Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is hopeful Bukayo Saka’s injury is not too bad as he eased fears the England winger could miss the World Cup.
Saka suffered an injury to his ankle and foot in the early minutes of Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
The 21-year-old, who setup the opening goal for Gabriel Martinelli, managed to play on until the half-hour mark before limping off.
That has raised fears Saka could miss the World Cup, which starts next month, with the winger a key part of manager Gareth Southgate’s plans.
But asked if Saka playing in the World Cup could be in doubt, Arteta replied: “Hopefully not.
“It was a bad kick. Right from the beginning he was limping, but I don’t see any further than that.
“Let’s see how he is in the next couple of days.”
Pressed on whether it was an ankle or foot issue for Saka, Arteta said: “I think both. He got kicked a few times and he wasn’t comfortable.”
Arsenal’s victory over Nottingham Forest sent them back to the top of the Premier League and it was much needed after they lost to PSV Eindhoven on Thursday in the Europa League.
Martinelli opened the scoring and the Gunners went into the break 1-0 up, but they kicked into gear after that.
Reiss Nelson, who came on for Saka, scored twice and then assisted Thomas Partey for Arsenal’s fourth. Martin Odegaard wrapped up the victory late on with a thumping strike.
“Big teams have to respond as quickly as possible,” said Arteta. “We did that after the disappointment of Thursday night.
“You don’t have time. We had one half-training session, and we had to be ready - not only physically but mentally, against a team that beat Liverpool and the pressure is on. We need to get used to that.”
