Arsenal fear Bukayo Saka could miss a minimum of six weeks with the quadriceps injury he sustained in their Champions League tie against Bayern Munich, which forced him off during the 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena.
The 25-year-old will undergo an MRI scan on Friday afternoon to better assess the problem. Fluid around the affected muscle has made diagnosis difficult, but club medics estimate, after early examinations, that Saka will be out for at least six weeks, and the absence could be even longer.
If those early concerns prove correct, Saka will miss a run of key games for the Gunners, as well as England’s forthcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain.
“We need a few more scans and opinions from the specialists,” said Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta.
“When a player has to walk off the pitch, he is struggling to walk without any pain, and is restricted to movement; it is not a good sign. Let’s be a little bit patient so we can give a definitive assessment.
“He’s got another MRI as there was quite a lot of fluid in the area so it was quite difficult to understand the extent of the injury. We will know more tomorrow.”
Saka will also miss Saturday’s home Premier League match against Everton. Second-placed Arsenal will hope to close a three-point gap on leaders Manchester City.
The Arsenal academy product has endured fitness issues in recent months. His game time was managed at the end of last season and at the World Cup with England, because of an Achilles injury he suffered in March. He missed the March international break and seven games for the Gunners, but returned to help them lift the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years.
Saka started the Champions League final defeat by Paris St-Germain but was substituted after 54 minutes. He started only three of England’s eight games at the World Cup, scoring a hat-trick in the 6-4 third-place win over France. He also had surgery on a hamstring injury picked up in December 2024, which kept him out for 101 days in the 2024-25 campaign.
He made 49 appearances as Arsenal won the title last term, despite a stop-start season. Alongside the Achilles problem, Saka pulled out of a January game against Leeds with a hip injury sustained in the warm-up, while a hamstring problem also kept him out for about four weeks.
Question marks over Saka’s robustness
The need for follow-up scans, and the possibility that Saka will be out for up to eight weeks, is a major blow for Arteta and Arsenal.
The Gunners boss had recently spoken about how Saka had been adapting his positioning to become more of a regular goalscorer for the club. The winger has scored four goals in 11 appearances so far this season. Now, with another muscle injury, questions are being asked about whether he still has the robustness that made him a certain starter in the Arsenal team.
Saka had Achilles, hip and hamstring problems last season, and underwent surgery on a hamstring injury in the previous season that kept him out for 101 days. At the World Cup, his game time was also managed, and Arteta acknowledged that Saka’s robustness and availability has “certainly been different in the last year or so”.
Arsenal tried to sign a world-class forward to strengthen their frontline in the summer but were unsuccessful, with pursuits of Vinicius Jr and Julian Alvarez falling through. They did bring in Greece international Christos Tzolis, but he is currently injured too.
That leaves Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and 16-year-old Max Dowman as the alternative wing options. Dowman has had limited minutes this season, but Arteta spoke glowingly of his talent and his ability to impact matches.