Arsenal have been hit with a significant setback as their new €38.5m million signing, Mikel Merino, sustained a shoulder injury in his very first training session with the club, Soccernet.football reports.
The Spanish midfielder, who had only completed his transfer from Real Sociedad on Tuesday, suffered a suspected fractured shoulder during training on Thursday, and manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Merino faces ‘weeks’ on the sidelines.
Merino’s injury occurred after a collision on the training ground, where he was unfortunate to land awkwardly with Gabriel Magalhaes on top of him.
Arteta provided an update on the situation as per FootballLondon, expressing his disappointment: “Very unfortunate. Yesterday he had a collision and he has a shoulder injury, unfortunately. It looks like he’s going to be out for a few weeks.
“First session. He was really excited and everything was looking really good. He landed on the floor and Gabi [Magalhaes] landed on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture probably.”
The midfielder was expected to make his debut in Arsenal’s upcoming match against Brighton on Saturday, but he will now have to wait for his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt.
Merino is scheduled for further scans to determine the full extent of the injury.
“We have to see [how long he will be out]. He was in so much pain. We’ll have to do some more tests on that and then we’ll have more conclusive answers,” Arteta added.
In addition to Merino’s injury, Arsenal will also be without striker Gabriel Jesus for the Brighton game, as he is recovering from a groin injury.
Arteta offered some optimism regarding Jesus’s recovery: “He is progressing really well. He had a little muscle injury and he is doing quite a lot of stuff already, so we expect him to be with us pretty soon.”
The Gunners are also set to miss defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, who remains sidelined with a knee injury. The Japan international has not featured in pre-season, and Arteta could not provide a clear timeline for his return.
“At the moment, it’s difficult to say. It’s a bit slow, the process of the first phase of that injury. It’s probably for the medical team to say more on that,” Arteta explained.
Arsenal will have to navigate these injury challenges as they prepare for their clash against Brighton at the Emirates Stadium.