Arsenal endure one other large harm blow as Mikel Arteta curses worldwide break

Arsenal have had a miserable international break as manager Mikel Arteta is counting the cost of yet another injury ahead of the Premier League’s return

Yet another Arsenal star has gone down injured during the dreaded international break as Mikel Arteta’s problems went from bad to worse.

Summer signing Christos Tzolis suffered a suspected major injury while representing Greece. After merely 18 minutes, the new £34m Gunners winger grabbed at his hamstring and collapsed to the turf with his shirt covering his face while appearing devastated, which resulted in his substitution by Giorgos Masouras.

The 24-year-old becomes the latest Arsenal player to encounter injury misery during the international period, with star forward Kai Havertz – who has displaced Viktor Gyokeres as the club’s first choice striker – already returning to London Colney. He sustained a suspected hamstring problem while featuring for Germany and remains very doubtful to face Leeds United next weekend.

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One encouraging sign for Arsenal where Tzolis is concerned is that following medical attention, he appeared eager to continue but Greece manager Ivan Jovanovic opted to substitute him.

The summer acquisition has enjoyed an excellent beginning in north London since arriving from Club Brugge and has registered several assists during the opening weeks of the campaign.

Meanwhile, Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard raised alarm bells over a potential ankle concern, after a late challenge from Bernardo Silva when they faced Portugal.

But those worries were allayed by Norway manager Stale Solbakken and he subsequently started his nation’s most recent encounter against Wales, reports Football London.

Ezri Konsa was absent from England training earlier this week but managed to secure a spot on the bench against Czechia on Tuesday evening. Declan Rice didn’t even report to national team camp, having withdrawn from Three Lions duty due to load management.

Arteta is already missing Ben White, Cristhian Mosquera and William Saliba. However, there has been an encouraging update on the latter, with French reports suggesting he’s aiming for a return to training in November.

His comeback will be handled with care given the persistent back problem that has troubled him for several months. Mosquera, on the other hand, is anticipated to be fit to face Leeds, having not featured since the victory over Aston Villa.

Piero Hincapie is a potential injury concern for Arsenal’s upcoming match after unexpectedly being left out of the squad to face Ipswich Town in the Carabao Cup, although he did make the trip to Brighton a few days later.

He was tipped to start the former encounter having been second choice behind Riccardo Calafiori, but it was Myles Lewis-Skelly who was selected from the outset instead.

Jurrien Timber has, however, made his return, though his game time is being carefully monitored. He made a 10-minute appearance against Serbia and was named in the starting XI, seemingly at centre-back, to face Tzolis’ Greece on Thursday.

If the latter has sustained an injury, Arteta is confronted with a dilemma, with Eberechi Eze appearing as his only viable option to utilise on the left. Noni Madueke could also fulfil that role but has been employed as the reserve to Bukayo Saka on the right to aid in managing his playing time.

Viktor Gyokeres’ international break has at least provided some positivity, with the forward netting in both of Sweden’s Nations League triumphs.

Bruno Guimaraes also found the back of the net for Brazil in their victory over Australia, while Mikel Merino contributed an assist in his 33-minute cameo for Spain in their 4-1 win against Croatia.