Granit Xhaka has picked up a knock to his hip after Arsenal’s second leg Europa League quarter-final victory over Napoli, the club have confirmed.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 01: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Fulham FC at Emirates Stadium on January 1, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 01: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Fulham FC at Emirates Stadium on January 1, 2019, in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

After a near-perfect injury record with Arsenal for his first two-and-a-half seasons, Granit Xhaka has picked up a couple of knocks recently.

First, he suffered a groin strain back in February, which returned again in early April. After coming back from that injury to play against Watford and Napoli, the 26-year-old appears to have suffered another, this time picking up a hip problem.

It’s unclear whether the midfielder will be fit to start against Crystal Palace on Sunday, as the club have simply said that he’s ‘being assessed’ ahead of the game. At this stage, it seems more likely Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi will take up the midfield spots.

The Swiss international was always likely to suffer some kind of injury problem eventually. He’s played pretty much every week for his entire Arsenal spell, and he had Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in the summer before two of his three seasons so far.

Let’s hope he can battle through the final matches of the campaign and then take a well-deserved summer off.