Injuries have been a prevailing theme of the last few seasons for Arsenal and they already find themselves without key personnel at the beginning of the new term.
Kai Havertz, William Saliba, Ben White, Christian Nørgaard and Bukayo Saka have suffered fitness setbacks in the opening weeks of the campaign, with the latter a particularly prominent absentee in Arsenal’s forward line.
The Gunners drew a blank without Saka in their recent defeat to title rivals Liverpool at Anfield and Mikel Arteta will be desperate to welcome the influential winger back from the treatment room as soon as possible.
Here’s the latest injury news regarding Saka.
When Will Bukayo Saka Return From Injury?
Saka suffered his latest hamstring injury in Arsenal’s 5–0 win over Leeds United in their second match of the Premier League season and Arteta has confirmed that he’s staring at several weeks on the sidelines at the very least.
Speaking before the Liverpool defeat, the Spaniard said: “Bukayo is doing better, but he will be out for a few weeks, unfortunately.
“No surgery, it’s not as bad as the previous one. Very unfortunate to pick it up because it’s on the other side. It’s an action that requires full power from him. Then, he clashed with the opponent; he needed to change pace again, and he felt something. So he will be out for a couple of weeks.”
Saka struggled with hamstring issues last season, picking up his first in October 2024 when on international duty with England. He proceeded to miss two weeks of action but would suffer a far more severe setback in December.
The 23-year-old required surgery for a hamstring tear sustained against Crystal Palace just before Christmas, and he didn’t make his first-team return until the beginning of April. Luckily, as Arteta mentioned, no surgery is needed to remedy his current issue.
Potential Bukayo Saka Replacements for Arsenal
Arsenal have often struggled to replace the creativity and goalscoring output of Saka when the wide man has been injured, but the summer addition of Noni Madueke from Chelsea should help ease the burden this time around. The England international started on the right wing at Anfield last time out and was Arteta’s most lively creative force.
Madueke also started the game against Leeds, although he largely played on the other flank, and has seemingly already won the trust of Arteta.
The Arsenal manager does have other options, though. Ethan Nwaneri often covered for Saka during his spell in the treatment room last season and Leandro Trossard also has the versatility required to fill the role in the short-term.
15-year-old Max Dowman has caught the eye during pre-season and the opening weeks of the Premier League campaign and could continue to earn minutes on the right wing.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bukayo Saka Injury: Progress, Potential Return Date for Arsenal Star.