Arsenal’s injury setbacks at the weekend look likely to be short-term, according to a report, though Gabriel Martinelli appears to be the biggest cause for concern.
In the absence of any formal updates on the injuries suffered by Arsenal’s William Saliba, Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori, and Gabriel Martinelli against Crystal Palace, Physio Scout reviewed the footage of the match to try and identify any potentially serious issues.
On Saliba, there was no obvious in-game incident to suggest a major injury, so the expectation was for a fast recovery, however Mikel Arteta has ruled him out for the Carabao Cup game against Brighton this week.
As for Rice, the problem was seemingly a calf contusion due to contact from a Palace player. He has been declared fit.
Physio Scout again suggested that there was nothing obvious on the broadcast to cause concern with Calafiori, with the player likely just suffering from tightness or fatigue.
“(Saliba) is out,” Arteta told the Brighton pre-match press conference. “We are assessing him but he won’t be involved in this match. Declan Rice will be available, Calafiori as well.”
The one potential cause for concern is Martinelli. The winger did finish the match, but the way he limped from the field and Mikel Arteta’s post-match comments suggests he has muscle tightness or a simple strain.
If it’s just tightness, Martinelli should be back in less than a week, but a strain would mean two or more weeks out.
Speaking to the media before Brighton, Arteta added, “It looks as well that (Martinelli) is going to be out. We have to do some more tests and see the extent of the injury, but this game is going to be too early for him.”
Given Martinelli’s history with hamstring problems, there were legitimate fears that it could be the latter. The 24-year-old missed a month earlier this year with a hamstring injury, as well as missing a month at the start of the 2023/24 campaign, although from my vantage point at the match he seemed to be more concerned with his groin.
Losing four potential starters in one game would have been a huge blow, but if all of them are fit in a fortnight or so then it’s something the squad can manage.
After Brighton, Arsenal face Burnley, Slavia Prague, and Sunderland before the November international break, so if any are still out at that stage, they’ll at least have an extra couple of weeks to recover ahead of the north London derby on November 23rd.