Arsenal suffered a major injury blow on Monday after Mikel Arteta confirmed winger Bukayo Saka will be sidelined for “many weeks” with a torn hamstring.
Sources have told ESPN that the 23-year-old was told the news after seeing a specialist, having left the stadium on crutches following the Gunners’ 5-1 win at Crystal Palace last weekend.
“It’s not looking good,” Areta said. “He’s going to be out for many weeks. I cannot be too specific because I don’t know, but it will be many weeks.
“It’s a huge [blow]. He’s obviously a big player for us, you just have to see the impact that he has on the team. It’s going to be a really good exercise for us to think of ways to overcome another challenge because we’ve had a lot over the season.
“I am putting some ideas together. I haven’t got there yet. But I have a few. Then I want to speak with the players as well to understand how we are going to generate that and take it in a positive way. Because that is going to mean we are going to be different.
“He was gutted. You can tell that he has not been injured because he was really, really emotional and really down. And we need to lift him up. It is a big part of his job. And he will be fine but he is going to need a few days. He will immediately realise that he is so important in that dressing room.
“His energy level, his body language, and how he communicates with the rest of the team has to be really good because it is the only way at the moment he can help, so he better do that well.”
Although Arteta was keen to play up the internal alternatives, news that Raheem Sterling is also set for a spell on the sidelines following a knee injury is a further blow given the Chelsea loanee would have been an obvious replacement.
“He’s going be out for weeks I believe,” Arteta said. “He needs further testing tomorrow to understand the extent of his injury. It’s his knee. We have to wait and see another 24 hours. Unfortunately he’s going to be out for a while.”
It is the third hamstring injury Saka has suffered this season.
The England international is a pivotal player for Arteta, starting 16 of their 17 Premier League matches — only missing October’s 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth through injury.
He has amassed nine goals and 13 assists in 24 games across all competitions and when asked whether Arsenal are ready to go into the January transfer market to replace Saka if needed, Arteta replied: “The preparation is done and we are ready if something happens. Obviously we didn’t predict a situation with Bukayo and Raheem out at the same time.
“We predicted more it would be something else, for example if something happened in the defensive line. But the job is done and, okay, if something has to happen, we will be open. But the main focus is now, how will we extract still a lot of potential that there is in this squad.”
Arsenal host Ipswich at the Emirates Stadium on Friday.