Arsenal injury news and return dates amid Leandro Trossard update
The victory of Arsenal against Bournemouth on Saturday was not an easy one. Although Bournemouth took an early lead with a goal from Phillip Billing in less than ten seconds, followed by another goal from Marcos Senesi in the second half, Arsenal managed to level the score with goals from Thomas Partey and Ben White, thanks to the support of their fans at Emirates Stadium.
Eventually, Reiss Nelson scored the winning goal in the 97th minute with an impressive strike using his weaker left foot.
However, one negative aspect was the injury sustained by forward Leandro Trossard in the first half. Arsenalbrief.football provides updates on Trossard’s injury and other fitness issues affecting Arteta’s squad in recent times.
Leandro Trossard
It seemed that Trossard had sustained an injury, as he signaled to the coaching staff that he could no longer play. He was eventually replaced by Emile Smith Rowe in the 22nd minute.
What Arteta has said: “It is a worry, he came to me straight away and said he couldn’t continue, he’d felt something when he was tracking back, so we had to take him off”, the Spaniard said when asked what had happened to the talented attacker. “We’ll assess him and see how he is.”
Eddie Nketiah
Eddie Nketiah had been benched for Arsenal’s recent victories over Leicester and Everton due to a slight drop in form. However, Arsenal manager Arteta later revealed that the young striker had also been dealing with a minor injury issue, after Nketiah came on as a substitute in the match against Everton.
What Arteta has said: “We are assessing him,” the Spaniard said in his pre-match press conference. “It’s a bit uncertain what will happen with him to be honest in the training sessions.
“Let’s see, let’s keep the options open. He’s very positive about it and hopefully he’ll be fine.”
Expected return date: Sporting (A) – March 9
Jorginho
In the previous game against Everton, Jorginho had started instead of Thomas Partey but was substituted at half-time for the Ghanaian midfielder. After the game, Arteta confirmed that Jorginho was not feeling completely fit.
However, Jorginho was included on the bench for the Bournemouth game, indicating that he should be fully recovered and available to start if needed for the upcoming match on Thursday.
What Arteta has said: “Jorgi’s [Jorginho] is fine. He had an illness and he put in a great shift but we decided to take him off [vs Everton].”
Expected return date: Sporting (A) – March 9
Thomas Partey
Thomas Partey had been sidelined for a number of games due to a muscular problem, but he returned to action in the win against Leicester, replacing Martin Odegaard in the final five minutes of the second half. He then came on as a substitute at half-time in the match against Everton, before starting in the Bournemouth game, where he played the full 90 minutes and scored a crucial goal.
What Arteta has said: “The question mark on Thomas. He hasn’t trained much but looks like he could be available. Let’s see how he goes today. We’ve missed him in the past few games and hopefully he’ll be back.”
Current fitness status: Fully fit
Emile Smith Rowe
Smith Rowe has been dealing with several injuries this season, including a thigh strain earlier this year. He returned to the matchday squad for the Aston Villa and Leicester games but did not play in either match. However, he did feature in the first half of the Under-21 game against Chelsea last week.
He then made a brief appearance in the Everton game and played for almost an hour against Bournemouth. Smith Rowe came on for the injured Trossard in the 22nd minute and was later substituted for Reiss Nelson in the second half. After the game, Arteta confirmed that Smith Rowe was not injured and his substitution was a tactical decision to change the left-wing dynamic.
What Arteta has said: “We didn’t plan to throw him in so early. We knew it was difficult for him to last 70 minutes on the field after missing nearly five months. But I think he had a good impact but at the end, I felt we needed something else on the left because we were lacking threat and we were attracting more players into that (left) side. That’s why we made the decision to bring Reiss on.”
Current fitness status: Fully fit
Gabriel Jesus
Jesus suffered medial ligament damage while playing for Brazil against Cameroon during the World Cup group stages. He returned to London for knee surgery and is expected to be out of footballing action for at least another month. According to football.london, Arsenal hopes to have Jesus back in the first-team squad before the international break at the end of March. The Gunners face Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium before the break, and the club is optimistic about having Jesus available for that game.
Jesus shared a photo on social media on Tuesday of him playing with a ball on the field and wrote “Step by step” along with multiple emojis and the hashtags “alômãe” and “gratidão,” which roughly translate to “hello mother” and “gratitude,” respectively.
Arteta recently provided an update on Jesus, stating that the forward is getting closer to returning to action.
What Arteta has said: “He’s not far now. I don’t want to give a timeline but he’s doing certain things with the team, certain things outside the team. He’s not very close but he is not far at all.
“He’s feeling better every day and the doctors are confident with the way the injury is evolving and we are in a good place with him I think.”
Expected return date: March.
Mohamed Elneny
Elneny played the full 90 minutes in Arsenal’s FA Cup win over Oxford United but missed out on the squad for the North London derby against Tottenham and the game against Manchester United due to a knee issue that he picked up in training.
The club released a statement stating that the Egyptian midfielder will be out for an extended period, but they did not provide a timeline for his return. Despite his injury, Elneny signed a new deal with Arsenal and is working towards his comeback.
Expected return date: N/A
Arsenal injury news and return dates amid Leandro Trossard update
Arsenal injury news and return dates amid Leandro Trossard update