Arsenal have been dealt a major blow as Shkodran Mustafi will miss the final two games of the season - including the FA Cup final - due to a hamstring injury sustained against Manchester City.
"Right hamstring sustained during FA Cup semi-final on Saturday," read an update on the club's official website.
"Will miss remaining matches of this season. Further details on recovery programme will be confirmed in the coming days."
The 28-year-old has proven to be one of Arsenal's most reliable players since the restart, starting each of the club's first eight games back. He picked up his injury when stretching for a loose ball under pressure from Raheem Sterling in the second half of the FA Cup semi-final.
While Mustafi's absence will not come as welcome news, it will likely create an opportunity for Rob Holding to keep his place in the side, having replaced the German against Liverpool and Aston Villa.
On a more positive note, the club also confirmed that Bernd Leno - injured during the 2-1 loss to Brighton on June 20 - is expected to return to full training next week.
As revealed by football.london on June 23, the knee injury he sustained following an awkward collision with Neal Maupay was not as bad as first thought which was of great relief to Mikel Arteta at the time.
"We thought it was going to be a more significant injury," Arteta said after it was confirmed Leno would return to training before the 2019/20 season was up.
As revealed by football.london , Reiss Nelson will not be kept from an appearance in the FA Cup final by the groin injury which saw him miss the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa.
The injury was not deemed excessively severe and the 20-year-old hopes to resume training next week.
Arsenal play their final game of the Premier League season against Watford on Sunday [July 26] before preparations begin for the FA Cup final against Chelsea on August 1.
