Arsenal supervisor Mikel Arteta says winger Bukayo Saka will miss “many weeks” with a hamstring harm.
The England attacker was compelled off throughout Saturday’s 5-1 win in opposition to Crystal Palace and left Selhurst Park on crutches.
Saka, 23, has scored 9 objectives and offered 13 assists throughout 24 video games in all competitions this season.
“It isn’t wanting good,” mentioned Arteta. “He will be out for a lot of weeks.
“It’s what it’s. He is injured, we can’t change it. We will use this time now to assist him.”
Arteta mentioned he was “placing some concepts collectively” to cope with Saka’s absence and Arsenal had expertise in coping with out key gamers having misplaced captain Martin Odegaard to harm this season.
Requested whether or not Saka had “torn” one thing in his hamstring, Arteta replied: “Sure. Most likely there are methods to stop the harm.
“There are quite a lot of components. We’re taking a look at every little thing and what we are able to do otherwise.”
Arteta mentioned Saka was “gutted” and “actually emotional” after discovering the severity of his harm.
Requested if the congested fixture record had performed an element in Saka’s harm, Arteta replied: “It is in all probability extra the buildup [of matches] as folks like Declan [Rice] and Bukayo have performed over 130 video games in three seasons.”
The Spanish coach additionally confirmed that Raheem Sterling is ready for a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a knee harm.
“He’s going to be out for weeks,” mentioned Arteta. “He wants some additional testing tomorrow.”
The Gunners subsequent face Ipswich at Emirates Stadium within the league on 27 December (20:15 GMT kick-off).