Arsenal handed mixed Bukayo Saka injury news

Watching Bukayo Saka fall to the floor after a seemingly innocuous challenge against Sheffield United, Arsenal and all its affiliates held a collective breath. Leaving the field with injury, all were concerned.

Replaced by Willian with 20 minutes to go, Bukayo Saka was seen clutching his thigh with an injury Mikel Arteta confirmed post-match but was unable to put an accurate diagnosis on.

Up until that point the 19-year-old has flourished in the No. 10 role vacated by the absences of Emile Smith Rowe and Martin Odegaard, where all the finer attributes Saka possesses could flourish.

Someone who is excellent at combination play on either flank and a smooth operator with and without the ball, his skillset is well-suited to assuming that role despite his relevant inexperience in the position. As seen as Bramall Lane, he can drop into the right half-space and build moves from deep, just as he can find pockets of space in and around the box to keep the pace of attacks up.

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Arsenal handed mixed Bukayo Saka injury news ahead of Slavia Prague clash in Europa League quarter-final second leg

Given the doubts of both Odegaard and Smith Rowe to be fit for Thursday’s crunch Europa League clash with Slavia Prague, it was a position he could be asked to play once more until the injury he suffered risks curtailing that potential.

However, there has been encouragement on that front.

As per the Daily Mail’s Adrian Kajumba, the Gunners are ‘optimistic’ that Saka has avoided serious injury following the incident and hopes are that the Hale Ender only suffered a dead leg.

Despite that, he is still considered a fitness doubt for the tie and is facing a race against time to feature in a fixture that is the final logistical avenue Arsenal have to secure European football next season.

He simply has to be fit. Arsenal have, rightly, come under criticism for their handling of certain players with injuries this season, yet if Saka can soldier through even 60 minutes of the Europa League second leg clash, help secure the result needed and then miss Premier League fixtures with Fulham and Everton in time for the semi-finals on April 29 and May 6, then so be it.

Already missing their two No. 10’s, their only left-back and their uniquely skilled central defender, Arsenal can ill afford their Player of the Season being unavailable.