Arsenal were hit by a major injury worry as key defender Gabriel Magalhaes limped out of Brazil’s 2-0 friendly win against Senegal at the Emirates Stadium.
Gabriel went down just after the hour mark and lay on the floor as received treatment on his right leg. He was helped from the field while holding what appeared to be his right groin area, and a physio signalled to manger Carlo Ancelotti to make a substitution as the defender could no longer go on.
Gabriel has been sensational so far this season and key to Arsenal’s excellent defensive record, with only five goals conceded in their opening 11 Premier League games. The 27-year-old has also been a major threat in the opposition’s box at set-pieces and has popped up with two goals and two assists.
Mikel Arteta will hope the injury is only minor. Arsenal have a testing fixture schedule on the horizon, with games against Tottenham, Bayern Munich and Chelsea immediately after the international break.
Arsenal already have several injuries although they are all in attacking positions. Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus were all missing from the 2-2 draw at Sunderland last time out.
Spurs were handed their own injury worry as Senegalese midfielder Pape Matar Sarr picked up an injury shortly after half-time.
Brazil had earlier produced a superb first-half performance, with goals by Chelsea winger Estevao and Manchester United midfielder Casemiro, in a tetchy encounter.
How long could he be out?
Before the Interlull, there was a lot of talk about how some of Arsenal’s injured players could return after the break to give the squad a boost.
The likes of Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus are all making their way back from injuries of various severity.
However, there was always the possibility that we could sustain more problems, and that appears to be the case this evening after Gabriel was taken off during Brazil’s 2-0 win over Senegal with what appeared to be a groin injury.
Obviously it’s too early to say if there’s anything serious going on, but it will be a concern for Mikel Arteta whose side face Sp*rs, Bayern Munich, then Chelsea in the space of 7 days when domestic action begins again.
The centre-half has been one of the Gunners best players this season, a colossus in both boxes, and his absence would be a real blow, despite the fact we have solid back-up these days.
The Gabriel news came after Italy admitted defeat in their pursuit of having Riccardo Calafiori fit for their upcoming game against Norway, and the Italian defender has returned to London to be assessed by the club’s medical staff.
Let’s keep fingers crossed for both, as they have played a big part in our season so far.