Arsenal forward suffers new injury flare-up | OneFootball

Kai Havertz’s knee issue flared up again in recent weeks, and plans to give him minutes in Arsenal’s coming games will double as a chance to assess his fitness.

Photo via Arsenal on Twitter

Isaan Khan reports for the Daily Mail that Arsenal have concerns over Kai Havertz’s long-term fitness after another recent flare-up of his knee injury.

Havertz initially injured his knee back at the start of the season in August, and just when he was on the verge of a comeback he suffered a setback to the same knee in November.

Khan claims Havertz’s knee then reacted again to his recent injury comeback, hence the decision to manage his workload by leaving him out for a couple of games earlier this month.

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

There are fears that if the knee continues to flare up it could have a long-term impact on Havertz’s fitness, so the club are acting very cautiously with the forward.

That being said, the report adds that Havertz is expected to be given further minutes in the coming days and weeks. Those minutes will then be used to assess whether the 26-year-old can be consistently available for starts over the remainder of the campaign.

It’s certainly a worrying update, and it goes some way to explaining why Havertz has only played 29 minutes across Arsenal’s last seven games since he first made it back into the squad.

Photo via Havertz on Instagram

Perhaps next week’s game against Kairat Almaty could provide an opportunity for a lower-stakes test, given Arsenal only need a home draw against the Champions League’s bottom-ranked club to secure first place in the League Phase.

Even a defeat and a goal difference swing to leave Arsenal in second place wouldn’t matter for any reason other than the finances involved. In sporting terms, finishing first or second makes no difference, as you will be randomly drawn against one of the same two teams either way.

Considering the rest of Arsenal’s fixture list largely contains vital Premier League matches, League Cup semi-finals, and so on, there won’t be many better chances to properly reintroduce Havertz.