Emile Smith Rowe missed out on Arsenal’s trip to Vitoria this week after suffering another minor setback in his recovery from injury.
Football.London write that Smith Rowe has a “slightly tight calf”, and as a result, he didn’t travel with the squad to Portugal. Fortunately, it seems the injury isn’t set to be anything long term.
Smith Rowe had returned to first-team training this week, after playing 90 minutes with the u23s last Friday. It seems Arsenal don’t want to take any risks with him if he’s not at 100% though.
The 19-year-old spent the majority of the first eight months of the year injured, then suffered a concussion against Nottingham Forest before returning and picking up this minor calf issue. It’s no real surprise he’s picking up little knocks after so long out, and hopefully, it will clear up the longer he goes without a more serious setback.
The midfielder has one goal and two assists with the Arsenal u21/u23s this season, though he’s yet to contribute on the scoresheet in his 195 minutes for the first team this season.
All the same, he played well in the home game against Vitoria, so it’s a shame not to have him available.