Jesus, Odegaard, Trossard, Tierney: Arsenal injury update and return dates ahead of Fulham clash
In the first match of their Europa League round of 16 clash, Arsenal and Sporting CP drew 2-2. Although William Saliba scored for Arsenal in the first half, Goncalio Ignacio equalized for Sporting CP.
Paulinho then gave the Portuguese team the lead soon after the start of the second half.
However, a strange own goal by Hidemasa Morita leveled the score in Lisbon, creating an open opportunity for the second leg at the Emirates Stadium next week.
Before that game, Arsenal will play against Fulham in the Premier League at Craven Cottage on Sunday. Arsenalbrief.football has provided the latest news on any injured Arsenal players as Mikel Arteta aims to maintain his team’s five-point lead at the top of the table.
Martin Odegaard
According to football.london, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard was unable to participate in the game against Sporting due to illness. The Gunners camp has reportedly been affected by an illness bug, with midfielder Fabio Vieira experiencing a sore throat and being replaced by Gabriel Martinelli for press conference duties on Wednesday.
Despite this, Vieira was still able to play the full 90 minutes in Lisbon. Although Odegaard did travel with the team to the Portuguese capital, he was ultimately deemed too unwell to play.
What Arteta has said: “In other moments we had total control of the game and we lost a little bit of threat today, especially with the four players we are missing in our frontline (Odegaard, Jesus, Trossard and Nketiah).”
Kieran Tierney
On Thursday’s Europa League match against Sporting CP, Arsenal did not have the services of left-back Kieran Tierney. The Scottish player left the team’s training ground at London Colney on Wednesday, about 45 minutes before the training session was due to start.
This caused some fans to worry that he might have suffered an injury. However, according to football.london, Tierney is not injured but rather unwell.
What Arteta has said: “Let’s see how they (Tierney, Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah) evolve. Obviously we’ve had a few issues in the last few days and I am trying to accommodate everybody and get everyone in the best possible condition for tomorrow.”
Expected return date: N/A
Leandro Trossard
Trossard suffered a groin injury during the game against Bournemouth, and he told the coaching staff that he couldn’t keep playing, so he was replaced by Emile Smith Rowe in the 22nd minute.
According to football.london, although Trossard missed training on Wednesday and didn’t travel with the squad to Lisbon, the initial assessment is that his injury isn’t believed to be severe.
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.”
Expected return date: N/A
Eddie Nketiah
After experiencing a slight dip in form, Eddie Nketiah was not included in the starting lineup for Arsenal’s victories over Leicester and Everton.
However, Arsenal manager Arteta revealed that Nketiah had a minor injury after he came off the bench against Everton. As a result, Nketiah was not included in Arsenal’s squad for the trip to Lisbon. Nketiah is a product of the Hale End academy.
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: N/A
Gabriel Jesus
During the World Cup group stages, Jesus sustained an injury to his medial ligament while playing for Brazil against Cameroon. He subsequently had surgery on his knee in London and is expected to be out of action for at least another month.
However, Arsenal is optimistic that Jesus will be able to rejoin the team before the international break at the end of March. T
he team has a game against Crystal Palace at Emirates Stadium before the break. Although Jesus participated in an open training session with the team on Wednesday, it appears that he did not travel with the rest of the squad for the recent draw against Sporting.
What Arteta has said:
“We will try not to rush him back, we will try to make a fair assessment between what he needs and when is comfortable and as well giving the team a boost that it’s going to need in the next few weeks for sure.
“Everything is going well, he needs time as well to get himself that confidence and that physical state that is necessary to compete with a free mind and once he’s free to do that, we will throw him in.”
Expected return date: March.
Mohamed Elneny
Elneny played the full 90 minutes in Arsenal’s FA Cup victory over Oxford United but was not included in the squad for the subsequent match against Tottenham due to a knee issue sustained during training.
He also did not feature in the game against Manchester United, and a A club statement later confirmed that he would be out for a prolonged period, although no specific timeline was provided for his return. Despite his injury, Elneny has recently signed a new contract with Arsenal and is nearing a comeback.
Expected return date: N/A
Jesus, Odegaard, Trossard, Tierney: Arsenal injury update and return dates ahead of Fulham clash
Jesus, Odegaard, Trossard, Tierney: Arsenal injury update and return dates ahead of Fulham clash