Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Kai Havertz is a serious doubt for Arsenal's Premier League clash with Leeds on Saturday. The Gunners return to action with the lunchtime kick-off in north London, three weeks on from their heavy defeat to Brighton.
Havertz picked up a hamstring injury while on international duty with Germany. He returned to the club a fortnight ago for further assessment and while he has avoided a significant injury, the match against Leeds could come too soon.
Defensive boost for Gunners
Max Dowman is fit, but a late decision will also be made on the availability of Ezri Konsa, who has been dealing with a dead leg. Konsa withdrew from the England squad ahead of their final match of the international break against the Czech Republic. He has been back at Arsenal this week, though there was no sign of him in footage put out by the club of Thursday's training session.
“We had good communication with the England camp,” Arteta said. “Max is available. Ezri and Kai we will see tomorrow.”
Arsenal could opt to be cautious with the fitness of Konsa, considering they are set to be boosted by the return of other key players in defence. Ben White is available after recovering from a groin issue, while Cristhian Mosquera is in contention to make his first appearance since August and Piero Hincapie is pushing for inclusion after a limited role at the start of the season.
“Both available [Mosquera and Hincapie],” Arteta revealed. “We decided not to use them in the Brighton game but they are available.”
Rice and Tzolis updates
The Gunners boss is also hopeful Declan Rice will be fit to face Leeds after withdrawing from the England squad for their Nations League quadruple-header during the international break. “We have to manage him because he's had a few issues since he came back from the World Cup,” Arteta revealed. “Hopefully tomorrow he's available.”
Arsenal will definitely be without Christos Tzolis. The winger has started all five Premier League matches this season but he now faces a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Reports in Greece suggested that Tzolis could be out for around three weeks, and Arteta revealed that is expected to be the case.
“He has a muscle injury,” the Arsenal boss added. “He's going to be out for a few weeks. He's not available.”
