Contrary to reporting on Tuesday, Arsenal have contacted UEFA to add Gabriel Jesus to their Champions League squad after an injury to Max Dowman, meaning he is eligible to face Club Brugge on Wednesday night.
Many had wondered if Arsenal would add Gabriel Jesus to the squad after Cristhian Mosquera‘s ankle injury, but it is an ankle injury to 15-year-old Max Dowman that has seen the Brazilian brought in as a replacement.
UEFA changed the rules so that teams could replace an injured player up-to and including Game six as long as that injury is likely to take at least 60 days to recover from.
Recovering from an ACL injury, Jesus was not expected back in action until 2026 and so wasn’t included in Arsenal’s Champions League squad for the league phase with the club aware they could then add him in 2026 for the knock-out rounds.
However, with the forward returning earlier than expected, he has given Mikel Arteta an extra pair of legs to replace all those that are falling off throughout the squad.
Jesus played, and scored, against Manchester United in a closed-doors friendly, but it remains to be seen how many minutes he will be able to play in Belgium, if any.
Arsenal added about Dowman, “Max, who picked up an ankle injury playing for our under-21s on Saturday, will be added to our UEFA B list in January, but will not be permitted to play in any UEFA competitions for 60 days from today (February 6).”