Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has provided an update on Bukayo Saka, who suffered a hamstring injury at the weekend.
What happened?
Saka sustained a hamstring injury during the team's 5-1 victory over Crystal Palace on Saturday, forcing him to be substituted in the 24th minute.
The 23-year-old winger was visibly in discomfort and was seen leaving Selhurst Park on crutches.
What has Arteta said about the injury?
Speaking in his Monday press conference, Arteta has revealed that Saka has torn the muscle and is set to be sidelined for a significant period.
"It’s not looking good," he said. "He’s going to be out for many weeks.
"It’s another part of the development of a player. At some stage at this level you're going to get injured - unfortunately badly. It could have been much worse. It could have been something else that can take you out for a year.
"It’s how you react to that, how you overcome that situation and it’s a great learning process for him as well. It is what it is. He's injured, we cannot change it. We're going to use this time now to help him.
"I'm very optimistic that he will be back before the end of the season."
What Arsenal matches will Saka miss?
In the immediate future, Saka will miss the home match with Ipswich Town, the trips to Brentford and Brighton & Hove Albion, before home ties with Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa in the Premier League.
Arsenal's next five Premier League matches
During that time, there is also an FA Cup third-round match at home to Manchester United on 12 January, and first of the two-legged EFL Cup semi-final against Newcastle United on 7 January. The second leg at St James' Park is on 6 February.
Arsenal's UEFA Champions League campaign resumes on 22 January with a home match against Dinamo Zagreb.
How much will Arsenal miss Saka?
Saka has been directly involved in 15 of Arsenal's 34 Premier League goals this season, scoring five and assisting 10.
That's almost twice as many as any other Gunners player, with Kai Havertz next-closest, with eight goal involvements.
Saka's 10 assists put him second among all Premier League players this season, only behind Mohamed Salah's 11.
What did Arteta say about options to replace Saka?
"I'm putting some ideas together, but I haven’t fully decided yet," said Arteta about his plans to replace Saka. "I want to speak with the players too, to understand how we can generate that and use it in a positive way, because it means we're going to be different."
Gabriel Martinelli was moved to the right wing to replace Saka during Saturday's match against Palace, with Gabriel Jesus down the middle and Leandro Trossard coming on to the left wing.
"That's the first one we went through, especially because he's played there before," said Arteta of Martinelli. "He played the last match there against Everton and the last match of the season. He did really well. He did really well the other day, he scored a goal and created an assist and is a good option to have.
"Gabby [Jesus] has played there. Ethan [Nwaneri] has played there. Leo [Trossard] can play there in relation to how that unit moves. Kai can play there, asking him different things. We will see, try different things and ask how they feel about it."
"We went through the period with Martin [Odegaard] and the time when we had five or six defenders missing. We're taking it with positive energy.
"We started the season with one of the thinnest squads in the Premier League. We knew that. OK, so what do we need? I really dig into that, you know? To make sure that we utilise every player to their best potential.
"Everyone has to feel part of it, you need to rediscover players in different positions, relationships. It's a great one, it's a good exercise. And the boys are willing, so that's a really good thing as well."
Sterling out as well
Arteta was asked about the possibility of moving in the January transfer window to address the injuries to Saka and Raheem Sterling, who has also been ruled out "for weeks" with a knee injury.
"Yes, the preparation is done, and we are ready if something happens," he said. "Obviously we didn't predict a situation with Bukayo and Raheem. At the same time we predicted if something happened, for example in the defensive line.
"But the job is done, and then, OK, if something has to happen, we’ll be open. But the main focus is now on how to unlock the potential that is in this squad."
What does it mean in FPL?
Managers in Fantasy Premier League will now need to consider how to replace Saka, who is the third most-owned player, with an ownership of 38.6 per cent.
Given he costs £10.5m, there will be plenty of funds to spend on reshaping squads ahead of the Gameweek 18 deadline at 11:00 GMT on Thursday 26 December.