Arsenal injury update: Gabriel’s knee
Arsenal injury update: Gabriel’s knee After withdrawing from international duty with Brazil, Gabriel went down in the second half of Arsenal’s FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton with another knee problem. Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images As Arsenal’s walking wounded returned to action for the club after the international break, Gabriel was named in the starting lineup while William Saliba could only make the bench. Now, the former is facing a wait on the extent of a knee issue after going down in the second half of Arsenal’s FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton , with Mikel Arteta admitting the early signs are not encouraging.
When the Brazilian withdrew from international duty the statement released at the time confirmed it was his right knee. The statement said , “Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhães is out of the friendlies against France and Croatia. After the match this Sunday (22) against Manchester City in the English League Cup final, the player complained of pain in his right knee.
“Imaging tests confirmed that Gabriel Magalhães is not fit for the matches in this FIFA international window. No other player will be called up to replace him. ” Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images However, when he went down against Southampton, it was his left knee that was giving him the issue.
After being replaced by Saliba in the 72nd minute, he was later seen on the bench with a large bag of ice strapped to the knee, adding to the sense of concern around a player Arsenal can ill afford to lose. After the game, Arteta was asked about the defender. “I don’t know, I think he felt something – I don’t know exactly what it is,” Arteta said .
“We’re going to have to assess him – but obviously when a player is asking to be substituted, it’s never good news. ” Arsenal’s next game on on Tuesday evening in Portugal and it remains to be seen if he will be able to feature.