Bukayo Saka faces “many weeks” on the sidelines with a hamstring injury while Arsenal team-mate Raheem Sterling will also be unavailable for a similar timeframe, Mikel Arteta has said.
23-year-old Saka was forced off during the first half of Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday with a muscular injury in his right leg. After the match, Arteta said he was “very worried” about the injury.
“It’s not looking good, he’s going to be out for many weeks,” Arteta said of the England international at Monday’s press conference.
“It’s going to be a really good exercise for all of us to think of ways to overcome another challenge, because we already had many in the season.”
Arsenal are also waiting on the medical test results for Sterling, but Arteta confirmed the 30-year-old forward has a knee injury and will be unavailable for “weeks”.
Sterling, who is on a season-long loan from Chelsea, was substituted after 70 minutes in his side’s 3-2 Carabao Cup victory over Crystal Palace on December 18 and missed the Premier League game against the same opponents three days later.
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Sterling has found game-time limited since making a summer loan switch to Arsenal, making just 11 appearances in all competitions; the majority of those coming from the bench.
The former Liverpool and Manchester City attacker would have been an alternative to Saka on Arsenal’s right wing but the latest updates mean Arteta’s side will be without both forwards for a potentially crucial festive period.
Gabriel Martinelli, who normally operates on the left wing, deputised in Saka’s absence during the victory over Palace on Saturday, going on to score Arsenal’s fourth goal of the game.
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Arsenal, third in the Premier League and six points behind leaders Liverpool, play three games in nine days, starting against Ipswich Town on December 27 before playing Brentford away on January 1 and then at Brighton & Hove Albion three days later.
They face Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup on January 12 and host Tottenham Hotspur in the second north London derby of the season three days later.
Saka had started in all but one of Arsenal’s 17 Premier League games so far this season. He has missed four games in total for club and country this term during two separate stints on the sidelines, both times with a hamstring issue.
(Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
