Arsenal injury news: Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi will miss Lille clash, while William Saliba continues his recovery

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi will miss Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League clash against Lille after sustaining injuries during a training session following the club’s 2-1 Premier League victory over Leeds United.

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Arteta disclosed the setback while speaking at the Sobha Realty Training Centre ahead of the European fixture, according to an update published on Arsenal’s official website on Monday.

The two players reportedly suffered their injuries during a session organised for squad members who did not receive enough playing time against Leeds on Saturday.

The Arsenal manager said further medical scans would be conducted to establish the severity of the injuries and determine how long the pair might be sidelined.

“In two very unfortunate actions, we lost two players, and yeah, not great. We need to assess them today. They have further scans to see where they are and they will have that time frame, how long they’re going to be out for,” Arteta said.

He indicated that Hincapie’s injury appeared more serious than Zubimendi’s, although the club was still awaiting a definitive assessment.

“They’re both going to miss tomorrow’s match, that’s for sure, and today they’re going to have a further scan and probably tomorrow we’ll know more,” he said.

“Piero’s one looks a little bit more serious I think, but we’ll have to wait and see.”

Both players were on the bench for the Leeds match, with Hincapie introduced in the 80th minute as Arsenal secured the victory.

Asked whether the injuries could have been avoided by cancelling the additional training session, Arteta defended the decision, explaining that players needed to maintain their fitness and match readiness.

“Very easy; don’t train. Never train, and they don’t get injured. That’s why the consequence to that is when they have to play, they have no rhythm, and when you ask them to play, they’re going to have no impact in the game,” the Spaniard said.

Arteta described the timing of the injuries as unfortunate, noting that contact injuries could occur during small-sided training games. He added that Arsenal had conducted similar sessions 37 times during the previous season without experiencing the same problem.

Meanwhile, defender William Saliba is continuing his recovery after returning to individual training on the pitch.

Arteta said the French international had spent more than a week training on the grass as the club carefully managed his workload and worked to rebuild his fitness.

However, Saliba is still expected to be weeks away from a return to competitive action.

“He’s building now his capacity to good standards, and let’s see in the next few weeks if we can start to introduce him to the team to see where we are to actually make him available for the squad,” Arteta said.

The manager added that Saliba could return either before or after the November international break, depending on his progress during rehabilitation.

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Arsenal will face Lille on Tuesday in their Champions League campaign, with the injuries to Hincapie and Zubimendi leaving Arteta to assess his available options ahead of the match.