Arteta offers injury update ahead of Arsenal vs Leeds

Mikel Arteta has said that Kai Havertz is a doubt for Arsenal’s Premier League clash against Leeds United and that other players are still being assessed.

The Gunners suffered a series of injuries during the international break and Havertz was forced off after just 30 minutes of playing for Germany against the Netherlands in what was Jurgen Klopp’s first game in charge of the national team.

The striker suffered a hamstring strain and returned to the capital for treatment.

Christos Tzolis also suffered a hamstring problem while playing for Greece with Martin Odegaard at the end of a nasty challenge from Bernardo Silva which saw him miss a match with Norway.

Odegaard was able to return to action last Sunday against Portugal, but like Havertz, Tzolis left his national team camp early for further evaluation in north London.

Meanwhile, Ezri Konsa missed England’s final match of the international break against the Czech Republic due to an unspecified knock.

Offering an update on his affected squad, Arteta confirmed that Tzolis will be ruled out for “a few weeks” with Havertz and Konsa still being assessed.

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According to Metro, Arteta told reporters on Friday: “Kai has had a muscle injury. I spoke to Jurrien [Timber, who was on the other team vs Germany] and they immediately returned the player.

“Ezri has also had some problems and we had good communication with the England camp.

“Tzolis has a muscle injury and will be out for a few weeks. He is not available.”

Declan Rice was among the players to withdraw from the England squad before a match was played.

While the midfielder has battled a neural hamstring problem this year that forced him to play through the pain barrier at the World Cup, his recent absence from the squad was thought to be more a case of load management than a new flare-up.

Arteta is hopeful his midfielder will be available on Saturday.

“We have to control him. He has had some problems since he returned from the World Cup.

“We know how many games he has played in the last three years, it was the most sensible thing to do. Hopefully he will be available and some others like that are in doubt.”