Former Gunner Emile Smith Rowe continues to struggle for a run of full fitness, with the Fulham midfielder picking up a hamstring injury at the weekend.
Fulham have been very cautious with former Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe this season, largely using him as a substitute in the first couple of months of the campaign.
Smith Rowe did start League Cup matches against Bristol City and Cambridge United, scoring the winner in the latter of those two fixtures, but he only got his first Premier League start of 2025/26 on Saturday.
Unfortunately, that start away to Newcastle United was over in 45 minutes, with Smith Rowe forced to withdraw due to a hamstring problem.
Speaking ahead of Fulham’s next game against Wycombe Wanderers in the League Cup, Marco Silva confirmed that Smith Rowe is out of action for the time being.
“It doesn’t look very, very serious,” Silva began. “Let’s see [over] the next few days, but for tomorrow, he’s not going to be [available].”
Smith Rowe hasn’t had a lengthy injury absence since signing for Fulham, but they’ll be well aware of his past with Arsenal. From 2018 to 2024, the player had 13 different setbacks totalling 680 days on the sidelines.
Though the player hasn’t been out for longer than a fortnight with any one injury at Fulham, this is now his fourth spell on the sidelines in just over a year.
All those minor setbacks have certainly disrupted his momentum with his new club, and to pick up a hamstring injury in his first league start of the season will be very frustrating.
Arsenal fans will be wishing their former player all the best with his recovery, ideally sometime before Fulham play Spurs and Manchester City a month from now.