Arsenal star defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is injured again and set to miss next spell

Arsenal fear Takehiro Tomiyasu will face another spell on the sidelines after only recently returning to action from a knee injury, TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal. Tomiyasu made his first appearance of the season with a late cameo off the bench in the 3-1 win over Southampton before the international break. The defender had missed the first few weeks of the new campaign as he was nursing a knee injury he sustained in pre-season.

Tomiyasu was left out of the Japan squad for their games against Saudi Arabia and Australia due to his lack of action so far this term. Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Arsenal are seriously concerned Tomiyasu suffered a recurrence of his knee problem in his short appearance against Southampton and he could now be out of action for another month.

Arsenal dealt crushing injury blow as 25-year-old suffers serious setback

Gunners staff are supposedly seriously concerned about the former Bologna man’s condition, and he is believed to have sustained the complication during his six-minute run-out against Southampton. Tomiyasu’s latest blow comes at an inconvenient time for Mikel Arteta, who is already stretched thin in the full-back areas thanks to Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ben White, Kieran Tierney and Jurrien Timber’s injuries.

Arsenal have also been dealt a number of fresh blows over the international break, as Bukayo Saka hurt his hamstring while playing for England, and Gabriel Martinelli is confirmed to be nursing a calf issue. In addition, Germany’s Kai Havertz and Ghana’s Thomas Partey both had to withdraw from their national teams, but Arsenal is apparently confident of having them back in time for Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth.