Report shares worrying Calafiori injury claim and Arsenal games he may miss

A report has shared a worrying injury claim on Riccardo Calafiori, after the summer signing was forced off during Arsenal‘s win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

Arsenal injury crisis worsens with Calafiori blow

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has been forced to contend with a plethora of injuries to key players so far this season, threatening to derail their Premier League title hopes.

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Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, Mikel Merino, Takhehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Jesus, Ben White, Jurrien Timber, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Kai Havertz, Kieran Tierney and Calafiori have all been sidelined at various points, dealing a real blow to Arteta as he’s forced to improvise without important members of his squad.

Odegaard remains unavailable for Arsenal, but this weekend will be apparently be “crucial” in determining when their captain will return, according to Arteta in a recent press-conference before their 2-0 loss to Bournemouth.

Arteta also confirmed that Tomiyasu has been hit by another serious injury. This followed reports last week that Arsenal fear Tomiyasu could miss another month, despite previously having just returned from a knee problem which kept him out since pre-season.

Saka is also a doubt to face Liverpool this weekend, as confirmed by Arteta on Tuesday, so the Spaniard is facing a real selection headache ahead of their Emirates Stadium clash. Arsenal will be without star defender William Saliba after his red card against Bournemouth, and now Calafiori is a major doubt for what is a crucial, crucial match.

The former Bologna star was replaced with 20 minutes left to play, after he appeared to awkwardly jar his knee, with Calafiori waving to the bench and signaling to come off the field. Speaking after their 1-0 win over the Ukranian champions, Arteta admitted that Calafiori’s injury is a real worry.

“Riccy I don’t know, he felt something,” Arteta told Prime Video (via Standard Sport).

“He could not continue playing, so bit of a worry.”

Report makes worrying Calafiori injury claim

The 22-year-old is set for a scan on his knee this afternoon, and the next few hours will be crucial in determining the extent of his problem.

That is according to Italian news outlet Calciomercato, who say that Calafiori may have suffered ligament damage, which is Arsenal’s biggest fear. Depending on the severity of his injury, it is believed Calafiori could miss crucial games against Liverpool this weekend, Newcastle United, Chelsea and Inter Milan in the Champions League – which would be a very sore one to take for Arteta.

Another major concern for Arsenal is the centre-back’s injury history. During his time in the Roma youth team, Calafiori suffered a serious knee injury to his left meniscus, so the player’s already had problems in that area of his body.

Depending on tests, Arteta’s strength as a tactician will be seriously tested, as he ponders how to set up his back line without a host of key defenders.