Saka Workload To Be Managed After Injury Setback, Says Arterta

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said on Friday he will have to manage Bukayo Saka’s workload carefully after the England international’s latest injury setback.

Saka had to be replaced inside the opening 10 minutes of Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich in the Champions League with a quad injury that could reportedly keep him sidelined for at least two months.

“We need a few more scans and opinions from the specialists,” Arteta told reporters before the Premier League champions’ match at home to Everton.

“Obviously, when a player has to walk off the pitch, he is struggling to walk without any pain, his movement is restricted, they are not good signs.”

Saka, who established himself as a regular in the Arsenal team as a teenager, has already played nearly 400 games for club and country.

But that heavy workload early in his career could have contributed to his injury troubles in recent years.

The 25-year-old winger missed nearly four months of the 2024/25 season with a serious hamstring injury and was hampered last season with an Achilles problem that limited his impact for England at the World Cup.

“We really need to understand now, when he comes back, whenever that is, how are we going to manage that load again? What is capable today to sustain having an impact in the team?” Arteta added.

Saka’s absence could be a major blow to Arsenal’s hopes of retaining the Premier League title.

Since his Premier League debut in 2019, the Gunners’ win percentage is more than 10 percent lower without the forward.

Saka’s absence, however, could open the door for 16-year-old Max Dowman to get more minutes with the Gunners.

Dowman became the youngest goal-scorer in Premier League history when he was on target against Everton last season.

“There is something inevitable to go back to that memory and the feeling of the moment. That’s with us, and that’s going to stay in that stadium for a long, long time,” Arteta said.

“He (Dowman) is training, and every time he’s got a moment to play, he is showing that he is a player who is going to impact the game, so for sure he is going to have minutes.”

AFP