Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has revealed that Takehiro Tomiyasu was not available for the win over West Ham due to a minor injury he picked up on international duty.
Emile Smith Rowe was also absent from the squad that thrashed the Hammers at the weekend, having twisted his ankle prior to the match.
Neither player is set to be out for the long term and a return for the Gunners’ next fixture is on the cards.
Gabriel Jesus (knee) wasn’t expected to be out for too long but he has now missed two games against Liverpool and West Ham. There is an expectation that he should be ready to play this weekend.
Expected Return Date – Saturday 17th February v Burnley
Oleksandr Zinchenko picked up a calf problem in the victory over Liverpool. He was forced off at half-time during that match and he was also ruled out of contention for the trip to the London Stadium.
There are no indications that the Ukrainian international has returned to training yet, which makes him a major doubt for Arsenal‘s game against Burnley.
Expected Return Date – Wednesday 21st February v Porto
Fabio Vieira and Thomas Partey have both run into complications in their rehab following surgery. Vieira has been out with a groin problem since November.
Partey, meanwhile, has not played for nearly four months, having had an operation on a thigh injury back in October. Arteta has refused to give a timescale on the Ghanaian international’s return to action.
Jurrien Timber is said to be making better progress in his rehabilitation. The Dutchman has been out since sustaining an ACL injury on his league debut against Nottingham Forest.
There is optimism that the defender will be back in full training later this month, but it is difficult to guess when he will be able to make his first-team comeback.
