Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been handed an update on Takehiro Tomiyasu, after the Gunners boss confirmed that the right-back was suffering from a calf injury.
The Japan international, who has grown into one of the north London side's most likeable players since arriving in the summer, will be a sorely missed feature in the side and his reintegration into training could be a key timeline indicator to look out for.
Tomiyasu was left on the sidelines in Thursday’s victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers and replaced by Cedric Soares.
The former Southampton defender put in a reasonable display against Bruno Lage's side but, with a clash against Liverpool at the Emirates in just three weeks time, Arteta will be hoping the Japanese defender is ready for action sooner rather than later.
Tom Canton spoke to sports scientist Dr. Rajpal Brar live on The Arsenal Way to investigate Tomiyasu's calf injury picked up against Wolves and what the implications could be for both player and club.
Dr. Rajpal Brar kickstarted proceedings by laying the foundations as to how a calf injury can impact an athlete.
"It's common for, not just calves, it's common for anything to compensate, especially when you're dealing with an extended hiatus," he said.
"Now, when you ramp up and you're coming back you're always going to have potential compensation in other parts of your body.
"Imagine like the body as a set of chain links when one link is weakened, the others pick up the slack, right. So, it's not always uncommon for that to happen."
Dr. Rajpal Brar continued by assessing the risk and reward when looking to roll the dice on Tomiyasu's fitness, highlighting the gamble that Arteta might have to make.
"With muscular injuries it's a risk versus reward where it's almost probabilities," he said. "So, what you're saying is, 'alright Tomiyasu's at 75%, can we risk him?'
"And so that's kind of always a grey area that comes in when it comes to elite sport. They don't always work for you, they only work against you."
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