Noni Madueke suffered an injury towards the end of the first half of Arsenal’s game against Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
The winger was replaced by Bukayo Saka at the break, after he’d reportedly felt discomfort in his knee.
Initially thought to be a precautionary substitution, there are now fears within the North London club that the issue sustained by the England international could be more serious.
Arsenal went on to snatch a late point at the Emirates courtesy of a 93rd-minute equaliser from Gabriel Martinelli, although the dropped points could now be the least of Mikel Arteta’s concerns.
Noni Madueke could have suffered an ACL injury against Manchester City
Arsenal signed Noni Madueke for £52 million over the summer.
The former Chelsea man was brought in to provide cover and competition for Saka, and he’s gotten off to an excellent start in this regard, filling in for the Gunners’ talisman impressively in recent weeks.
However, Arsenal may have just been handed a significant blow with Madueke, who was forced off the pitch at half-time with an injury against City.
According to journalist Con Harrison, Madueke is set to undergo scans on Monday afternoon to determine his injury status, with many in the club fearing that the wide man may have torn his Anterior Cruciate Ligament.
Any ACL injury would mean Madueke would face a significant spell on the sidelines, with a tear perhaps ruling him out for the entirety of the remainder of the season.
Given how well the 23-year-old has started in N5, this would be a detrimental loss to Arsenal and hugely damaging for their title aspirations.
Arsenal’s injury luck continues to go from bad to worse
Arsenal suffered from relentless injury issues last season.
The likes of Saka, Martin Odegaard, Riccardo Calafiori, Ben White, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino and Gabriel Magalhaes all endured significant spells on the sidelines.
The Gunners would’ve hoped for a cleaner bill of health this term, but the early signs suggest they won’t get this.
Saka has already spent three weeks out, Kai Havertz has been ruled out for three months, while the likes of Odegaard, White, Christian Norgaard and William Saliba have all sustained injuries.
Madueke may now be out for some time, meaning the Gunners have already had to deal with seven injuries, and it’s only September.
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