Arsenal have a number of injury concerns as they prepare to get the new season up and running.
The Gunners face Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley this weekend, before welcoming Nottingham Forest to north London a week later for the start of the Premier League campaign.
They will go into those matches without Gabriel Jesus, who will miss the start of the season, while Oleksandr Zinchenko also remains out and Bukayo Saka did not feature in the club’s final pre-season fixture.
Here is your latest update of Arsenal injuries and return dates...
Gabriel Jesus
Mikel Arteta has confirmed Gabriel Jesus will miss “a few weeks” with a knee injury, ruling him out of the start of the Premier League campaign.
The issue is related to the injury that caused him to have knee surgery and miss more than three months of last season, with Jesus undergoing a minor operation on Wednesday in an attempt to fix the problem.
“He’s had some discomfort in his knee that has been causing some issues and they had to go in and resolve it,” Arteta said. “It’s not something major but he’s going to be out for a few weeks I think.”
Jesus will not be involved in the Community Shield against Manchester City on Sunday or the League opener next weekend against Nottingham Forest. The Gunners will hope he is back at least in time for the clash with Manchester United on September 3, the final match before the international break.
Bukayo Saka
Saka was named on the bench for the Emirates Cup friendly against Monaco on Wednesday evening, and was one of just four Arsenal players to not come on after the break.
“He was fine, but after he wasn’t feeling great on the bench,” Arteta explained. “We didn’t want to use him. I think he had some sickness or some illness or something so we could not use him.”
Saka should therefore be available for this weekend’s trip to Wembley, assuming there are no further setbacks.
Oleksandr Zinchenko
It has been a frustrating summer for Zinchenko, who has not played a single minute in Arsenal’s pre-season fixtures.
Jurrien Timber has stepped up at left-back in Zinchenko’s absence, with the Ukrainian continuing to battle a calf injury, but Arteta gave a positive injury update after the Monaco match.
“He’s close,” the Arsenal boss said when asked about Zinchenko. “I think he’s going to start training with the team and hopefully we will have him back very soon.”
The Community Shield is expected to come too soon, but a return for the Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest on August 12 has not been ruled out.
Folarin Balogun
A foot injury kept Balogun out of the 5-3 win over Barcelona in Arsenal’s final match of the pre-season tour to the USA, and he was then not named in the squad against Monaco.
The severity of Balogun’s issue remains uncertain, but he was training away from the main group in Los Angeles.
Whether the striker gets his first-team opportunity at Arsenal when he is fully fit remains to be seen, with Balogun strongly linked with a move away this summer.
Mohamed Elneny
Elneny was at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday evening to watch his team-mates face Monaco, but the midfielder was not involved with the squad.
The Egyptian has been pictured in first-team training recently, as he continues his recovery from a knee injury that has kept him on the sidelines since January.
Unless he picks up a further issue, Elneny could be in contention for a return to the squad in the coming weeks.
Reiss Nelson
Nelson missed Arsenal’s USA tour due to a foot injury that he picked up during the club’s training camp in Germany.
The winger signed a new long-term contract at Arsenal over the summer, but he missed out on facing Monaco and there has been no further update on his injury situation with the new season fast approaching.
It was reported at the time that Nelson’s injury would only keep him out for a matter of weeks, which would raise the prospect of him returning in time to face Forest.
