Bukayo Saka is ‘set to miss another eight weeks of action’ for Arsenal as he continues his recovery from a serious hamstring injury.
Saka, 23, suffered the injury on December 21 during Arsenal’s 5-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
He then underwent surgery on December 29, with the recovery period being estimated at between 10 and 12 weeks.
The England winger is not said to have suffered any setbacks and is on schedule to return within the above timeframe from when the injury occurred.
The Sun has reported that could miss ‘another eight weeks’, which would put him in line for a return to action in mid-April.
Given that he had surgery in the final days of December, Saka could return to action at the end of March.
Bukayo Saka is ‘set to miss another eight weeks of action’ for Arsenal as he continues his recovery from a serious hamstring injury
Saka, 23, suffered the injury on December 21 during Arsenal’s 5-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park
But due to the serious nature of his hamstring tear, a precise return date for the Gunners’ key man is not yet known.
He was able to return to light training during the club’s mid-season trip to Dubai.
The attacker travelled with his team-mates to their winter training camp in Dubai ahead of this weekend’s visit to Leicester where he has accelerated his schedule ahead of his anticipated return.
The news comes amid a raft of other injury worries for Mikel Arteta – with the Spaniard also currently missing Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Martinelli in attack at a key point in the season.
Havertz, 25, is the most recent casualty on the list, having suffered a hamstring injury of his own in Dubai.
The German suffered the blow as part of a pressing drill and follows Arsenal’s decision to opt against reinforcements in the January transfer window.
Arteta was already without Jesus for the rest of the season after he suffered a serious injury in the FA Cup against Manchester United in January.
Meanwhile, Jesus’ fellow Brazilian Martinelli could miss up to a month after coming off injured in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Newcastle United.
Bukayo Saka travelled with his Arsenal team-mates to their winter training camp in Dubai
The 23-year-old’s return to strengthen and conditioning training is a step in the right direction
Saka and Jesus being sidelined for lengthy periods left the north Londoners open to bringing in an attacker in January, but their approach for Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins was rejected.
Arsenal were also said to be monitoring the availability of Mathys Tel, but the Frenchman opted to join their arch-rivals Tottenham on loan from Bayern Munich until the end of the season.
Although they have been ravaged by injuries to attacking players in recent weeks, the Gunners were handed a boost in their title bid when Liverpool conceded a stoppage time equaliser to draw at Everton on Thursday night.
While that did extend Liverpool’s lead at the top of the table to seven points, Arteta’s men can reduce that number to four if they beat Leicester City on Saturday.