Arsenal and England 'are handed a HUGE boost over Saka's injury'
Arsenal and England ‘are handed a HUGE boost as Bukayo Saka looks to return from injury sooner than expected’ – with Gunners ‘optimistic he’ll feature in derby against Chelsea’ on Sunday
- Arsenal and England have been handed a huge injury boost over Bukayo Saka
- The winger hobbled off for Arsenal during first half of Nottingham Forest clash
- There had been fears Saka would miss the World Cup just three weeks away
- But, reports now claim the winger could feature against Chelsea on Sunday
Arsenal are optimistic that Bukayo Saka has not sustained a serious injury and are hopeful that he’ll be fit for Sunday’s derby against Chelsea, according to reports.
The England international was forced off through injury in the opening 15 minutes of the Gunners’ 5-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.
The sight of Saka hobbling off would’ve drawn great concern for both Mikel Arteta and England boss Gareth Southgate – with the World Cup looming – but after further analysis, there is confidence that Saka will be fit in time for Qatar.
Arsenal’s medical team have further assessed Bukayo Saka’s injury sustained on Sunday
Gareth Southgate will be hoping that Saka will be fit in time for England’s World Cup campaign
According the Sun, Arsenal’s medical team are optimistic that Saka did not sustain a serious injury against Forest and will be available to feature against Chelsea this weekend.
The club are said to be confident the injury as not as serious as initially presumed due to the fact he played on for a quarter of an hour and didn’t need to wear a protective boot after the match.
The incident occurred in the 15th minute at The Emirates, as Lodi seemed to catch the 21-year-old on the ankle, before he fell awkwardly to the floor on his right knee.
Saka seemed to be in some discomfort and tried to continue playing, but was eventually forced off with the injury in the 27th minute and replaced by Reiss Nelson.
The Arsenal No. 7 was forced off the pitch despite trying to play through the injury at Emirates
Mikel Arteta played down the extent of the injury when asked by press after the match
The news will come as a huge relief for England boss Southgate as he prepares to fly out to Qatar with the national squad within the next two weeks.
Saka had been tipped to feature heavily for the Three Lions during their time in Qatar after his impressive cameos during Nations League games last month.
Southgate already has a handful of injuries to deal with – namely Reece James, Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips – and losing Saka on top would’ve been a massive blow.
Arsenal, meanwhile, will be grateful not to lose the winger who’s contributed four goals and five assists in his 12 Premier League outings this year.
Southgate will be relieved Saka’s name isn’t added to a long-list of England injury concerns
Even after the game, Arteta reassured fans that he believed Saka would still be fit for the World Cup despite being forced off in the match.
When asked if Saka was a World Cup doubt after the match, the Arsenal manager replied: ‘Hopefully not.
‘It was a bad kick. Right from the beginning he was limping, but I don’t see any further than that. Let’s see how he is in the next couple of days.’
Saka will definitely not feature in Arsenal’s Europa League game against Zurich on Thursday but could feature against Chelsea on Sunday.
The Arsenal wide-man could feature for the Gunners as soon as Sunday’s game with Chelsea
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