2 days Ago By Evening Standard
Bukayo Saka is in line to return against Fulham on Tuesday night in a major boost for Arsenal . Saka has not featured since suffering a hamstring tear against Crystal Palace on December 21 that required surgery. But the Gunners appeared to receive a boost last week when the club’s official social media channels shared photos of Saka in training.
And Mikel Arteta replied “yes” when asked whether Saka could start against Fulham. “Bukayo is ready to go,” Arteta said. “All the careful things are already done.
Now it’s about putting him on the grass in the right moments. But he’s pushing because he really wants it. We’ve had to hold him back, even.
” It remains to be seen whether Arteta throws him straight into the starting line-up, but the Gunners’ head coach appeared relaxed about Saka’s situation after the international break. If Saka starts, it is likely to see Ethan Nwaneri return to the bench, a week after scoring his first goal for the England Under-21s. Arsenal suffered their latest concern in an injury-plagued season when defender Riccardo Calafiori sustained a knee injury during a nasty slip while playing for Italy in the first leg of their heavyweight Nations League quarter-final tie against Germany in Milan last week.
Arteta said on Monday: “Riccardo unfortunately picked up a knee injury with the national team. “Really unfortunate the way it happened. It could have been much worse.
Hopefully it’s going to be a matter of weeks, but we have to see how that injury evolves.” Jurrien Timber is available again after illness, but trio Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kai Havertz are out for the rest of the season with long-term injuries. Predicted Arsenal XI (4-3-3): Raya; Timber; Gabriel, Saliba, Lewis-Skelly; Partey, Rice, Odegaard; Saka, Merino, Martinelli Injured: Calafiori, Jesus, Tomiyasu, Havertz Date and time: 7:45pm BST, Tuesday April 1, 2025 Venue: Emirates Stadium, London TV channel: The match is not televised in the UK.
