Saka, Jesus, & Zinchenko: Arsenal injury list & expected return dates ahead of West Ham clash
Arsenal will be hoping to keep pace with the Premier League title-chasing pack with a win over West Ham on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners catapulted themselves back into touching distance of the summit after an impressive 3-1 victory over Liverpool last weekend, and now sit third in the table, two points adrift of the Reds.
Mikel Arteta’s men travel to East London this week, knowing that three points against the Hammers, plus an unlikely turn of events in which both Liverpool and Manchester City drop points earlier in the weekend, could be enough to see them leapfrog their rivals.
As for David Moyes’ side, they are now winless in four in the Premier League, and were casually swept aside by Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. The Irons fell to a 3-0 defeat against the Red Devils, and now find themselves seventh in the table, with 36 points from 23 matches.
But will Arsenal have any pressing injury concerns to contend with when the two sides meet at the London Stadium this weekend? We’ve taken a closer look at the Gunners’ injury list, and their expected return dates where available, below…
Jurrien Timber
After suffering a serious ACL injury on the opening weekend of the campaign, Timber has slowly been building his way back towards fitness. It is still likely to be some time before we see him in an Arsenal shirt again, but his rehabilitation is going well.
Fabio Vieira
Another who has been sidelined for quite some time, Vieira underwent groin surgery late last year, and is still in the process of recovering from his operation. A return towards the back end of February is a possibility.
Thomas Partey
The midfielder has been plagued by injuries this season, and it would appear that his latest comeback from a muscle complaint has been postponed once again. Speaking about the Ghanaian last week, Arteta said: ‘With Thomas, unfortunately, we had a little setback a few days ago, so he’s not going to be available to be in the squad. Whether that’s a matter of days or weeks, we’ll see, but he had a little thing.’
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Substituted against Liverpool, it is unclear just how bad Zinchenko’s calf issue is, but the expectation is that he will be ruled out for a short while. Nothing is concrete, but Sunday’s game may well come too soon for the Ukrainian.
Gabriel Jesus
Jesus was absent from Arsenal’s match day squad for the clash against Liverpool on Sunday due to a knee injury, but there is a sense of optimism that he could return in time to face West Ham this weekend. Speaking about the Brazilian last week, Arteta said: ‘With Gabby, we expect it to be something about days.’
Bukayo Saka
The influential winger picked up a knock in the win over Liverpool, but Arteta does not seem particularly concerned about his availability. Speaking after Sunday’s match, the Spaniard said: ‘He should be fine, I think. He got a kick, I think, on the ankle or the back of his foot, but he should be fine.’
