Arsenal: Mikel Arteta hopeful over Raheem Sterling injury boost amid major Bukayo Saka blow
Share:
Arsenal have received a potential injury boost over Raheem Sterling as they look to replace the absent Bukayo Saka. The Gunners are set to be without attacking talisman Saka until at least March after manager Mikel Arteta confirmed after Friday night’s 1-0 Premier League win over Ipswich that the England winger would likely miss more than two months after undergoing surgery on his torn hamstring.
Saka’s injury has been compounded by the absence of Sterling, who missed the laboured victory against Ipswich and last weekend’s thumping 5-1 rout of Crystal Palace - in which Saka suffered his injury - with a knee issue sustained in training at London Colney that was also expected to keep him out for a period of many weeks.
However, Arteta has now revealed a more positive update on the Chelsea loanee, whose injury appears to not be as serious as first feared. “Yes, the news with Raz [Sterling] I think is better,” Arteta said. “We have to see this week how he evolves.
“We probably expected the knee injury to take longer than it has evolved in the last few days. Hopefully that’s good news because we need him.”. As he did when Saka was forced off early at Selhurst Park, Gabriel Martinelli operated down the right flank against Ipswich, with Leandro Trossard brought in on the left wing as the resurgent Gabriel Jesus kept his place up front.
It was a largely insipid performance from the Gunners as they lacked creativity without Saka, though Kai Havertz’s first-half finish from a Trossard cross was ultimately enough to see them jump above both in-form Nottingham Forest and Chelsea and up to second place in the Premier League table, within six points of Liverpool having played a game more than the leaders.
