Arsenal are hopeful the injury Kai Havertz sustained in Saturday’s win over Newcastle will not end his season.
The Germany international has endured a torrid last 12 months during which he has suffered two major setbacks.
Havertz was restored to the starting line-up at the expense of Viktor Gyokeres for the defeat at Manchester City a fortnight ago and retained his place for the 1-0 win over the Magpies.
The Germany international, however, lasted just 34 minutes having earlier provided the assist for Eberechi Eze’s matchwinning strike.
According to The Athletic, Havertz is unlikely to recover in time to face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
There is, however, hope that the 26-year-old will still have a part to play in what remains of the season, while his World Cup hopes are not reported to be in jeopardy.
Eze, too, was unable to last the 90 minutes against Newcastle and was taken off, in his own words, as a precaution.
He, too, has undergone scans and it remains to be seen whether he will be able to make the matchday squad against Atletico.
‘We don’t think it’s too much,’ Arteta said in his post-match press conference on Saturday evening.
‘We have to wait and see if they’re going to be available for Wednesday.’
‘I’m really happy with the win,’ added Arteta following a victory that ended a difficult run of domestic form.
‘We talked about game one and how important that was. We probably should have finished it with a bigger margin in certain moments of the game.
‘But when it’s 1-0, it’s always tough because they have quality, because they brought so many good players from the bench as well.
‘When we don’t finish the action, especially the open ones that we had, the margin is going to be smaller.’
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