Mikel Arteta has confessed Arsenal remain in the dark over when Kai Havertz will make his comeback. The Arsenal striker has been struck down by a knee injury flare-up this week and is staring down the barrel of a lengthy stint on the treatment table.
Gunners chief Arteta revealed the club are conducting thorough examinations of the problem and sources suggest they’re crossing their fingers it might calm down following rest and medical attention. However, surgical intervention could still be required, which would spell an even longer absence amid concerns that something within his knee has triggered the setback.
Havertz experienced discomfort during pre-season, missed a friendly clash with Villarreal, and the issue reared its head once more following his substitute outing at Manchester United on Sunday.
Whilst it’s not classified as a severe knee problem, it will enforce a period out of action and sparked the £67.5million signing of Eberechi Eze, though Arteta acknowledged there’s no fixed comeback timeline beyond his certain absence from Saturday’s encounter with Leeds.
It represents a crushing setback for Havertz, who was recovering from a hamstring complaint last campaign and now confronts fresh rivalry from new arrival Viktor Gyokeres.
Arteta commented: “Well, he’s certainly not fit for this match. Unfortunately, he picked up an injury and we don’t really know yet the extent of it. I think we need a bit more time and some more tests and after that we’ll have more clarity about the next steps.
“I prefer not to talk about the specifics but he’s not fit. As I said, we need to explore that issue a little bit further and then decide what we’re going to do. The bad scenario is that he can’t play tomorrow.
“I would love to have him fresh and available and bring what he brings to the team. Unfortunately, that’s not going to be possible.” Despite the blow and Havertz missing training this week, Arteta maintained that he remains in positive spirits.
He added: “Well, mentally he’s in a good place. He’s a really strong boy, very committed. As you said, he had an incredible recovery from the hamstring surgery. I think he never had an injury before, so it was a first experience really.
“Now he’s got a setback. Let’s see how bad it is, but I’m sure he’s going to deal in the best possible way. As I said, he has the joy of a kid and hopefully we’re going to have him soon.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk