Arsenal fear that Gabriel Magalhães could be sidelined for at least a month after the Brazil defender sustained a thigh injury while on international duty last week. The 27-year-old limped off during Brazil's 2-0 friendly win over Senegal at the Emirates Stadium and returned to his club for further tests after a muscle injury in his right thigh was confirmed.
The club have yet to specify the full extent of the problem, but Gabriel is not expected to be available for Sunday's north London derby against Tottenham or the Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich three days later. There are concerns he could miss a month or longer, ruling him out of Premier League fixtures against Chelsea, Brentford and Aston Villa, as well as the Champions League trip to Club Brugge on 10 December.
His absence would be a significant blow to Arsenal's title challenge. Gabriel has played every minute of the Premier League campaign, anchoring a defence that has conceded just five goals in 11 games and had kept eight consecutive clean sheets in all competitions before the 2-2 draw at Sunderland. Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapié are among those in contention to replace him against Spurs.
There are also doubts over Viktor Gyökeres, with the £64m striker having missed Arsenal's final two matches before the international break because of a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann revealed on Tuesday that Kai Havertz has suffered a “minor relapse” in his recovery from a knee injury, though he is expected to return towards the end of the year.
Arsenal's squad is being stretched, with captain Martin Ødegaard also absent alongside Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli. The club invested heavily in the summer to bolster their options, but injuries are again threatening to undermine their pursuit of a first league title since 2004.
