Photo: Wikimedia Commons (free licence), cropped and styled by SportNestra — author and licence
“It had not happened to me in seven years,” Mikel Arteta said of the injuries to Hincapie and Zubimendi. Arsenal are completing preparations to face Lille in the second round of the Champions League, but neither player will be available for the match. Arteta did not specify how long they would be out.
Both players suffered ankle injuries during a short training session. They join William Saliba and Christos Tzolis among the absentees. Arteta explained that the session had been planned after the match for players who had not had enough playing time, so they could recover on Sunday and get back to the right rhythm.
Asked how such incidents could be avoided, the coach replied with irony: “Very simple: don’t train. If you never train, players don’t get injured.” He added that this had never happened to him in seven years of coaching here and said he hoped it would not happen again.
The injuries therefore rule two players out of Arsenal’s European meeting with Lille, while the length of their absence remains unclear.
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