Bukayo Saka injury update as Arsenal star out of squad vs Chelsea in semi-final | Football | Sport
Bukayo Saka will be absent from Arsenal’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Chelsea tonight. The Gunners host their capital city adversaries at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night for the return leg, holding a 3-2 advantage from the first meeting at Stamford Bridge. However, Arsenal will be striving to secure their place at Wembley without the influential winger Saka, who sustained an injury during the warm-up of the weekend’s Premier League fixture against Leeds United.
The England international has been omitted from the matchday squad entirely for Tuesday’s tie. But he may be in contention to return against Sunderland on Saturday (3pm). Speaking ahead of the match on Monday, Mikel Arteta commented: “We have to wait. Today he was better but we have to wait and see how he responds, and then make the decision. It doesn’t look like something too serious. Whether he’s going to be available for tomorrow or the weekend, we’ll see.”
Saka was absent from training before the Chelsea fixture, with previous reports indicating he is targeting a comeback in time for the north London Derby on February 22. Prior to that showdown, Arsenal face Sunderland and Brentford in the Premier League, alongside a fourth-round FA Cup tie against League One outfit Wigan Athletic.
Another absentee for Arsenal in the coming weeks will be midfielder Mikel Merino, who is set to have an operation on a foot problem.
On the Spanish player, Arteta said: “He needs to go through a procedure, which is not always positive. He’s a big player for us, a player that has such versatility and capacity to compete in various positions, and that’s a big blow.
“It’s a very rare injury so we have to wait and see once we have the surgery, how that reacts daily, obviously monitor it throughout the week for the surgery and see. I know Mikel is going to do absolutely everything that he possibly can to come back as quick as possible. But as well you have to respect the healing process and the fact that obviously it’s an injury that is quite rare.”
If Arsenal manage to secure their place in the Carabao Cup final, they will face either Newcastle or Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side currently lead 2-0 from the first leg, courtesy of goals from Antoine Semenyo and Rayan Cherki.
