Mikel Arteta has already received more than his fair share of injury setbacks this season.
Arsenal’s injury problems are not just close to home, with loaned-out playmaker Fabio Vieira also experiencing problems at FC Porto. The 24-year-old was sent back to his former club in order to get vital minutes, having been starved of game time at the Emirates Stadium.
And Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will be desperate to welcome a fit, in-form and up-to-speed Vieira back to north London at the end of this season. But the Portuguese has not seen a single minute of action since returning to his homeland.
Vieira was believed to be working his way towards full fitness when, in training last week, he sustained a muscle injury to his right thigh.
Reports in Portugal indicate that Vieira playing in this Saturday’s clash with Vitoria de Guimaraes is nothing more than a ‘pipe dream’, and he needs more time before he can even begin to turn his form around.
Arteta, meanwhile, is powerless to aid in Vieira’s situation as Porto’s medical team are taking charge of his recovery.
Vieira has not featured in a competitive game of any description since April, and he has played less than an hour, in total, since undergoing groin surgery almost a year ago. Arsenal shelled out £34million to sign Vieira from Porto in 2022 but he struggled to settle in England, managing just three goals in 49 matches across all competitions.
Fabio Vieira is yet to see any action since returning to Porto on loan (Image: Getty)
Arteta and his coaching staff will be eager for Vieira to regain fitness as quickly as possible so he can set about regaining his confidence, or at least displaying the kind of form that would bump up his market value if Arsenal put him in the shop window next summer.
The north Londoners are already battling several in-house injury blows ahead of their Champions League clash with Atalanta on Thursday and a blockbuster Premier League showdown with Manchester City this weekend.
Summer signing Mikel Merino suffered a shoulder injury in his very first training session, and he is yet to pull on Arsenal’s famous red and white shirt. Takehiro Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney and Oleksandr Zinchenko are also out, limiting Arteta’s defensive rotation options.
Most hurtful of all for the Gunners is the injury to captain Martin Odegaard, who has sustained ‘significant damage’ to his ankle ligament and will be out for ‘a while’. Arteta has received one dose of positive news, however, as Bukayo Saka is expected to feature against Atalanta despite being forced off in the win over Tottenham last time out.
