Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Ethan Nwaneri will be missing for a few weeks with the muscular injury he sustained in Saturday's 1-1 Premier League draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 17-year-old became the first Gunners player to score more than one Premier League goal before turning 18 at the Amex Stadium - and just the sixth overall - but he was then withdrawn at half time for Gabriel Martinelli.
Nwaneri had picked up a yellow card for time-wasting in first-half injury time, and the initial assumption was that Arteta substituted him to avoid the risk of a potential sending-off in the second half.
However, the Gunners boss confirmed after the stalemate that Nwaneri had sustained a muscular problem, and the full extent of the issue has now been revealed ahead of Tuesday's EFL Cup semi-final first leg with Newcastle United.
Speaking to reporters in his pre-game press conference, Arteta said: "Unfortunately he has picked up an injury and is going to be out for a few weeks. It's a muscular injury."
Which Arsenal matches will Ethan Nwaneri miss?
Arteta unsurprisingly did not put an estimated comeback date on Nwaneri's recovery, but his "few weeks" admission denotes that the winger will most likely be missing for at least a month and possibly longer.
If the teenager does not make his return until early February as expected, there is a chance that he could miss as many as 10 Arsenal games, starting with Tuesday's visit of Newcastle and the FA Cup third-round meeting with Manchester United on January 12.
The Gunners will also have to cope without Nwaneri for the North London derby at home to Tottenham Hotspur on January 15, as well as clashes with Aston Villa, Dinamo Zagreb, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Girona later in the month.
The visit of Manchester City to the Emirates on February 2 might also come too soon for Nwaneri, who is also at risk of missing the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final with Newcastle three days after that.
The England youth international would also be a doubt for any potential FA Cup fourth-round game on February 8, although there is seemingly a good chance that he will be fit to return away to Leicester City on February 15.
Could Arsenal receive any injury boosts for Newcastle clash?
Nwaneri joins Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Raheem Sterling (knee), Ben White (knee) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) on the sidelines, while Kai Havertz's participation is also up in the air due to illness.
The German attacker has sat out Arsenal's last two games with a bug, and after expressing hope that Havertz would be fit to face Brighton only for him to miss out, Arteta offered a more cautious update on his fitness on Monday.
"I hope so, but I don't want to say yes because last time I said he would be fit and he wasn't fit," the Spaniard added, before confirming that Sterling should be back in contention "very soon".
The Gunners are guaranteed to receive one boost for Tuesday's first leg, as right-back Jurrien Timber is available again after serving a Premier League suspension in the clash with Brighton.
On the other hand, Newcastle cannot call upon Bruno Guimaraes or Fabian Schar, both of whom are banned for the first leg on account of picking up their second bookings of the 2024-25 EFL Cup in the quarter-finals. body check tags ::
