Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admits Bukayo Saka’s injury ”doesn’t look good” after the winger limped off in Tuesday's 2-1 UEFA Champions League defeat to Lens.
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The 22-year-old is now a major doubt for Sunday’s huge showdown with Manchester City, having been substituted on 34 minutes in France, as Arsenal suffered their first loss of the season.
"He tried to backheel a ball in the first half," said Arteta. "He felt something. It was muscular. He was uncomfortable and we had to take him off.
"We don't know anything more than that. It was big enough not to allow him to play the rest of the game and that is a worry for us. It doesn't look good."
Record run about to end?
Saka has played in 87 consecutive Premier League matches, a club record, and has made an excellent start to the campaign with five goals in all competitions.
He has been an injury doubt ahead of the last two matches against AFC Bournemouth and Lens, but Arteta has defended the decision to pick him in the starting line-up again on Tuesday.
"It was a knock that he had the other day and he was perfectly fine," said Arteta. "It was a backheel, an action that can produce that kind of injury. Let's see what the extent of it is, and afterwards it's too late.
"The last few were more knocks than anything else. He hasn't really missed games. We gave him a break against Brentford last week [in the EFL Cup] and that was all."
Arteta has urged his side to quickly put their European defeat behind them as attentions turn to the weekend's home match against champions Man City.
“It’s a huge game for us,” he told the club's official website. “We have to sort out this one. After 11 games to have the first defeat is always tough. It’s part of us to test how good we are to come back.”
