Takehiro Tomiyasu continues to struggle with a minor muscle issue and there’s concern he now won’t be ready for the start of the new season along with Kieran Tierney and Fabio Vieira.

LONDON, ENGLAND: Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal applauds their fans prior to kick off of the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at London Stadium on May 01, 2022. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND: Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal applauds their fans prior to kick-off of the Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at London Stadium on May 01, 2022. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Takehiro Tomiyasu is currently out of action due to mild muscular pain and there is a worry he won’t return in time for the Premier League opener against Crystal Palace in just two weeks.

Mikel Arteta recently confirmed that Tomiyasu has a “muscular niggle”, and we’ve already seen how the defender’s injuries can drag on.

Speaking after Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Chelsea in the early hours of Sunday morning, Mikel Arteta confirmed that Tomiyasu has not started training yet, making it highly unlikely he will be ready for the start of the new season on August 5.

“Tomi us really close to start doing some training sessions,” Arteta told reporters.

“Hopefully, next week, and Fabio probably a little bit longer.”

Tomiyasu missed huge chunks of last season, only making the Arsenal squad for 22 of the 35 Premier League games following his signing.

The last injury of the season came in the first half of Arsenal’s trip to Newcastle United, after which Tomiyasu was absent against Everton, and then missed the early fixtures of Japan’s international break.

There was seemingly a positive sign towards the end of that break, as the 23-year-old made the bench for a match against Tunisia.

But he’s either had a setback since then, or that inclusion was premature from the beginning, because a month later he’s still injured.

Arsenal's Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu reacts on the pitch after being tackled during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Arsenal at the London Stadium, in London on May 1, 2022. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images)
Arsenal’s Japanese defender Takehiro Tomiyasu reacts on the pitch after being tackled during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Arsenal at the London Stadium, in London on May 1, 2022. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images)

With so little time remaining in pre-season and Hector Bellerin pushing for an exit, it looks likely that either Cedric Soares or Ben White will start at right-back against Palace on the opening day of the season.

Kieran Tierney, who played 30 minutes against Nurnberg and hasn’t been seen since, even though we were told at the time his withdrawal was planned, is also a major doubt ahead of the game against Palace.

It also seems highly unlikely that Fabio Vieira will feature.