Bukayo Saka will be out for “many weeks” with a hamstring injury the Arsenal striker suffered against Crystal Palace on Saturday, manager Mikel Arteta said.
Saka, who has nine goals and 12 assists in 21 Premier League and Champions League appearances this season, was substituted in the 24th minute of his team’s 5-1 victory at Selhurst Park.
The England international missed two games in October with a hamstring problem but has started all of Arsenal’s other games in the top flight and in Europe.
“It could have been much worse” 🗣️
Mikel Arteta reveals that Bukayo Saka will be out for many 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 will be out for many weeks. (It’s) another part of a player’s development. At some point at this level, you will get injured.
“It could have been much worse. It could have been something else that could take a year out of you. It’s about how you react to it, how you overcome that situation.
“It’s a big learning process for him too. It is what it is. He’s injured, we can’t change him. “We are going to use this time to help you.”
Asked if he was worried that Saka would not return in 2024/25, Arteta replied: “No. “I am very optimistic that he will be back before the end of the season.”
Highest goal contribution by Premier League players in all competitions this season:
32 – Mohamed Salah
22 – Bukayo Saka
19 – Erling HaalandIn a league of their own 📈 pic.twitter.com/DNbRFcc56a
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 22, 2024
Saka Stats: How will Arsenal replace him?
The 23-year-old has the third-most combined goals and assists in the Premier League, behind Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, with 17, and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, who has 26.
Saka, a product of Arsenal’s academy, has the eighth-highest total in that regard of any player in Europe’s top five leagues, putting him one ahead of the likes of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Newcastle’s Alexander Isak.
“I’m gathering some ideas,” Arteta said when asked how he will cope with Saka’s absence. “I’m not there yet, but I have some.
“So I want to talk to (the players) too, to understand how to generate that and use it in a positive way, because it means that we are going to be different.
“We went through the period with Martin (Odegaard absent, for 10 games in the Premier League and Europe this season) and the period with five, six defenders absent. “We are taking it with positive energy.”
“If there was a perfect time to get injured it would be now”
Les Ferdinand says a break could benefit Bukayo Saka 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/bxA1HrudsN
– Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 22, 2024
first division table
Arsenal are third in the table and six points behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game less.
The Gunners are two points clear of fourth-placed Nottingham Forest and host penultimate Ipswich Town on Friday (20.15 GMT).
