Reports on Noni Madueke’s injury timeline have started to emerge, and it’s largely good news for the Arsenal winger.
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor and Art de Roche report for The Athletic that their sources believe Noni Madueke’s injury is a minor issue, despite the player leaving Wembley Stadium wearing a brace on his knee following a setback in the friendly against Uruguay.
Madueke is reportedly likely to miss Arsenal’s FA Cup quarter-final match against Southampton on Saturday, and he’s a doubt for the following game away to Sporting CP.
But it seems the expectation is that he’ll be back after that, with Arsenal to face Bournemouth, Sporting CP again, and Manchester City over the following week and a half.
It’s certainly good news that Arsenal might be able to call on Madueke for those matches.
In the meantime, perhaps Max Dowman might find himself with a bigger role to play. Bukayo Saka can’t play every game, particularly given he’s just pulled out of the international break with discomfort himself.
Considering Arsenal’s next game is a cup tie against lower-league opposition, it could be the perfect time to include Dowman in Madueke’s absence, allowing Saka some rest as well.
Madueke will hope he still has a major part to play in Arsenal’s hunt for trophies over the final couple of months of the season, and that he can use those matches to prove himself ahead of Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup squad selection.