Arsenal suffer new Bukayo Saka blow as injury timeline confirmed | Football | Sport
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta revealed that Bukayo Saka is facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines after undergoing a procedure on his injured hamstring.
The 23-year-old pulled up in the 24th minute with an injury during their 5-1 win over Crystal Palace and was unable to continue. As a result, he was ruled out of their clash with Ipswich on Friday.
Arteta revealed shortly after that Saka would be facing several weeks on the sidelines after a scan revealed the full extent of his injury.
“It’s not looking good,” the Spaniard said. “He’s going to be out for many weeks. I cannot be too specific because I don’t know but it will be many weeks.”
However, the Gunners star is now facing at least two months out having undergone a procedure to fix the problem, which will come as a huge blow for the north London side.
And after watching his side beat Ipswich 1-0 at the Emirates Stadium, Arteta told reporters in his post-match press conference that Saka would be ruled out for a few months.
It will represent a massive blow for the Gunners, who climbed into second place in the Premier League and moved within six points of leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
Arsenal enjoyed total domination against their relegation-threatened opponents and even had 92 per cent possession at one stage in the first half.
Kai Havertz‘s close-range effort, his seventh league goal of the season, was enough to hand them the points as David Raya didn’t face a single shot on target.
But Arteta’s men lacked the same killer instinct they usually possess at home to put the game beyond doubt, with Gabriel Magalhaes and Havertz both missing gilt-edged chances to increase the scoreline.
The Spaniard admitted his side will have to get used to being without Saka after misfiring in front of goal.
“Frustration when you win? No. Things to improve? Yes,” Arteta told Amazon Prime Sport. “They started very significantly and we have to get used to that. Credit to them as they’re very well organised, but we restricted them to nothing – we had two or three openings.”
When asked what it was like without Saka, he added: “Very different, but we will evolve that. In the second half I liked it more. It will take a bit of time.”
With Saka out and Raheem Sterling ruled out for the coming weeks with a separate issue, Arteta stayed tight-lipped on whether the Gunners would choose to enter the market in January for another attacker.
“We don’t know. We will see, hopefully we don’t see any more injuries,” he added.
