Two new injury concerns for Arsenal FC this week, although neither appear to be serious. Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka both of which limped out of the 3-0 shellacking of Real Madrid last night early. Manager Mikel Arteta provided an update to the media afterwards, and he doesn’t sound too concerned.
Saka has only a knock, or so it seems. Likely he should be fine to feature this weekend, provided he passes a late fitness test.
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Kickoff Time: 5.30 p.m. BST, Saturday, April 12
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“And Bukayo was after he got tackled on the foul,” Arteta said. “I think he had a knock, and he had to go [off].”
Shifting gears to Declan Rice, he has an ankle/foot injury that right now also seems to be pretty minor.
Said Arteta: “I think Dec had an issue with his foot. I don’t know if it was a tackle or what it was…”
Meanwhile Gabriel Magalhaes is confirmed as out for the season, joining the three other players (Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Takehiro Tomiyasu) who have long been ruled out for the remainder.
Finally, Riccardo Calafiori is still working towards building up match fitness, so he’ll miss out here.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.