Arsenal's Injury Blow: Bukayo Saka Out for Up to Eight Weeks

Arsenal have been dealt the injury blow they dreaded. Bukayo Saka, the heartbeat of Mikel Arteta’s attack, could be sidelined for up to eight weeks with the quadriceps injury he suffered in the Champions League draw against Bayern Munich.

The 25-year-old forward will undergo an MRI scan on Friday afternoon to clarify the extent of the damage after he limped off during the 2-2 stalemate at the Allianz Arena. Fluid around the affected muscle has clouded the initial diagnosis, but early assessments from club medics point to a minimum absence of six weeks – and potentially longer.

If that prognosis holds, Arsenal lose far more than just a name on the teamsheet. They lose their outlet, their runner, their problem-solver in tight games. England lose him too.

Saka is expected to sit out a run of key fixtures for the Gunners, starting with Saturday’s home Premier League match against Everton, where second-placed Arsenal are chasing down a three-point deficit to leaders Manchester City. He is also on course to miss England’s upcoming Uefa Nations League games against Croatia and Spain, a significant setback for Gareth Southgate as he shapes his side for the next cycle.

Arteta did little to disguise his concern.

“We need a few more scans and opinions from the specialists,” the Arsenal head coach said. “When a player has to walk off the pitch, he is struggling to walk without any pain, and is restricted to movement; it is not a good sign. Let’s be a little bit patient so we can give a definitive assessment.

“He’s got another MRI as there was quite a lot of fluid in the area so it was quite difficult to understand the extent of the injury. We will know more tomorrow.”

The worry is amplified by Saka’s recent medical history. His body has taken a pounding over the past two seasons, and Arsenal have already been forced to manage his minutes carefully.

An Achilles problem, suffered in March, kept him out of the March international break and sidelined him for seven Arsenal matches. He returned in time to play a decisive role in ending the club’s 22-year wait for a Premier League title, but the message was clear: he was playing through a lot.

He started the Champions League final defeat to Paris St-Germain but was withdrawn after 54 minutes, another night where his workload had to be measured rather than maximised. At the World Cup, England also rationed him, with Saka starting only three of their eight matches. When he did start, he delivered – most memorably with a hat-trick in the wild 6-4 third-place play-off win over France.

The latest setback arrives on the back of serious hamstring trouble as well. Saka underwent surgery on a hamstring injury sustained in December 2024, an operation that kept him out for 101 days of the 2024-25 campaign. Arsenal thought they had nursed him through the worst of that period. Now they face another anxious wait.

For a player who has become almost synonymous with reliability, the pattern is becoming impossible to ignore. Arsenal must find a way to chase down Manchester City and defend their title bid without their talisman, while England prepare for high-level Nations League tests minus one of their few guaranteed match-winners.

The scans will bring clarity. The bigger question is whether Arsenal can navigate another crucial stretch of the season without the player they can least afford to lose.