Bukayo Saka suffered a major injury scare after being forced off during Arsenal’s 5-1 victory against Crystal Palace.
The England winger was left in real pain after a heavy tackle before being replaced by Leandro Trossard just 23 minutes into the match. The 23-year-old was seen sitting on the Selhurst Park turf and clutching the back of his right leg and eventually left the ground on crutches and required assistance from the Gunners’ staff.
Following the game Gunners boss Mikel Arteta provided an update on Saka’s condition saying it was ‘not good news’ but that it was too early to determine how serious the injury is.
Speaking in his post match interview with Sky Sports, Arteta said: “I don’t know [how serious the injury is] but he had to come off. He felt something, it’s not good news obviously. We have to assess him and wait.”
The manager then added that Saka’s substitution was a ‘precaution’ when speaking to the BBC’s Match of the Day programme.
Saka suffered a similar injury earlier in the season while playing for England in their defeat to Greece in October. The injury eventually kept him out for over a month, missing nine games in total.
And now a new setback puts Saka in doubt for Arsenal’s clash with Ipswich Town on 27 December, with Brentford next up on New Year’s Day.
The Gunners face Brighton just three days after taking on the Bees, meaning Saka could miss multiple games.
“He put his hand up straight away,” said Sky Sports co-commentator Jamie Carragher. “I know he gets a little bit of ridicule at times for going down too much. But it looks like a problem.
“It will only be a problem for Arsenal if it’s serious. It looked like his hamstring when he tried to put a cross in and it got blocked.”
Arsenal took care of business without their talisman though, thanks to a Gabriel Jesus double, his fourth and fifth goals this week after a hat-trick against the Eagles in the Carabao Cup, with Kai Havertz also on the scoresheet.
Arteta’s side moved three clear in the second half after Gabriel Martinelli’s strike before Declan Rice’s long-range effort made it five late on, cutting the gap to leaders Liverpool to three points, having played two extra games.
