In time for the team’s Premier League matchup against Bournemouth this weekend, Arsenal star Bukayo Saka anticipates being fully recovered.
In England’s 2-1 Nations League loss to Greece, Saka sustained a hamstring injury. The 23-year-old was obviously in some pain when Chelsea’s Noni Madueke took his place in the 51st minute at Wembley.
It is now highly doubtful that the attacker will play for Arsenal in their forthcoming trip to Bournemouth after pulling out of Lee Carsley’s squad for the Three Lions’ triumph against Finland.
Saka, who has two goals and seven assists to his record, has been one of the English Premier League’s most impressive players thus far this season, and the Gunners would suffer greatly from his absence at the Vitality Stadium.
However, Saka will be constantly watched by Arsenal’s medical team in the days ahead, and The Athletic reports that the forward is “hopeful” to play against the Cherries on Saturday afternoon.
When queried about Saka’s injury during the defeat against Greece, England interim manager Carsley responded, “He’s being assessed.”
“You could see he had felt something in his leg in the build-up to the first goal.”
Given that Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli are also having trouble staying fit over the international break, Mikel Arteta may be faced with a selection issue.
Martinelli’s calf injury has kept the winger out of Brazil’s World Cup qualifying match against Peru on Wednesday, and the Gunners are awaiting word on how serious the injury is.
Havertz was compelled to leave Julian Nagelsmann’s team for Germany’s Nations League games against the Netherlands and Bosnia & Herzegovina due to a knee injury.
However, Arsenal is certain that Havertz’s injury is not life-threatening, and the striker should be ready to play against Bournemouth.
Martin Odegaard, the captain of Arsenal, is aiming to return to first-team action next month, despite reports of a setback in his recuperation.
Arsenal published a video last week showing Odegaard intensifying his recovery from an ankle ligament injury that has kept the Norway midfielder out of action since the team’s 1-1 draw with Brighton.
Before Arsenal’s travel to the south coast, there are still concerns regarding the fitness of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White, Jurrien Timber, and Thomas Partey.