Riccardo Calafiori Injury: Updates on Arsenal Return Date

Since Arsenal play the biggest fixture of their Premier League campaign so far this weekend, fans are understandably scouring the web for any updates on Arsenal injury news. Most notably in relation to the Riccardo Calafiori injury.

For those who aren't aware, Riccardo Calafiori was forced out of action while on international duty with Italy. The defender suffered a calf injury whilst playing against France.

Naturally, this is going to cause Arsenal fans to sweat. International duty is always one which raises eyebrows for the wrong reasons.

Considering the Gunners' poor luck with injuries in recent years, putting their best players through more matches seems like a recipe for disaster.

But are there any updates on a Riccardo Calafiori return date?

Riccardo Calafiori Injury: Updates on Arsenal Return Date

As soon as the injury occurred, there was panic among the Arsenal fanbase. However, Italy manager Luciano Spalletti calmed those nerves after the match, saying: "Calafiori needs to be evaluated, but with our good doctors there is a chance of recovering him."

It works in Arsenal's favour that Riccardo Calafiori went on to miss Italy's next match against Israel. This match occurred last night (Monday), with Italy merging victorious, without Calafiori in the squad.

According to Standard, Riccardo Calafiori has returned to Arsenal early for an injury assessment ahead of the North London Derby. The Gunners have the remainder of this week to test the Italian's fitness.

Needless to say, if there is a game worth throwing Riccardo Calafiori into the deep end for, it's against Tottenham. It's the game which every Arsenal fan looks out for when the fixture list is announced at the start of the season.

That said, Arsenal do have a busy week of important fixtures. Within the space of a week, Arsenal face Tottenham away, Atalanta away in the Champions League and then Man City away. Those are three potentially-season-defining matches. No pressure, of course.

Another factor which works in Arsenal's favour is that they are pretty stacked in Riccardo Calafiori's position. The Italian's best shot in the lineup is at left-back, where Oleksandr Zinchenko and Jurrien Timber have both started the season well.

In fact, Calafiori is yet to make his first start for Arsenal. Therefore, there is no immediate pressure for him to rush into the starting lineup as far as Mikel Arteta is concerned.

Still, in a game like this, Arteta will take all of the options he can get.

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