Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta offered a worrying update on Gabriel Martinelli and Oleksandr Zinchenko ahead of the Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest. The Spaniard revealed that neither player will feature again this season with both expected back for pre-season ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Martinelli was forced off following a hefty challenge from Moises Caicedo, with the Brazilian clutching his ankle in pain before he limped off - later being spotted wearing a productive boot at full-time. Mikel Arteta's side have just two games left of the 2022/23 campaign with a visit to Forest next on the horizon before a final day clash against Wolves at Emirates Stadium.
William Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu are also set to miss the final two fixtures of the season. Ahead of the two matches, football.london has rounded up all of the Gunners' latest injury news.
READ MORE: Mikel Arteta issues worrying update on Gabriel Martinelli and Alex Zinchenko injuries
Gabriel Martinelli
Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli will miss the remainder of the season after suffering ankle ligament damage in Arsenal's 3-0 defeat to Brighton, Arteta has confirmed. Martinelli had to be replaced by Leandro Trossard inside the opening 20 minutes after a suspected ankle injury.
What Arteta said: “They are both [Martinelli and Zinchenko] out for the rest of the season. Gabi [Martinelli] is a pretty nasty injury, we need to assess in the next week how long he will be out for and with Alex [Zinchenko] it’s a calf issue.”
What club doctor Gary O’Driscoll said: "Sore. Terrible foul, disgraceful foul. But yeah, he’s a bit sore but he should be okay."
Potential return date: Pre-season
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Arsenal full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko will also miss the remainder of the season due to a calf issue, according to The Athletic.
Their report claims that Zinchenko sustained the injury during Sunday's clash against Newcastle United and that was the reason he came off in the second half of the 2-0 victory at St James' Park. However, the Ukrainian will luckily not need surgery.
The former City star was then pictured in the Gunners' latest set of training pictures, a major boost for Arteta ahead of the match against Brighton, although he was not subsequently named in the matchday squad.
What Arteta has said: “They are both [Martinelli and Zinchenko] out for the rest of the season. Gabi [Martinelli] is a pretty nasty injury, we need to assess in the next week how long he will be out for and with Alex [Zinchenko] it’s a calf issue.”
Expected return date: Pre-season
William Saliba
Saliba limped off in Arsenal's exit from the Europa League against Sporting CP in March, suffering an issue with his back that forced the youngster to be substituted. The defender has missed every game since then.
Now, The Athletic have reported that the Frenchman is set to miss the rest of the 2022/23 campaign, although like Zinchenko, he will also not need surgery.
What Arteta has said: "Not a lot of progress. He’s feeling better every day but he’s not been able still to have any activity around the first team so we don’t expect him to be with us."
"We are not there yet today [ruling him out for the season], because we're always hopeful and players are pushing to play. If that's the case at some stage we'll announce it. But hopefully, that’s not the case.
"It’s about the healing process. Pain-wise and the things he can do now off the pitch he's in a good place. But we have to build that capacity to have the right impact, the right load and to be in good condition to play for the team."
Expected return date: Pre-season
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Takehiro Tomiyasu was substituted inside the first 10 minutes of the Gunners' clash against Sporting CP at the Emirates Stadium. The Japanese defender had overstretched for a tackle early in the match and had to receive treatment on the pitch shortly afterwards and was unable to continue.
An official club statement then read: "Tomi has had successful surgery in London on Tuesday and will be ruled out for the remainder of this season. Everyone at the club will now be working hard with Tomi, so he can join pre-season training ahead of next season."
Now, Arteta has claimed that the versatile defender could be out for up to six months, meaning he could miss the start of the 2023/24 campaign.
What Arteta has said: "I don’t know, he’s an important player but I don’t know how to quantify," Arteta said when asked about how important Saliba's absence has been ahead of Tuesday's game with Chelsea.
"I don’t know how to quantify when Gabriel Jesus has been out for four months, Nketiah for three months, Emile Smith Rowe for four and a half months, Kieran Tierney out for a few weeks, Tomiyasu out for three-and-a-half months, maybe now six months. This is football."
Expected return date: Unknown
Mohamed Elneny
Elneny started in the FA Cup win over Oxford United back in January. However, the Egyptian was absent for Arteta's squad for the 2-0 win at Tottenham the following week, with a knee issue picked up in training ahead of the clash.
A club statement then confirmed that the former Basel man will be out for an extended period of time, although no timescale was given on his expected return. Elneny has since penned a new deal at Arsenal despite his place out of the team.
Expected return date: Unknown
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