Arsenal is looking at multiple weeks without Bukayo Saka after the England star picked up a supposed hamstring injury against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Saka was substituted at the 24 minute mark of the first half after going to ground grabbing the back of his right leg around his hamstring. Video after the game revealed he was walking on crutches and Mikel Arteta confirmed in a press conference ahead of Ipswich Town that he would miss multiple weeks.
Later asked by the media, Arteta confirmed that he tore something. The manager did not divulge whether it was a partial or complete tear, or if it was indeed his hamstring, but regardless Arsenal will be without their best player in the coming weeks. A major blow after recently getting Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Ødegaard back fit finally.
Looking at typical recovery time frames, here's how many games Saka could miss for Arsenal.
Based on context clues surrounding the player's actions on the pitch and the manager's comments, it seems like Saka has torn his hamstring. Again, the severity of the tear is unknown but there are some typical recovery times associated with the injury. Arteta himself said it would be multiple weeks on the sideline.
A hamstring tear could take anywhere between two to six weeks, or even multiple months to recover from depending on the severity. If it's on the former side of the estimation, even looking at just January, Saka could miss six Premier League games including the north London derby, two Champions League games and potentially both legs of the Carabao Cup semifinals against Newcastle United.
If the injury keeps him out even further through February, that's an additional four Premier League games plus potentially the first round of the Champions League knockout stage if Arsenal doesn't secure direct round of 16 qualification. If it goes any further into March, we're talking about nearly a third of a season. A huge blow for Arsenal.
To make matters worse, Raheem Sterling has a knee injury. The Gunners will need Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli to step up in Saka and Sterling's absences, or perhaps they look at bringing in reinforcements in the January transfer window.
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Max Mallow is an editor for Sports Illustrated Soccer. Somehow, he has just enough time every matchday to tweet when an Arsenal player scores a goal.
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