Mikel Merino is said to be sidelined with a shoulder injury for up to two (2) months, according to reports.
Merino moved to Arsenal from Real Sociedad, in the final week of the recently concluded summer transfer window for a few north of £32 million.
The Spaniard however, was unable to make his Arsenal debut in the 1-1 draw against Brighton in the weekend after sustaining a fractured shoulder injury, which he got colliding with Gabriel Magalhaes in his first training session.
Merino was spotted in the stands during the match at the Emirates stadium – a game he would have loved to feature in, with his right arm in a sling.
According to several reports, Arsenal expect Merino to be out of action until after the next international break, which is in the middle of October.
Merino’s Arsenal’s debut delayed after injury picked up in training
That would suggest his debut game for Arsenal could come against the likes of Bournemouth in the Premier League on October 20th or against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Uefa Champions League.
With that said, Merino is likely to miss up to seven to eight more games the gooners, including the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur that comes up immediately after the first international break of the season, their away premier league clash to City and the home tie against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
Speaking about Merino’s injury, Mikel Arteta said:
“It’s very unfortunate.”
“Yesterday (Thursday) he had a collision and he’s got a shoulder injury and it looks like he’ll be out for a few weeks.”
“It was in his first session with us. It’s really bad luck, we were all excited, everything was looking good.”
“He landed on the floor, Gabriel fell on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture.”
“He was in so much pain, we have to see. He’ll do more tests which will have more conclusive answers.”
Arsenal cannot afford to lose more players
With Declan Rice also suspended for the north London derby, having picked up a red card against Brighton, Arsenal will now hope that they do not suffer any more casualties in terms of players as they cannot afford to lose ground against reigning champions Manchester City and a looking good Liverpool side.
The international break will afford a host of Gunners’ stars much needed rest before the season resumes in two weeks.
