Aaron Ramsdale's absence from the Arsenal matchday squad was one of the very few negatives to come out of the 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday afternoon.
Since establishing himself as the Gunners' undisputed number one in between the sticks following the September international break - less than a month after completing his £24m summer transfer - the 23-year-old had been on a run of 24 consecutive starts in the Premier League.
However, that sequence has unfortunately been broken with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirming that the reason for Ramsdale's absence against Villa was because suffering from a hip problem sustained against Liverpool three days prior.
READ MORE: Why Alexandre Lacazette got angry with Emile Smith Rowe as Mikel Arteta gets new Arsenal chant
"He wasn’t confident in the last 50 or 60 minutes against Liverpool," Arteta explained. "We scanned him and he had a proper injury and a sore muscle. He wanted to be here but as soon as he realised he couldn’t play he wanted to be here to support Bernd which shows you the kind of character he is."
Now, the length of time Ramsdale will remain on the sidelines is yet to be revealed by Arsenal, but what is for certain is that he will not be joining up with the England squad in the coming days, thus denying him the chance to take over from Jordan Pickford as Gareth Southgate's no.1.
"Yes, he won’t be able to play for England," Arteta revealed following the win over Villa. As a result, the two games Ramsdale will definitely miss are the Three Lions' friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast.
With that said, in potentially a major boost for Arsenal, Ramsdale could be back in time for the game against Crystal Palace at the beginning of next month. Amid the update that he will be out for 'a few weeks', Premier Injuries think a potential return date for the goalkeeper is April 4 - which is when the Gunners make the short trip to Selhurst Park.
The fact that Ramsdale was celebrating with his replacement Bernd Leno after the win over Villa may indicate that his hip problem isn't too serious and the aforementioned potential return date is a realistic timeframe.
However, should he suffer a setback in training or a 'few weeks' turns into three to four weeks on the sidelines then he will be doubtful for Arsenal's huge games against Chelsea and Manchester United on April 20 and April 23 respectively.
