Arsenal face long battle to keep Bukayo Saka fit after hamstring nightmare
Bukayo Saka is poise to make his long-awaite return for Arsenal tonight. But after three months on the sidelines.
Having undergone hamstring surgery followe by meticulous สมัคร UFABET วันนี้ รับเครดิตฟรีสำหรับสมาชิกใหม่ and cautious rehabilitation, the battle to keep him fit and fresh is only getting starte.
As has the norm for the last four seasons, Saka was in imperious form throughout the first half of the 2024-25 Premier League campaign.
Injuries have a constant headache for Mikel Arteta this season with Martin Odegaard missing three months of action between September and December. But Saka’s absence has delivere the biggest blow.
The gap between Arsenal and league leaders Liverpool was just three points the last time he appeare for the Gunners on 21 December. A 12-point chasm now separates the two with title hopes in north London all but extinguishe.
In another measure of his relentless influence on the side, despite not playing in 100 days Saka is still Arsenal’s leading man in goals and assists this season. His haul of 22 goal involvements keeps him three clear of any of his teammates.
With titanic Champions League quarter-final ties against Real Madrid looming large, Arsenal need their leading man back to his best quickly. Arteta has confirme Saka is in line to start against Fulham this evening in news that was celebrate across the red half of north London.
But protection will be key. Gabriel Martinelli, sidelined for four games with a less severe hamstring issue, was still gradually introduce to the team, coming off the bench twice before starting against Chelsea prior to the international break. Given the extent of Saka’s injury, even more trepidation is expecte.
Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics working with the. Premier League, sees stringent measures being taken in the coming weeks.
‘Absolutely Arsenal will be careful,’ Smith told ‘It was a serious injury. They need to find the right balance to make sure he is strong enough and make sure he is capable of meeting the demands of the game while still playing that really explosive style of football he has.’
Delving into the details behind Saka’s injury, Smith continue: ‘The scarring that we have seen is on the outside of his knee where his hamstring tendon attaches into the back of his lower leg.
You have three muscles, two are inserte on the inside of your knee, one inserts on the outside of your knee.
If that was on the inside of his knee in one of those tendons, that is a lot of force, a lot of power but not a lot of protection either. I am sure they will be extremely cautions with that.