Bukayo Saka is set to miss a minimum of four weeks with a hamstring injury, a new report has claimed.
Saka was taken off in the first half of the 5-1 Premier League win against Crystal Palace after delivering a cross that saw him clutch the back of his right leg.
In his post-match analysis, Mikel Arteta said Saka felt something in his hamstring and will have to be assessed.
Now The Times (via football.london) have stated that Saka could miss four to six weeks which would result in him being unavailable for key matches against Manchester United, Tottenham and Aston Villa.
A four-week absence would result in him missing seven games, while a further fortnight on top of that will see him absent for another three fixtures at least while also making him a doubt to face Manchester City in early February.
Arteta had lost Raheem Sterling before the game against Palace due to a training injury with him and Saka joining Oleksandr Zinchenko, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Ben White on the injury list. In terms of possible replacements, immediately after his withdrawal, Gabriel Martinelli switched to the right flank.
For the second half however, Gabriel Jesus was moved out wide following his 12-minute brace in the opening period, just a few days on from scoring a hat-trick against the same opponents. As for possible January transfers, Bryan Mbuemo, Jamie Gittens and Mohammed Kudus are a few options.
It is very unlikely though that Arteta seeks a solution to Saka’s absence in the winter window given he is not expected to be out of action for a significant period. Because of that, it will likely be on those already in the squad to cover for his absence.
Martin Odegaard was the most recent hugely influential Arsenal player to miss a period through injury and the Gunners struggled as a result.
