Arsenal's Saka worries deepen with Arteta fearing longer layoff
League Crystal Against Palace Arsenal Up By Julian Bukayo Match Finney/getty Images Premier Before The Of Warms Saka Photo
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta now fears star winger Bukayo Saka will be unavailable for longer than the two months initially feared following the hamstring injury Saka suffered against Crystal Palace.
"It’s not looking good," Arteta said, following Arsenal's narrow 1-0 win over Ipswich on Friday night.
"I said many weeks so I think it will be more than two months," he added. "I don’t know exactly how much longer. It will depend on how the scar tissue starts to heal, the first week or so, the mobility of that. Let’s see, it’s very difficult to say."
Arteta confirmed that Saka has already undergone a procedure on the damaged hamstring, meaning a long layoff seems inevitable.
"He had a procedure. Everything went well, but unfortunately he will be out for many, many weeks."
But the Spaniard played down fears about any long-term problem for the England star's career.
“When you look at his history in six years, it’s incredible. It’s very difficult to find a more robust player in the league, especially at his age.
“It’s an injury and he will be fine."
Arsenal suffered a further blow last week when Saka's possible replacement on the right flank, Raheem Sterling, also suffered an injury. However, the prognosis for his problem now looks more positive,
"We have to see this week how he evolves," Arteta said, of Sterling. "We probably expected the knee injury to take longer than it has evolved in the last few days. Hopefully that’s good news because we need him."