Arsenal lose Hincapie, Zubimendi to injuries ahead of Lille clash
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi will miss Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash against Lille after sustaining injuries during a post-match training session.
Arteta disclosed this while speaking at the Sobha Realty Training Centre ahead of the match, according to an update published on Arsenal’s official website on Monday.
The pair reportedly picked up the injuries during a training session arranged for players who did not get enough minutes in Arsenal’s 2-1 Premier League victory over Leeds United on Saturday.
The manager said the club was awaiting further medical assessments to determine the severity of the injuries and how long the players would be sidelined.
“In two very unfortunate actions, we lost two players, and yeah, not great. We need to assess them today. They have further scans to see where they are and they will have that time frame, how long they’re going to be out for,” Arteta said.
He added that Hincapie’s injury appeared more serious than Zubimendi’s, although the club was yet to establish a definitive recovery timeline.
“They’re both going to miss tomorrow’s match, that’s for sure, and today they’re going to have a further scan and probably tomorrow we’ll know more.
“Then we’ll see how they’re going to go. Piero’s one looks a little bit more serious I think, but we’ll have to wait and see,” the Arsenal manager said.
Both players had been on the bench against Leeds, with Hincapie coming on in the 80th minute to help Arsenal secure the victory.
Asked whether such injuries could have been avoided, Arteta defended the decision to organise the additional training session, explaining that players needed to maintain their fitness and match readiness.
“Very easy; don’t train. Never train, and they don’t get injured. That’s why the consequence to that is when they have to play, they have no rhythm, and when you ask them to play, they’re going to have no impact in the game,” he said.
The Spaniard described the timing of the injuries as unfortunate but maintained that contact injuries could occur during small-sided training games.
He said Arsenal had carried out similar sessions 37 times during the previous season without experiencing the same problem.
Meanwhile, defender William Saliba is continuing his recovery from injury, having resumed individual training on the pitch.
Arteta said the French defender had spent more than a week training on the grass as the club carefully managed his workload.
However, the manager cautioned that Saliba’s return to competitive action remained weeks away, with his progress to be assessed before he could rejoin the team.
“He’s building now his capacity to good standards, and let’s see in the next few weeks if we can start to introduce him to the team to see where we are to actually make him available for the squad,” Arteta said.
He added that Saliba’s return could fall either before or after the November international break, depending on how he responds to treatment and rehabilitation.
Arsenal will face Lille on Tuesday as they continue their Champions League campaign, with the latest injuries presenting a setback ahead of the European fixture.
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