The games Bukayo Saka could miss as Mikel Arteta reveals Arsenal star is out for ‘many weeks’

Mikel Arteta has revealed that Bukayo Saka is out for ‘many weeks’ with a hamstring injury in a major blow to Arsenal’s title hopes.

Saka limped off during Arsenal’s 5-1 win at Crystal Palace last Saturday, with the winger seen leaving Selhurst Park on crutches.

Speaking after the match, Arteta confirmed his talisman had suffered a ‘worrying’ hamstring injury but was unable to say how long he would be out for.

But on Monday, in his press conference ahead of Friday’s home game against Ipswich Town, the manager was able to give a further, worrying update.

‘It’s not looking good. He’s going to be out for many weeks,’ the Spaniard said.

‘He was gutted. You could tell that he hasn’t been injured because he was really emotional and really down. He will be fine but I think he’s going to need a few days.’

The Times have reported that Saka’s injury is likely to rule him out for four to six weeks. In the worst case scenario, that puts his return date in early February.

If that is the case, the 23-year-old will miss several huge Premier League clashes, including home matches against Tottenham and Manchester City.

He’ll also sit out the FA Cup third-round clash against Manchester United, the final two games of the Champions League league phase, and at least the first-leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle.

To make matters worse for the Gunners, Raheem Sterling, the player most likely to deputise for Saka, has also been sidelined after injuring his knee last week.

Arteta added: ‘He’s gonna be out for weeks. He needs further testing tomorrow to understand the extent of his injury. It’s his knee.’

Saka has arguably been Arsenal’s best player this season, with nine goals and 13 assists in 24 appearances helping the club to third in the Premier League, six points behind Liverpool.

Explaining how he would replace Saka, and by extension Sterling, Arteta insisted he wouldn’t be delving into the transfer market: ‘I’m putting some ideas together. I haven’t got there yet but I have a few.

‘I want to speak with them as well and take it in a positive way. It means we’re going to be different. We went through the period with Martin [Odegaard] and the period with five, six defenders missing. We’re looking at it with positive energy.

‘He [Martinelli] played there before and he played there against Everton in the last match of last season. He did really well. He’s a good option to have. We are on it.

‘Gabi [Jesus] has played there, Ethan [Nwaneri] has played there, Leo [Trossard] can play there in relation to how the unit moves. Kai [Havertz] can play there. We will talk to them and understand how they feel about it.’

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