Arsenal have endured their fair share of injury woes this campaign, and the latest blow spells bad news for Mikel Arteta, even though it does not affect his current squad.
Reiss Nelson was loaned out to Fulham last summer after spending the previous season on the fringes in north London. For the Gunners, a period of regular football promised to boost Nelson’s transfer value and give them a fairer sense of whether he is good enough for greater first-team responsibility.
But things have not gone to plan. Nelson was sidelined by a serious hamstring injury in December, and just as he was approaching full fitness earlier this month, he injured the hamstring on his other leg.
The 25-year-old has since gone in for surgery, and Fulham boss Marco Silva admits that could be it for his 2024/25 campaign. “We feel really sorry for him,” the Portuguese explained. “He worked really hard to be back after the first hamstring injury.
“He got surgery, and he could be out until the end of the season. I don’t want to give a timescale to you that is 100% sure, but he could be out until the end of the season unfortunately for him and for us.”
Arsenal‘s long-term plans for Nelson are unclear. But his latest injury setback will hurt them whichever way it’s spun.
Potential buyers may be reluctant to splash out on a player with a recent history of injury problems. And with only six starts for the Cottagers across all competitions, Arteta does not have much to work with in terms of deciding whether to keep Nelson or try and move him on.
Silva dodged a question on whether Fulham would be looking to purchase Nelson outright. His loan agreement does not include a buy option and he is coming up to the last two years of his Arsenal contract.
“It’s too early to talk about this situation now,” said Silva. “I have really enjoyed having him with us. You can feel his quality, and he’s a player that has understood well what we need from him.”
Injuries have made life tough for Arteta this season. Bukayo Saka has been out since December and Gabriel Martinelli is currently on the sidelines, while the campaign has been completely written off for the unfortunate Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk