Kai Havertz was absent from Arsenal’s squad to face AFC Bournemouth on Saturday, but there’s reportedly no cause for concern.
Arsenal had a few injury concerns ahead of this weekend’s match against Bournemouth, with Max Dowman, Riccardo Calafiori, and Cristhian Mosquera all ruled out of action, and doubts around the fitness of Declan Rice.
Rice managed to overcome his knee swelling to make the squad and score a brace, but there was an unexpected absence in the form of Kai Havertz.
Havertz had returned to the Arsenal squad for the previous game against Aston Villa, recovering from a knee injury to be involved. So there were initial fears that perhaps his absence on Saturday could indicate a setback, especially as the forward hadn’t been spotted in training the previous day.
Fortunately, Sam Blitz of Sky Sports reported ahead of the game that there’s no setback to Havertz, and his absence is just load management.
Havertz obviously hasn’t been playing games, so “load” here doesn’t refer to his minutes on the pitch competitively. Instead, it refers to the load he’s been taking on in training, working to return to his best.
Arsenal will obviously also need to be extra careful with an injured player who has been out of action for over four months, who already had a setback in November.
On top of all of that, Arsenal already had a striker and a backup striker available in the squad.
There wasn’t a desperate need for Havertz in this particular fixture, and sitting on the bench on a bitterly cold day would probably do a lot less good to the forward than remaining home.
Arsenal fans will be looking forward to Havertz making regular appearances in the squad over the remainder of the season, but caution is the best way to ensure that happens.