Mikel Arteta has confirmed Bukayo Saka will be out for weeks with the thigh injury the Arsenal winger suffered in last month's 2-2 Champions League draw with Bayern Munich, ruling him out of Saturday's home game against Hull City and England's upcoming internationals.
Speaking ahead of Hull at the Emirates (15:00 UK), Arteta said the club's No.7 is still early in his recovery and will only start increasing pitch work after the international break.
Arteta: "We're talking about weeks"
"We're talking obviously about weeks," Arteta said of Saka on arsenal.com. "Let's see after the international break. He's going to start hitting the pitch and start to have more activity and see how he feels, but unfortunately he's going to be out for a while."
Asked whether Saka could be ready for Manchester City in about three weeks, Arteta refused to set a firm return date. "I don't want to put these guys under too much pressure. They are doing their best to get back fit. Bukayo is desperate to get back with the team, but it's still quite early," he said in his pre-Hull press conference.
AFP reported the absence as a quad injury sustained against Bayern. Saka was left out of Thomas Tuchel's England squad for the November window as a result.
What it means for Arsenal
Saka will miss Hull and the international break while Arsenal sit top of the Premier League. Arteta's update keeps the focus on a cautious return: more activity after the pause, then a judgment on how the winger feels, rather than a guaranteed date for City or the heavy November–December run.
Arsenal beat Slavia Prague 2-1 in midweek without him. Secondary squad notes from the same briefing: William Saliba could feature for club and country after returning to the bench following a World Cup back injury, and Ezri Konsa is fit after a precautionary knee knock in Prague — but those updates are background only to Saka's longer absence.
Related coverage
BetAlert's injury desk has also covered Carlos Baleba out for weeks with a hamstring. Arsenal's midweek win is in Slavia Prague 1-2 Arsenal; the Bayern night that started Saka's layoff is at Bayern Munich 2-2 Arsenal. More injury stories sit on the injury page.
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