- Two Arsenal stars were left off against Liverpool and another was absent
- All three could return to action soon, but are likely to remain level midweek
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Mikel Arteta has been handed a triple injury boost ahead of a grueling run of away games as the Arsenal boss considers handing another teenage goalkeeper his debut.
Defensive duo Gabriel and Justin Timber both limped off during Arsenal’s draw against Liverpool on Sunday, while Gunners captain Martin Odegaard has been out since September with an ankle injury.
Arteta was positive about his key trio ahead of four away games, starting at Preston in the League Cup on Wednesday, before clashes at Newcastle, Inter Milan and Chelsea.
“We are still assessing Gabriel, but it doesn’t look bad at all,” said Arteta. ‘The next day he was much better, so hopefully everything will be fine for him. He’s had some tests.
‘Jurrien is doing well. He was very tired, had been out for a while and could not continue the match, but there is no question of a new injury at all. He couldn’t continue, so we decided to make a very safe call. But he was doing well.”
Arsenal have received a three-fold injury boost after this weekend’s draw against Liverpool
Defender Gabriel went off injured during the match and Mikel Arteta has given an update on his condition
Jurrien Timber is ‘fine’ with Arteta revealing he was ‘just tired’ against Liverpool
Mail Sport revealed Odegaard was accelerating his recovery and would return to training on grass this week, and Arteta confirmed he hoped his skipper would return before the international break.
“It’s been on the grass for a few weeks now, but there are still a few boxes to be ticked,” he added. ‘How quickly we can do that final phase of rehabilitation is a question we will have to answer once we have players around him and he starts competing with the team. He hasn’t done that yet.’
However, there was bad news for Riccardo Caliafiori, who appears to be sidelined for ‘a few weeks’ after his injury against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Arteta is considering handing a debut to young goalkeeper Tommy Setford at Deepdale on Wednesday evening.
The Ajax academy player, whose brother Charlie also plays for the Dutch team and whose father Chris is a professional golfer, joined in the summer but missed most of the season due to a hip injury.
If he is to play, it will be the second consecutive round that Arteta has fielded a young goalkeeper after Jack Porter started in their previous match against Bolton.
“We brought Tommy because we know he has the qualities we are looking for in our goalkeeping,” said Arteta. “Unfortunately he’s injured and hasn’t really played.
The Spaniard announced that midfielder and captain Martin Odegaard is in the final phase of his rehabilitation
He is also considering handing a debut to young goalkeeper Tommy Setford on Wednesday
He suggested that players who ‘behave in a certain way’ will be rewarded with playing time
‘It’s not about age, it’s about if they play it’s because they earn the same as the rest of the players.
‘Ultimately we have to reward the people who behave a certain way every day and have the level to play the way we want to play. If that’s the case, then I won’t. It doesn’t matter if they are academy players, youth players or seniors, they will play.”
