Arsenal handed 'worrying' injury blow as star suffers blow in training ahead of Leicester City & West Ham

Arsenal return to Premier League action at Leicester City on Saturday afternoon as they look to chase down Liverpool at the top of the table.

The Gunners will be keeping a keen on events in Liverpool on Wednesday night as Everton take on the Reds in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park. Arne Slot’s side could increase their lead at the top to nine points with a win but an Everton victory would provide a boost to Arsenal, who kick off at 12.30pm this weekend. The earlier start time for the Gunners will give them the chance to put some pressure on the leaders.

Arsenal were not in action last weekend owing to their early exit from the FA Cup with Mikel Arteta and his squad heading to Dubai for some warm weather training after they exited the Carabao Cup with a 4-0 aggregate defeat against Newcastle United.

Arsenal facing new injury concern

While in Dubai, Arsenal have been handed a fresh injury worry ahead of their return to action. According to Mail Sport, forward Kai Havertz has suffered a hamstring issue during a training session. The seriousness of the injury or length of a potential absence is unclear but the German is expected to miss at least a couple of games.

On Tuesday, Havertz was not spotted in the latest batch of training photos that Arsenal uploaded to their club website.

After their trip to Leicester, Arsenal host West Ham before a trip to Nottingham Forest and an away clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Arteta’s side also face Chelsea before the March international break while they return to action against Fulham at the start of April. Havertz is the Gunners’ top scorer in the Premier League this term with nine goals in 21 games while he also has three assists. The report of another injury comes less than a week after Gabriel Martinelli was forced off against Newcastle.

Arsenal’s current injury woes

Gabriel Jesus is already out for the season with an ACL problem while Bukayo Saka is continuing his recovery from a hamstring injury he picked up against Crystal Palace back in December.

Meanwhile, it was reported last week Martinelli is facing more than a month out with the injury he picked up at Newcastle. Speaking after the game, Arteta said: “He felt something, I think it was his hamstring, and he wasn’t comfortable to continue, so we have to have an MRI scan tomorrow to see the extent of the injury.”

Arsenal are also without defenders Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu with their squad depth being tested as the crunch period of the season approaches. The Gunners have avoided extra European fixtures by finishing third in the Champions League standings, with the likes of Manchester City facing a two-legged play-off tie to try and book a spot in the last 16 of the competition.

In other news, Declan Rice has been handed a new nickname by his teammates following his reaction to last week's disappointing 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United at St James' Park.