An injury riddled November international break for Arsenal was given another unwanted wrinkle after it emerged that Kai Havertz had suffered a “small relapse” in his recovery.
The Germany international has not featured for club or country since the opening weekend of the season, when he damaged his knee in a costly 30-minute cameo against Manchester United.
Mikel Arteta is inherently protective when it comes to injury issues. Arsenal’s manager has been known to go to dastardly lengths to confuse opponents about the fitness of his squad members, routinely delivering entirely unreliable updates.
Germany national team boss Julian Nagelsmann has no reason to bend the truth and delivered a concerning update on his absent centre forward. “Kai has had a small relapse,” he revealed after securing World Cup qualification on Tuesday, before going on to add, “but he is doing well. If all goes well, he can play again towards the end of the year.”
Shortly before this month’s international break, Arteta warned that Arsenal would be cautious with Havertz as he inched towards a return to training. “Let’s see how he absorbs the load first when he starts to train with us,” the Spanish coach warned, “and when he’s done that, obviously we’re going to have to, especially in the first few weeks, keep an eye on him to manage the amount of minutes and when we play him.”
This revelation about Havertz is just the latest in a long line of fitness setbacks for the Gunners this month.
Arsenal’s Casualty List in November
In Spain, and Barcelona in particular, losing a fleet of players to injury during international breaks is known as the “FIFA Virus.” Arsenal have been injected with a hefty dose this month.
Gabriel is the headline absentee, pulling up with a thigh injury which could force him to sit out as many as 15 games before his return at some point in January. Fellow defender Riccardo Calafiori was also forced to withdraw from international duty, although the Italian is expected to be available for this weekend’s north London derby.
Jurriën Timber was another potential November casualty. The Dutch defender, who is arguably enjoying the best run of form in his senior career, was felled after a meaty collision during the Netherlands’ victory over Lithuania on Monday night. Timber appeared to suffer a deep cut on his leg but carried on playing until making his way off in the 64th minute. His availability this weekend remains unclear.
The aforementioned trio have been flirting with a stuffed treatment room. Havertz is joined by fellow long-term absentee Gabriel Jesus on the sidelines while Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyökeres and Gabriel Martinelli all stayed at home for the international break.
Martin Ødegaard oddly joined up with Norway’s squad in a non-playing capacity as Erling Haaland and co. secured World Cup qualification to continue his rehabilitation from a knee problem. Concerningly, Norway manager Ståle Solbakken claimed that his captain is still “some distance away” from a return.
Arteta has cautiously billed this weekend as a potential return date for Madueke, Gyökeres and Martinelli, although conditioned that tease with the warning: “There are a lot of things that have to happen in the next two weeks, and everything has to be perfect, but I think we’ll be very close.” Not a lot has even begun to approach perfection for Arsenal on the injury front of late.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Arsenal Dealt Fourth Injury Setback of Cursed International Break.
