Arsenal’s hopes of making it through the international break without an injury scare have been shattered.
Several of Mikel Arteta’s stars are in action over the September break, with one match day remaining for the majority of those on international duty.
Unfortunately, the Arsenal boss has had some anxiety to deal with, as Martin Odegaard has been carrying an injury and Riccardo Calafiori limped off during Italy’s win over France.
While Odegaard returned to action for Norway without any trouble, concern over Calafiori has now hit a new level.
Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori withdraws from international duty with injury
Calafiori collided with Ousmane Dembele in bizarre circumstances during the Azzurri’s win over France to commence the international break.
At first, Italy boss Luciano Spalletti talked down Calafiori’s injury; however, it’s now come to light that the blow is worse than first thought.
It’s been confirmed that the Arsenal defender will return to North London to continue his recovery, with journalist Fabrizio Romano relaying that ‘no risk’ will be taken with the injury.
The next step for the player is to be assessed by Arsenal’s medical staff, where a clearer indication of the severity of the blow will be determined.
It’s a nightmare for Arteta, who will not want to be heading into the gruelling schedule ahead without the versatile summer signing.
Mikel Arteta needs Calafiori for Arsenal’s fixture list
Upon returning from international duty, Arsenal’s players have a remarkably difficult run of fixtures, playing five games in just 13 days.
The games will come in a range of competitions, including the Premier League, the Champions League and the Carabao Cup.
Signing Calafiori handed Arteta the depth required to balance and rotate his squad to handle such busy periods of the 2024/25 calendar however, things are now less simple with the fullback out of action.
There will be hope that Calafiori’s return is solely precautionary, as Premier League duels with Tottenham and Manchester City await the Gunners.
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