Arsenal: Mikel Arteta hopeful over Raheem Sterling injury boost amid major Bukayo Saka blow | OneFootball

Chelsea loanee could be back sooner than expected to help cover the loss of injured talisman, who will be sidelined until at least March

Arsenal have received a potential injury boost over Raheem Sterling as they look to replace the absent Bukayo Saka.

The Gunners are set to be without attacking talisman Saka until at least March after manager Mikel Arteta confirmed after Friday night’s 1-0 Premier League win over Ipswich that the England winger would likely miss more than two months after undergoing surgery on his torn hamstring.

Saka’s injury has been compounded by the absence of Sterling, who missed the laboured victory against Ipswich and last weekend’s thumping 5-1 rout of Crystal Palace - in which Saka suffered his injury - with a knee issue sustained in training at London Colney that was also expected to keep him out for a period of many weeks.

However, Arteta has now revealed a more positive update on the Chelsea loanee, whose injury appears to not be as serious as first feared.

Mixed news: Arsenal will be without Bukayo Saka until at least March, but Raheem Sterling may return sooner than expected

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“Yes, the news with Raz [Sterling] I think is better,” Arteta said. “We have to see this week how he evolves.

“We probably expected the knee injury to take longer than it has evolved in the last few days. Hopefully that’s good news because we need him.”

As he did when Saka was forced off early at Selhurst Park, Gabriel Martinelli operated down the right flank against Ipswich, with Leandro Trossard brought in on the left wing as the resurgent Gabriel Jesus kept his place up front.

It was a largely insipid performance from the Gunners as they lacked creativity without Saka, though Kai Havertz’s first-half finish from a Trossard cross was ultimately enough to see them jump above both in-form Nottingham Forest and Chelsea and up to second place in the Premier League table, within six points of Liverpool having played a game more than the leaders.

Asked if he had seen enough from Martinelli as he looked to fill the sizable void left by Saka’s injury, Arteta responded: “As I said the replacement of B [Saka] is going to be the team. That unit in particular.

“Having minutes together and asking different things and doing that. There were moments where it flowed really well and moments where there is more we can do there to improve it and adapt to the quality of the individuals. I’m certain that we’re gonna do that.”

When quizzed on what Martinelli needed to be a success on the right wing, Arteta added: “ Gabby needs people around him. He needs constant threat.

“He needs to be always in the last line when the ball is on his side, that he has relationships there, and people close to him because he's very intuitive. He's always a threat.

“I think that if you're isolating too much, you're going to suffer, especially playing with a natural foot on the right and that's things that we can evolve and improve.”