Arsenal Suffers Crushing Injury Setback Hours Before Champions League Kickoff
Ben White has been added to Arsenal's expanding injury roster prior to Tuesday's Champions League debut match against Athletic Club.
The multi-position defender featured in the opening match of the campaign at Manchester United but was absent from the following two games due to an injury. White had recovered sufficiently to be named among the substitutes for Saturday's comfortable 3–0 victory over Nottingham Forest but was not included in the squad that traveled to Bilbao this week.
White is not the only casualty. Mikel Arteta announced that Martin Ødegaard and Bukayo Saka, who both sat out Monday's training session, would also be unavailable. Extended injury victims Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus bring Arsenal's casualty count to five players.
The duration of Ødegaard's absence remains uncertain. Arsenal's skipper experienced a recurrence of a shoulder problem during the Forest match but will avoid requiring surgical intervention.
Saka also escaped surgery following hamstring damage sustained last month. During his pre-match media briefing on Monday, Arteta stated: "I believe there are still numerous aspects to assess [regarding Saka]. It's premature to determine exactly when and in which week he'll return to availability. However, he will definitely be eager to return as soon as feasible."
Positively, William Saliba and Christian Nørgaard are expected to be available for selection after dealing with their own fitness concerns.
Arsenal's summer signings have already faced an early examination. Viktor Gyökeres and Martín Zubimendi were anticipated to quickly establish themselves in the first team, but injuries have created unexpected opportunities for Noni Madueke and Cristhian Mosquera to accumulate playing time.
Madueke, specifically, is expected to feature prominently on Tuesday. The ex-Chelsea attacker, who claimed last season's Conference League trophy, has yet to compete in the main Champions League tournament. Madueke assisted PSV Eindhoven through two qualifying stages in summer 2021 before being eliminated by Benfica in the decisive round.