Bukayo Saka is forced off with injury during Arsenal’s clash against Crystal Palace – as star is left clutching his hamstring at Selhurst Park
Bukayo Saka lasted just 25 minutes of Arsenal’s clash against Crystal Palace before being forced off with an injury.
After a frantic start to the match which saw the Gunners race into a 2-1 lead, the winger fell to the ground and clutched his right hamstring before being substituted.
The England international – who has provided five goals and 10 assists in the league – was swiftly replaced by Belgian teammate Leandro Trossard.
Though the nature of Saka’s injury has not yet been confirmed, Arsenal fans will be hoping it’s not a recurrence of the hamstring injury back in October.
During the international break that month, the winger was forced to withdraw from the England squad after sustaining the injury in their clash against Greece.
That hamstring issue kept the 23-year-old sidelined for 39 days – a period which included their disappointing 2-0 defeat by Bournemouth.
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka was forced off with an injury during his side’s trip to Selhurst Park
Saka lasted just 25 minutes of the clash against Crystal Palace before being withdrawn
The winger was then seen leaving Selhurst Park on crutches after the 5-1 victory for Arsenal
With clashes against Man United and rivals Tottenham in the new year, Mikel Arteta will be hopeful that it’s not the same issue for the Arsenal wide-man.
Prior to the injury to Saka, the Gunners made a bright start to the trip to Selhurst Park – with Gabriel Jesus scoring after just six minutes on the night.
The Brazilian arrived at the back-post to poke home from close range after defender Gabriel Magalhaes got a small nick on the cross.
Palace, however, hit back shortly after through winger Ismaila Sarr, who drove forward and curled a scintillating effort past David Raya.
But Arsenal fired back swiftly and were ahead once again in the 14th minute as Jesus was once again on hand to provide a neat finish from a corner.
Arteta’s side then gave themselves some breathing room in the match as Kai Havertz reacted quickest to a Jesus header and poked home from inside the six-yard box.
Saka’s potential injury comes at a time when Arteta was slowly getting the core of his Arsenal side back to availability.
In a major boost for the Gunners, Declan Rice and Riccardo Calafiori were both named on the bench for the clash after lengthy spells on the sidelines.
Saka was swiftly replaced by Belgian teammate Leandro Trossard after just 25 minutes
In October, Saka was sidelined for just over a month with a hamstring injury on England duty
Rice missed the Gunners’ 3-2 Carabao Cup victory over Palace on Wednesday due to a minor injury.
While Calafiori has been sidelined since the start of December. The Italian’s absence has seen 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly start in the left-back slot for Arsenal’s previous league match — a 0-0 draw against Everton.
Full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko was also in contention to play in the match however was left out of the squad.
