Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Riccardo Calafiori will be sidelined for the next few weeks after sustaining a knee injury while on international duty with Italy.
The 22-year-old suffered the injury during Italy’s 2-1 loss to Germany, slipping awkwardly and later describing a “strange” feeling in his knee as he limped away from the stadium. Calafiori underwent tests to assess the extent of the injury, and Arteta revealed that, while it could have been much worse, the defender will still need some time to recover.
“Unfortunately, Riccardo picked up an injury while with the national team,” Arteta said. “It’s really unfortunate the way it happened, but it could have been much worse. Hopefully, it will only be a matter of weeks, but we’ll need to see how it evolves.”
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In other injury news, Arteta confirmed that winger Bukayo Saka is expected to return for Arsenal’s match against Fulham on Tuesday after being out for over three months due to a hamstring injury. There is also optimism surrounding a potential return for defender Jurrien Timber.
“[Timber] was ill for quite a while, and quite badly,” Arteta said of the Dutchman, who missed his international fixtures due to illness. “He’s feeling much better in the last few days.”
Arsenal, currently 12 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool, will look to close the gap when they face Fulham this week. Liverpool will be in action against Everton on Wednesday.