Arsenal beat Newcastle United to go back top of the Premier League table, but lost Eberechi Eze and Kai Havertz to injury during the 1-0 win at Emirates Stadium
Arsenal reportedly expect Kai Havertz to play again in the Premier League this season despite sustaining a muscle injury against Newcastle United.
Havertz, 26, shared a captionless post on social media on Monday featuring several photos of him from the match. The forward came off during the first half, having already assisted Eberechi Eze for the game’s only goal inside nine minutes.
Mikel Arteta also had to withdraw Arsenal’s goalscorer before the hour mark because of another injury. The England international also has a muscle problem, but neither issue seems season-ending despite there being just weeks of the campaign remaining.
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BBC Sport reports that the upper leg issue for Havertz should not keep him out of their last four league games. They add that the club are not putting an exact timescale on the player’s return.
Arteta said after that Newcastle match regarding Eze and Havertz that “they are muscular niggles, we don’t think it’s too much”. Looking to the Champions League semi-final first leg away to Atletico Madrid, he added: “We have to wait and see if they’re going to be available for Wednesday”
The Arsenal manager also spoke specifically about Havertz. Arteta said: “He had a little niggle.”
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“I don’t know how serious [his problem] is. It didn’t look too big, because the action, the way he describes it, is not too sharp, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
Asked again about Eze, after acknowledging how big a player he is for Arsenal, Arteta reiterated: “Hopefully, he’s fit, and he can be with us on Wednesday.” Martin Zubimendi also had to come off before the end, and Arteta explained: “Zubi was sick, and at half-time, he wasn’t feeling good.
“He tried his very best. He played a really good game, and in the end, we had to take him off.”
Those new doubts double Arsenal’s injury list alongside the already sidelined Jurrien Timber, Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori. The latter remains out despite Arteta saying on Friday that he would probably be in the squad against Newcastle.
He made that comment after saying Bukayo Saka would be back involved. However, in the same breath, he also confirmed Timber would not be in the squad.
That leaves Mikel Merino as the player furthest from returning. Unlike with Havertz, there is doubt about whether he will play again for the club this season; however, reports in Spain suggest being fit for the World Cup remains realistic, barring any further setbacks.
