tomiyasu is fit for the start of next season, but Arteta’s comments earlier this month hinted that the Japanese international may not return until September.
“Tomiyasu out for three-and-a-half months, maybe now six months,” the Arsenal boss said when running through the club’s injury problems.
Mohamed Elneny
Elneny has not played since scoring in Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Oxford in January, with the midfielder having surgery on his right knee.
Since then he has signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at the club at least until 2024, and Elneny has recently returned to individual training to step up his recovery.
The 30-year-old will not feature before the end of the campaign, but is set to be involved again with the first-team over the summer ahead of the new season.
