Bukayo Saka was not fit to play in Arsenal’s big win against Manchester City as the superstar continues to recover from a hamstring injury he picked up in Lens last week.
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The England star, 22, assisted Gabriel Jesus’ 14th-minute goal for Arsenal but only played another 20 minutes after limping off the Estadio Bollaert-Delelis pitch.
He did not feature against Man City despite Mikel Arteta initially saying he was ‘in contention’ to play and now it gets a bit complicated as Saka was named in England’s squad for the international break.
Latest update on Bukayo Saka
The FA released the following statement on Monday, confirming that Saka would depart England camp and continue his rehab at Arsenal:
Speaking after Arsenal’s clash against Man City, Arteta suggested that Saka would not join up with the England squad and would instead remain with the north London club to continue his recovery.
“No, he could not make it. He has not had a single training session, so he will be out. He’s not available to play football at the moment,” Arteta said.
What happened?
“He tried to backheel a ball in the first half and he felt something,” Arteta said, via Football.London. “It was something muscular. He wasn’t able to carry on and we had to take him off. ... We don’t know anything more than that. It was big enough for us to remove him.”
There did not appear to be a clear coming-together that preceded his injury, and worries of a non-contact injury will resonate with Arsenal supporters.
Saka entered the game with nine appearances totaling 775 minutes this season, only missing the Gunners’ League Cup tie with Brentford last week.
His run of appearances in 87 consecutive Premier League appearances was also the longest current run in the league until it was broken on Sunday.
He now has five goals and five assists in 10 appearances in the 2023-24 campaign, and we wait to see how long it’ll be before he can add to his totals.