The latest Arsenal injury news ahead of Mikel Arteta’s side visiting Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night, with updates on their midfield duo Thomas Partey and Declan Rice.
FA Cup action over the weekend meant Arsenal faced their second extended pause after the Premier League’s winter break. Liverpool beat the Gunners 2-0 during the third round of the world’s oldest national football competition. Nottingham Forest need a fourth-round replay.
Bristol City held the City Ground natives to a goalless draw in their initial fourth-round tie on Friday. The tie was also Nuno Espirito Santo’s seventh match in charge of Nottingham Forest. It also yielded Nuno Tavares’ fourth start in seven outings since joining on loan from Arsenal.
Arsenal injury list ahead of visiting Nottingham Forest
Tavares is ineligible to face his parent team when Arsenal now visit Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. Arteta will hope Tuesday’s clash yields better fortunes for the Gunners. The Emirates Stadium team have lost their last three visits to the City Ground in all competitions.
Nottingham Forest dealt Arsenal a costly 1-0 defeat last May that ended the Premier League title race in Manchester City’s favour. The Reds also edged the Gunners 1-0 in January 2022 and 4-2 in January 2018 in two FA Cup ties. Arsenal last won at Nottingham Forest in 2016.
Arteta faces a smattering of injury doubts ahead of Arsenal travelling to Nottingham Forest, though. He also remains without Takehiro Tomiyasu with the right-back at the Asia Cup with Japan. Mohamed Elneny is also away from Arsenal for the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt.
A win this Tuesday night would see Arsenal do the Premier League double over Nottingham Forest, however. Goals from Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka gave the Gunners a 2-1 win on the opening day of the term. So, with that in mind, here is Arsenal’s current injury situation.
Declan Rice injury latest
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice sparked fears about a potential hamstring injury during their 5-0 win over Crystal Palace. But the Gunners now think the 25-year-old was suffering from tightness in the muscle. So, Rice is unlikely to miss any of Arsenal’s fixtures due to the injury.
Arteta elected to take Rice off in the 73rd minute of their resounding win over the Eagles as a precaution. The 48-cap England ace had recorded his second assist of the top-flight season with a corner to break the deadlock. He has also scored three goals in 21 games, starting all.
Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Nottingham Forest, Arteta also confirmed during his pre-game press conference regarding Rice’s injury status: “He’s done some work but has missed some work, as well. Hopefully, he’s going to be okay.”
Expected return: Nottingham Forest (January 30)
Gabriel Magalhaes injury latest
Arteta also replaced Gabriel Magalhaes, who scored from Rice’s corner before firing home a second goal, as a precaution after 81 minutes against Crystal Palace. The 26-year-old took a knock in the closing stages and football.london notes is still being assessed for any injuries.
Gabriel is unlikely to miss Arsenal’s trip to Nottingham Forest due to an injury but remains a possible doubt. He only played the final four minutes of the Gunners’ 2-1 win over the Reds in August. Gabriel has since started in 17 of his following 18 outings from 20 possible games.
Expected return: Nottingham Forest (January 30)
Thomas Partey injury latest
Arsenal have, finally, welcomed Thomas Partey back to full group training at London Colney following his lengthy thigh injury. But Arteta has confirmed that the 30-year-old will not be in his squad away to Nottingham Forest. Partey has still not featured since the start of October.
“Thomas is not in the squad,” Arteta said during his pre-game press conference on Monday. “It’s what it is. You want everybody available and he’s a top player for us, really important player for us. But, at the moment, he’s not fit yet.”
Arteta continued regarding Arsenal’s following fixture at home to Liverpool this Sunday: “We will see. We will see how it evolves and if that’s too short or that’s okay.”
Partey suffered his thigh injury during training shortly after returning from a groin issue that he sustained in August. He would ultimately require a procedure to resolve the problem. So, the midfielder has only enjoyed 15 minutes of Premier League football since facing Fulham.
Expected return: Nottingham Forest (January 30)
Fabio Vieira injury latest
Arsenal’s match at Nottingham Forest may mark the final fixture that Arteta is without Fabio Vieira due to his groin injury. The midfielder sustained his problem during training whilst still serving a three-match ban for a red card against Burnley in November and required surgery.
Vieira managed to re-join the Arsenal first-team squad in training during their winter break in Dubai. He is now closing in on a return to fitness as Arteta and his coaching staff increase the 23-year-old’s workload. Vieira has only played 238 minutes in the top-flight this season.
Expected return: Liverpool (February 4)
Jurrien Timber injury latest
Arteta lost Jurrien Timber to an ACL injury only 50 minutes into Arsenal’s opening-day win at home to Nottingham Forest. The 22-year-old went to the ground unchallenged and required surgery to resolve the problem. But Timber is edging closer and closer to his possible return.
The defender is increasing his workload in training but is still yet to re-join Arteta’s squad for much of the action at London Colney. Arsenal are keen to play Timber’s recovery with a real sense of caution to avoid aggravating the injury. But Timber returning this March is possible.
Expected return: FC Porto (March 12)
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