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Arsenal have been dealt yet another injury in defence as the Gunners juggle a busy festive fixture schedule.
Mikel Arteta’s side will be top of the table at Christmas after beating Everton 1-0 on Saturday, but the game came with fresh fitness woes.
While Leandro Trossard was back in the starting line-up for the first tie since November, Ben White was unavailable for the match with a hamstring injury and Piero Hincapie went on to pick up an injury.
Two points clear of Manchester City in the title race, Arsenal face crunch fixtures against Aston Villa and Bournemouth in the Premier League after Christmas. Before then, they face Crystal Palace on Tuesday in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Here’s all the latest Arsenal injury news and potential return dates...
Gabriel
Gabriel has now missed nine Arsenal games since suffering an adductor injury while playing for Brazil in November.
The centre-back back has been sorely missed but Arteta revealed last week that he has now returned to individual training as he targets a comeback.
Speaking ahead of the Everton game, Arteta said: “He's pushing hard as he always does every time he's out. He’s evolving really well, he’s doing pitch sessions. He’s not too far.
“We have to see in the last stages of that rehab how he progresses but we’re quite positive abdeout it.”
Potential return date: January 2026
Piero Hincapie
As one injury woe in defence eases, another appears. While Riccardo Calafiori started against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup, Piero Hincapie was absent from the squad.
Hincapie, a summer signing from Bayer Leverkusen, has become an important figure in Arsenal’s defence amid the absence of Gabriel and Cristhian Mosquera, becoming a near ever-present.
However, a run of seven consecutive starts across all competitions came to an end on Tuesday night as Hincapie watched on from the sidelines as Arsenal beat Palace on penalties to set up a Carabao Cup semi-final showdown against Chelsea.
Speaking after the cup tie, Arteta said: “With Piero, yeah, something different because he picked up an injury against Everton.”
Potential return date: Unknown
Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz has returned to first-team training for the first time since suffering a knee injury in August.
The German has not played since the opening day of the Premier League season, and went under the knife shortly afterwards, but the 26-year-old is now closing in on a return to action.
Havertz took part in training on Monday, ahead of Arsenal's match at home to Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
"Yeah, he's progressing really well and quite fast in the last few weeks," Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said last week.
"If things progress well, he will be with us soon. I don't want to say [what game he will return for] because in that last part of rehab, I think we need to be cautious.
"We need to be firm that when he's back, he's back for the long-term."
Potential return date: Late December/January 2026
Ben White
Ben White came off with a hamstring injury as Arsenal edged past Wolves on December 13.
Arteta was not immediately optimistic, describing the issue as “bad news.”
There was better news last week, though. Speaking ahead of the Everton clash, Arteta revealed the injury was not as bad as first feared.
"He's out. He's evolving well. It’s not major injury but it will keep him out for a few games.
“I don’t think it’s going to be [major]. Ben is a really fast healer as well so let's hope that we're going to have him in the next few games."
To have White back within ‘a few games’ would suggest a return could be possible before the turn of the year, if not in the early days of 2026.
Potential return date: December 30 vs Aston Villa (H)
Cristhian Mosquera
Cristhian Mosquera has been sidelined with what has been described as a “complicated” ankle injury, and Arteta is yet to confirm when he might return to the pitch.
“He's going to be out for weeks unfortunately, it's much more than what we expected,” Arteta said. “But the player was feeling it, so he's going to be out for weeks.”
Some reports from early December claimed Mosquera could be sidelined for as long as six to eight weeks, suggesting a potential return in mid-January.
Potential return date: January 2026
Max Dowman
Max Dowman sustained an ankle ligament injury in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Manchester United a few weeks ago.
His injury is not expected to require surgery, but he has been replaced in Arsenal’s Champions League squad by Gabriel Jesus.
Arteta said: “With Max, unfortunately, he picked up an injury last weekend, and he had to come off, so we did some scans and he is going to be out for weeks.”
Potential return date: February 2026
