Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi will miss Arsenal’s match against Lille on Tuesday night, with Mikel Arteta defending Arsenal’s post-match warm-downs.
Following reports over the weekend that Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi had picked up injuries in Arsenal’s post-match warm-down following their win over Leeds United, the duo were both absent from training on Monday.
Mikel Arteta was asked about the absentees in his press conference later in the day, and he confirmed they’ll miss Tuesday’s game against Lille.
“They’re both going to miss tomorrow’s match, that’s for sure and today they’re going to have a further scan and probably tomorrow we’ll know more,” Arteta said. “Then we’ll see how they’re going to go. Piero’s one looks a little bit more serious I think, but we’ll have to wait and see.”
Arteta confirmed that both players have ankle injuries, with John Cross of the Mirror reporting that Hincapie will be out for a while, “possibly three weeks”.
Cross adds that Zubimendi’s issue isn’t as much of a concern, and he could be back for the weekend. He also clarifies that the two injuries occurred in separate incidents.
Arteta defended Arsenal’s warm-down strategy, despite the two injuries that resulted from it.
“When you play these kind of small-sided games, there is contact, and these things can happen,” Arteta argued. “They didn’t happen once last season and we did it 37 times I think, so the fact that it’s there, that people are watching and then you think it raises other doubts.
“What we can do is [say] ‘guys’, they are so competitive, ‘when we do that, please don’t touch each other too much,’ to avoid these kind of things, so that’s it.”
If Zubimendi is only out for one game, that shouldn’t be a major issue. Arsenal have plenty of available midfielders at the moment, so it’s easily possible for one of them to cover for one match.
Hincapie’s three-week absence will be more of a blow. Arsenal may need to give Myles Lewis-Skelly some minutes back at left-back, given they’re otherwise relying entirely on Riccardo Calafiori. It’s a new and unwelcome puzzle for Arteta to solve.
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