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What’s going on with Oleksandr Zinchenko’s injury?
By Adam Schultz
Arsenal left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko has missed the last five league games for the Gunners, with many now worried about the status of the Ukrainian.
The Gunners have missed Zinchenko’s influence in games of late, and it is not known precisely when the 25-year-old will return.
After playing 73 minutes against Tottenham back on October 1, Zinchenko hasn’t been sighted since. His calf injury must have been worse than first thought, as he has not played in the last five league games or the last four Europa League matches.
Given how quickly the fixtures are coming, Mikel Arteta needs all the players he can. However, the Spaniard could soon welcome the Ukrainian back to the fold.
What’s going on with Oleksandr Zinchenko’s injury?
Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected back in training this week, ahead of the game against Chelsea this weekend.
— now.arsenal (@now_arsenaI) October 31, 2022
According to various reports, Zinchenko has returned to training. Given how vague that sounds, it is unknown if he has returned to full training or if Arteta is simply playing the cautious approach, given the World Cup break is so close.
The last thing Arteta would want to do is rush Zinchenko back, only for him to re-injure his calf.
The right thing to do for Arsenal is to ease the Ukrainian back slowly, given that the World Cup starts on November 20 after their clash with Wolves.
Arsenal face Chelsea next in the Premier League, and even though Zinchenko is thought to be returning to training, given the amount of time he has missed, it’s unlikely that he’ll play at Stamford Bridge.
https://twitter.com/ArsenalVersal/status/1585616970556358657?s=20&t=Cr5bSfLAKNSTPMHYEtizPw
The more likely scenario is that he’ll return after the World Cup, so he can attack the second half of Arsenal’s season.
Zinchenko was signed partly because of Kieran Tierney’s injury history, but it appears that he’s inherited the Scottish full-back’s injury problems.
Luckily, both Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu have filled in well in Zinchenko’s absence, but that can’t last for the entire season. Hopefully, the Ukrainian gets back in the Arsenal side soon. Their league season may well depend on it.