The Japan Times - Arsenal assess Bukayo Saka fitness concerns before Liverpool meeting

Saka is an injury doubt heading into Sunday’s showdown at the Etihad (Picture: Getty) Mikel Arteta has once again been left to ponder how to fill the void left by Bukayo Saka following the winger’s latest injury blow. A fresh problem has derailed the England international’s season, forced off after just 10 minutes in last week’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich. As of Monday this week, there was still no official verdict on the extent of the problem with further scans required. ‘I think in a week or ten days we’re going to have another scan because there’s so much fluid at the moment,’ Arteta said at the start of the week. ‘So the picture is not that clear to give you an exact amount of time.

But it looks like it’s going to be weeks.’ Reports suggest Saka is likely to be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks, potentially keeping him out of the team until Christmas. Injuries have been a growing source of frustration for Saka. In the 2024-25 season, he missed three months – 21 games in total – with a torn hamstring that required surgery.

Early in the 2025-26 season there was another hamstring issue, albeit a less severe one that saw him sit out of five matches. A hip problem saw him miss games against Leeds, Sunderland and Chelsea in late January with an Achilles injury emerging late on in the campaign, ruling him out of five more games. Saka returned to help the Gunners end their long wait for a Premier League title but that Achilles problem remained an issue at the World Cup where he started just three of England’s eight matches.

Saka was for so long one of the league’s most robust players, ever-present under Arteta as he made 87 consecutive appearances in the English top flight in a fine measure of his durability and commitment to the cause. That run came to an end in October 2023, missing a game against Manchester City having limped off in the previous three games. Saka was forced off against Bayern last week (Picture: AP) In total, Saka has had 11 different injuries since September 2023.

While that run of 87 games was heralded as a triumph, it also served to demonstrate Arsenal’s overreliance on their Hale End academy product with the club perhaps living with some of the consequences now. But despite those recent spells on the sidelines, Saka made 49 appearances in all competitions last season with only six outfield players racking up more minutes than him. His haul of 3,256 minutes was over his fellow Arsenal wingers Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Noni Madueke, also exceeding the total game of the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Jeremy Doku, Rayan Cherki and Cole Palmer elsewhere in the Premier League. ‘The reality is we know he has played an enormous amount of football for club and country.

By being one of the best, you play more games,’ Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare, told Metro. ‘He has picked up more issues in recent years but that comes with being exposed to more games than the vast majority of players so there is more opportunity for injury because of that. ‘In spite of all that, he still made 49 appearances for Arsenal last season, a contribution which isn’t the story of a player you might call injury prone. I would suggest when someone has played that amount of football and is still able to make that number of appearances, it probably reflects the really careful management of both Arsenal and England. Saka has dealt with several different injury issues (Picture: REUTERS) ‘The way we saw him managed through the World Cup would underscore that approach.

I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that he is more injury prone – he is a superb player getting lots of access to games and with that, injuries happen.’ The estimated timeline for Saka’s return rules him out of some crucial games including the visit of Manchester City and the north London derby against Tottenham. It also leaves Arteta with the more immediate problem of having no fit wingers in his squad ahead of Sunday’s showdown with Liverpool with Christos Tzolis and Noni Madueke injured and Max Dowman suspended. But Arsenal will take their time with Saka.

His latest issue is a quad problem with fluid around the affected muscle making it difficult to diagnose the injury. While early estimations suggest a minimum of six weeks, further MRI scans in the coming days will provide a clearer picture. Saka Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images) ‘When you get excessive fluid, it makes the picture harder to read in those initial stages just after the injury and it can confuse the outcome you are looking at,’ Smith continued. ‘So after the first few days as the bleeding and swelling subsides you look again because that can mask what is really going on underneath. ‘Six to eight weeks would be pretty normal for a mid-level tear in the quad muscle and it might suggest there is some concern over the tendon as well. ‘Typically, quad injuries are little bit different to what we see with a hamstring injury.

But it also depends on what structures are involved. Minor muscle injuries are usually a couple of weeks, moderate tears will be several weeks. Injuries that sit within the muscle tend to heal more quickly.

Injuries that extend into the tendon or into the juncture where the muscle and tendon join generally need longer and a more cautious rehabilitation process. Tendons generally heal slower and they carry more risk of recurrence because they have a poorer blood supply. So the timeline may be more consistent with that kind of picture.’

M.Saito--JT