Arteta gives depressing Saka injury update

Bukayo Saka lasted only 10 minutes of Arsenal’s Champions League draw at Bayern Munich, with Mikel Arteta offering a worrying assessment afterwards.

Photo by Leonhard Simon/Getty Images

Arsenal fans are facing an anxious wait after Bukayo Saka suffered a quadriceps injury during Arsenal’s 2-2 Champions League draw away to Bayern Munich, with Mikel Arteta admitting afterwards that the problem “doesn’t look good at all”.

Saka lasted only 10 minutes at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday night before being forced off with an injury to his left thigh.

There was no challenge involved. The winger went down immediately after playing a pass and grabbed his thigh just above the knee before receiving treatment on the pitch.

He was unable to continue and headed down the tunnel after Eberechi Eze replaced him, with the match still goalless at that point.

Photo by Leonhard Simon/Getty Images

Arteta confirmed after the game that the injury was to Saka’s quadriceps rather than his hamstring.

“It’s his quad,” Arteta said.

“It was early in the game, and the level of intensity his game requires is something incredible. The quality, strength and attention you need has to be at the highest level, and those things happen unfortunately. It doesn’t look good at all, but we have to wait and see.”

The Arsenal manager offered little reassurance when speaking separately to TNT Sports.

“They are a bit concerned,” he said. “A player who has to come off with a really sharp pain is never good news but we have to wait and see.”

Arsenal are now waiting for a further assessment before they can establish how long Saka might be unavailable.

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