Bukayo Saka is set for ‘many weeks’ on the sidelines after tearing his right hamstring in Arsenal’s 5-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday, Mikel Arteta has confirmed.
Saka lasted just 25 minutes at Selhurst Park before pulling up holding his hamstring and falling to the ground.
The England international – who has provided five goals and 10 assists in the league – hobbled off gingerly before being replaced by Leandro Trossard.
The England winger was spotted leaving south London on crutches, struggling to move without the support of staff.
And now Arsenal fans’ fears have been confirmed as Arteta has revealed that the Gunners will have to deal without their star man for an extended period of time.
‘It’s not looking good. He’s going to be out for many weeks,’ said Arteta. ‘It’s a huge blow, but it’s going to be a big exercise for us to overcome another challenge.’
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka pulled up with a hamstring problem in Arsenal’s win at Crystal Palace
The winger was then seen leaving Selhurst Park on crutches after the 5-1 victory for Arsenal
Mikel Arteta has revealed that Saka has torn his right hamstring and will be out for ‘many weeks’
The severity of the injury was then confirmed by Arteta to be a torn hamstring, and the Spaniard has insisted his medical staff are working to see how they can prevent such problems in the future.
‘Probably there are ways to prevent the injury,’ added Arteta. There are a lot of factors. We are looking at everything and what we can do differently.’
This is not the first time Saka has endured problems with that area of his right leg, with the winger having missed seveal weeks of action back in October.
That hamstring issue kept the 23-year-old sidelined for 39 days – a period which included their disappointing 2-0 defeat by Bournemouth, which started a run of poor results.
Saka’s recurrence of the injury is a huge blow to the Gunners who remain six points off Premier League leaders, who have a game in hand.
Arteta’s side managed to pick up the three points without him against Palace, scoring three of their five goals after the tricky winger had trudged off, with Martinelli impressing on the right side in his absence.
The Spaniard believes Martinelli could be the answer to that position for the foreseeable future, with Raheem Sterling also out injured, but the club are also looking at other options.
‘I’m putting some ideas together,’ the Gunners boss continued. ‘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.
In October, Saka was sidelined for just over a month with a hamstring injury on England duty
Gabriel Martinelli scored during Arsenal’s win against Palace while playing on the right wing
Arsenal’s back-up right winger Raheem Sterling is also out for several weeks with a knee injury
‘We went through the period with Martin and the period with five, six defenders missing. We’re looking at it with positive energy.
‘Gabi’s [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.
‘Ethan has played there, Leo can play there in relation to how the unit moves. Kai can play there. We will talk to them and understand how they feel about it.’
Arteta also confirmed that the injury has had a major effect on Saka, who has been down since Saturday night.
‘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.’