Mikel Arteta had injury updates on Arsenal’s four absentees on Friday, with Martin Zubimendi potentially in line to play against Nottingham Forest.
Mikel Arteta spoke to the media on Friday ahead of Arsenal’s match against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, and the most positive update to come out of the session involved Martin Zubimendi.
Zubimendi picked up an injury in training last week, and he missed Tuesday’s game against Lille OSC as a result. But Arteta suggested the midfielder is now potentially in contention to face Forest.
“Zubi looks much better, he already looked much better today,” Arteta said. “We have another session tomorrow, and after that we will assess whether he’s available to play against Forest.”
Arsenal’s other three injury absentees won’t be back this weekend, but it’s still not all bad news with them. For a start, Arteta expects Piero Hincapie to return before too long.
“Piero is evolving really well,” Arteta explained. “Knowing his character and the way he pushes everybody, I’m sure it’s not going to take long, but he will probably need another week or two.”
Then Christos Tzolis is also a few weeks away, according to the Arsenal manager.
“He’s doing really well,” Arteta said. “Yesterday he had another MRI scan to see how the injury is evolving. It’s progressing really well, so he’s another one who hopefully we can have back in a few weeks.”
That just leaves William Saliba, who is back training on the grass again. Arteta suggested the defender is due for further assessment next week, but everything is looking good at the moment.
“I think next week we have another MRI with him to see how the healing process is at the moment, but every sign so far has been very, very positive. It will be great to have him,” Arteta concluded.
In summary, Sunday’s squad should be relatively similar to the one that face Lille in midweek, with the addition of Zubimendi the only significant potential alteration.
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