Arsenal have been rocked by the news that Noni Madueke will be missing for up to two months after hobbling out of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
The 23 year old winger pulled up with a knee problem and was forced off at half time in a match where the Gunners had gone toe to toe with the champions. Fears of a dreaded ACL injury were quickly dismissed but Arsenal have confirmed that the England star will be out for six to eight weeks at the very least.
It is a bitter blow for Mikel Arteta who had seen his summer signing from Chelsea hit the ground running. Madueke’s direct running and eye for goal had added a new spark to the Arsenal attack. Now he faces a race against time to be back before the busy winter schedule.
Arteta admitted the injury was worrying but urged caution before a final verdict. “It looks like Noni is going to be out for a few weeks but we do not really know yet. We will have to scan him next week again. He felt something at the beginning of the match and tried to carry on but it was too sore so we will see,” the Arsenal boss said. Asked if it would be weeks rather than months he replied: “We hope so. It does not look too bad.”
Despite Arteta’s optimism club insiders have revealed Madueke will not be back until November at the earliest. Doctors are waiting for the swelling to settle but the best case scenario still points to six weeks on the sidelines.
That rules him out of a run of crucial fixtures both at home and abroad. Arsenal take on Port Vale in the Carabao Cup this week before resuming their Premier League campaign. Madueke is certain to miss the clash with Sunderland on 8 November and could also sit out Champions League action.
For England boss Thomas Tuchel the setback could not come at a worse time. Madueke was in line for the upcoming matches against Wales and Latvia. Now he will be absent from both and is a major doubt for World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania in mid November.
Arsenal are pencilling in the north London derby against Tottenham on 23 November as a possible return date. By then the Gunners will hope their season is still firmly on track. Without Madueke they must rely on Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli to carry the creative burden.
For the fans it is another cruel reminder of how quickly fortunes can change. Madueke had looked like the missing piece in Arteta’s frontline puzzle. Now they must wait nervously for him to come back and prove it all over again.