Bukayo Saka injury: how long is he out, which games will he miss and how Arsenal can cope
SportPulses Desk··5 min
Saka injured his thigh in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich. Mikel Arteta says it will be weeks; a BBC report suggests six to eight weeks. Here is the timeline, the fixtures he is likely to miss and Arsenal’s options without him.
Key points
- Bukayo Saka injured his thigh (quadriceps) after ten minutes of Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich on 21 October.
- Arsenal have given no return date; a BBC report suggests at least six weeks and more likely around eight.
- He is expected to miss Liverpool away on 1 November and the Champions League game at Slavia Praha on 4 November.
Bukayo Saka limped off after ten minutes of Arsenal’s 2-2 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich on 21 October with a problem in his thigh. More than a week later, the picture is clearer: Arsenal’s most important attacker will be out for weeks rather than days, at the busiest point of the season.
What is the injury?
Saka felt pain in his quadriceps in the opening minutes in Munich and was replaced by Eberechi Eze. Swelling made the injury hard to assess at first, and he had an MRI scan on Friday 23 October. Mikel Arteta said afterwards that the absence will be measured in “weeks”, and that further scans would follow seven to ten days after the first to check his progress. “They are not good signs,” Arteta said on the night of the injury.
How long will Saka be out?
Arsenal have not given an official return date. A BBC report said the club fear he will be out for a minimum of six weeks, and more likely around eight. Six weeks from the injury takes him to early December; eight weeks takes him to mid-December. Those timings can change after each scan.
Which games could Saka miss?
If the BBC timeline is right, Saka would miss Liverpool away on 1 November, the Champions League trip to Slavia Praha on 4 November and the remaining games before the November international break, and very likely most of Arsenal’s fixtures until early December. According to Daily Cannon’s reading of the timeline, the north London derby at Tottenham on 6 December and Real Madrid’s visit to the Emirates in the Champions League on 9 December are realistic targets to miss, with the Manchester United game on 20 December in doubt.
How have Arsenal coped so far?
In the first two games without him, Arsenal beat Everton 2-0 in the Premier League, with both goals scored by defenders, and lost on penalties to League Two Fleetwood Town in the League Cup, when Arteta rested several regulars. The Everton game showed Arsenal can still win without Saka; the cup tie showed how much they miss his creativity, with Kai Havertz missing several close-range chances.
Arsenal’s options on the right
Eberechi Eze is the first option after scoring in Munich, although he is more naturally a left-sided or central player. Noni Madueke is a more like-for-like winger. Arteta could also move Martin Ødegaard wider or change the shape. The bigger question is chance creation: Saka is one of Arsenal’s main sources of assists, and his absence puts more responsibility on Ødegaard, Declan Rice and the full-backs.
Why it matters
Arsenal are level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League and unbeaten in the Champions League. The weeks Saka is likely to miss include Liverpool away, two Champions League games and the build-up to the December fixtures. How Arsenal manage this spell may decide whether they stay in the title race into the new year. Follow Arsenal’s results and the live Premier League table on SportPulses.
