Arsenal‘s enjoyed spate of good news on the fitness front has ended with two new injury worries.
After recovering Gabriel Jesus in recent days, the Gunners now face a spell without defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba.
Both were forced off during Thursday’s Europa League defeat to Sporting CP, as Arsenal crashed out of the competition on penalties.
They join Eddie Nketiah in the treatment room in news that could impact their bid to win the Premier League title. Mohamed Elneny is also absent long-term.
Here is your latest updates of Arsenal injuries and return dates...
William Saliba
Arsenal were forced to take Saliba out of Thursday’s game after only 21 minutes with an unspecified issue that left the defender limping, although he was able to walk off the pitch unaided.
It is unclear whether he suffered a genuine injury or if he came off as a precaution given his team’s title fight.
Saliba was reportedly spotted without any visible strapping as he left the ground but Arsenal face a nervy wait to discover how long he will be out for.
Arteta said: “I don’t know, he had some discomfort and could not continue so we had to take him out.”
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Like Saliba, it is early days in Tomiyasu’s comeback from the injury he suffered against Sporting.
The Japanese full-back stretched for the ball and immediately went down hurt, raising fears he suffered a more problematic issue than his team-mate.
Arteta revealed that Tomiyasu had described the blow in “serious” terms to him.
The manager said: “Tomiyasu looks pretty serious from his reaction straight after and what he said to me, but obviously, it’s very early.”
Eddie Nketiah
Nketiah remains a few weeks away from a return to playing after suffering an ankle injury at the start of the month.
Still wearing a protective boot, the striker’s hopes of appearing anytime soon were described in dour terms by his boss this week.
Arteta told reporters: “He's getting better. He's still in the boot. He's still a few weeks away and we need to be patient.
“It was a nasty injury and he has a big challenge ahead of him. Thank God it could have been worse. So he's not in a bad place.”
Mohamed Elneny
Arsenal are set to be without Egyptian midfielder Elneny for the rest of the season.
A knee injury suffered in training at the end of January required an operation, which the club said will take a “significant” amount of time to recover from.
