Arsenal’s recent injury woes continue to plague the club, as Oleksandr Zinchenko was ruled out of their recent draw against West Ham due to a groin injury. The Ukrainian midfielder reportedly suffered the injury a week prior in their match against Liverpool.
However, there is hope that Zinchenko will be fit to play in Arsenal’s upcoming match against Southampton on Friday. In a recent statement, manager Mikel Arteta stated that Zinchenko “had a muscular issue at the end of the match at Anfield last week, he struggled in the last few minutes. We assessed him, he wasn’t fit enough to play.”
The injury to Zinchenko only adds to Arsenal’s defensive woes, as the team has already lost Takehiro Tomiyasu and William Saliba to injuries. Arteta has had to resort to a makeshift defence to compensate for their absence.
In regards to Saliba’s injury, Arsenal is hoping to see the French defender back in training soon after suffering a back injury against Sporting CP a month ago. While the upcoming match against Manchester City is expected to come too soon for Saliba, Arteta remains hopeful that the defender will return in the coming weeks, stating “He’s progressing well and we’re hopeful that we’ll have him available in the next few weeks. We’ll have to see.”
As the season comes to a close, Arsenal will undoubtedly hope to have their injured players back on the pitch as soon as possible to finish the season on a high note.