Arsenal academy star striker Folarin Balogun has been ruled out for six to eight weeks with an ankle injury, Daily Cannon have learned.
In the build-up to the Arsenal u23s’ North London derby last week, Balogun fell injured in training. The striker rolled his ankle, and he ended up having a scan on Saturday to assess the damage.
Unfortunately, sources have informed Daily Cannon he’s now set to be out for between six and eight weeks.
With seven goals and four assists in 10 games, Balogun is the u23s’ top scorer this season. The academy side will have to deal without him for a while now, though they do have Tyreece John-Jules back from his hamstring injury at least.
The only upside is that the u23 fixtures aren’t particularly hectic over the next couple of months anyway. Here’s the current schedule for the team in November and December:
- 5th Nov: Cambridge United vs Arsenal – EFL Trophy
- 23rd Nov: Arsenal vs Southampton – PL2
- 27th Nov: Arsenal vs Villarreal CF – PL International Cup
- 6th Dec: Arsenal vs Blackburn – PL2
- 13th Dec: Brighton vs Arsenal – PL2
- 17th Dec: Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb – PL International Cup
After 17th December, the u23s have a break until January 6th. If Balogun makes it back in six weeks he might just about manage to feature in the Zagreb match, otherwise, he’ll miss six matches. That’s including the dead rubber EFL Trophy game against Cambridge.
It’s still not ideal, but it could have been worse at a different time of year. We wish Balogun well with his recovery in the coming weeks!
To check out some of Balogun’s goals from this year so far, click here.