Bukayo Saka returned to action in style, as he scored the game-winning goal for Arsenal, as they bested Fulham 2-1 on April Fool’s Day. But while Saka is now back from his long injury layoff, the Gunners also have a trio of fresh injury concerns in Ben White, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber. The last two names on that list had to subbed out of the match.
So what is going on with this back line triad on injuries? When might they come back?
Everton FC vs Arsenal FYIs
Kickoff Time: 12.30 p.m. Saturday, April 5
Location: Goodison Park, Liverpool, UK
Arsenal Preview Material Team News Starting XI Predictions
Google Result Probability: Everton FC win 17% Draw 27% Arsenal win 56%
Premier League Standings Everton FC 15th 34 pts Arsenal 2nd 61 pts
We start with White, who was left out of the squad with a knock.
“He had a little niggle two days ago,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said on Tuesday. “Yesterday we tried. He wasn’t feeling right, so we decided not to put him in the squad today.”
Ben White should be back this weekend. As for Gabriel, he suffered a hamstring injury and it limited him to just 16 minutes on the pitch.
“Gabi felt something in his hamstring,” Arteta said. “We don’t know how big that is.”
So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with him; ditto for Timber, who has a knee injury. We don’t know the severity of their injuries right now.
“With Jurrien as well, he was already struggling [with his knee] very early in the game,” Arteta added on Timber.
“He managed to continue and at some point, he couldn’t, so, that’s the downside to it.”
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.