Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta said that Bukayo Saka will be out of action for several weeks due to a hamstring injury suffered by the Arsenal striker against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Saka, who has scored nine goals and provided 12 assists in 21 Premier League and Champions League appearances this season, was substituted in the 24th minute of his side's 5-1 win at Selhurst Park.
The England international missed two matches in October due to a hamstring problem, but started all of Arsenal's other matches in League One and Europe.
“It could have been a lot worse” 🗣️
Mikel Arteta reveals that Bukayo Saka will be out for several weeks. pic.twitter.com/GMTOQv4VbO
– Sky Sports News (SkySportsNews) December 23, 2024
Saka injury: How long will he be out?
“It doesn't look good,” Arteta said. “He'll be out for a few weeks. (It's) another part of a player's development. At some point at this level, you're going to get injured.
“It could have been a lot worse. It could have been something else that could have taken you for a year. It's how you react to that, how you overcome that situation.”
“It's a great learning process for him as well. It's what he is. He's injured, and we can't change it. We'll use this time to help him.”
When asked if he was concerned that Saka might not return in 2024/25, Arteta replied: “No. I am very optimistic that he will return before the end of the season.”
The players who have scored the most goals in the English Premier League in all competitions this season:
32- Mohamed Salah
22- Bukayo Saka
19- Erling HaalandIn a league of its own 📈 pic.twitter.com/DNbRFcc56a
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 22, 2024
Saka statistics: How will Arsenal replace him?
The 23-year-old has the third-most goals and assists combined in the Premier League, behind Chelsea's Cole Palmer, with 17, and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah, who has 26.
Saka, an Arsenal academy product, has the eighth-highest total in this regard of any player in Europe's top five leagues, putting him one place ahead of the likes of Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Newcastle's Alexander Isak.
“I'm putting some ideas together,” Arteta said when asked how he would deal with Saka's absence. “I'm not there yet, but I have a few.
“Then I want to talk to (the players) as well, to understand how to generate that and use it in a positive way, because that means we will be different.
“We went through the period with Martin (Odegaard is absent, for 10 games in the Premier League and Europe this season) and the period with the absence of five and six defenders. We are dealing with it with positive energy.”
“If there was ever a right time to get injured, it's now.”
Les Ferdinand says a break could benefit Bukayo Saka 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/bxA1HrudsN
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 22, 2024
Premier League table
Arsenal occupies third place in the table, six points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a match in hand.
Arsenal is two points ahead of fourth-placed Nottingham Forest and hosts second-placed Ipswich Town on Friday (8.15pm GMT).
