Arsenal juggle right-back fitness after Ben White groin scare | OneFootball

Mikel Arteta faces a right-back balancing act after Ben White sustained a groin problem in Arsenal’s win at Sunderland, with Jurrien Timber also building back fitness.

White had begun the campaign strongly after a May knee injury ended his World Cup hopes, then he shook off a knock against Napoli in the Champions League. Injury performance analyst Stephen Smith of Kitman Labs told Metro that modern full-backs carry uniquely heavy sprint demands.

White was withdrawn at half-time at the Stadium of Light and Timber came on for his first appearance of the season following his own recent groin issue.

White was then left out of the Carabao Cup win over Ipswich, where Martin Zubimendi filled in at right-back. Timber was rested and there were no fresh setbacks after last season’s ACL.

Arsenal have depth in wide defence on the left, with Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapie and Myles Lewis-Skelly options, but the right side requires careful load management to support a title push.

Attention now turns to Saturday afternoon at Brighton, White’s former club. He could feature, although a three-week international break offers a window for full recovery and for both White and Timber to be built back to peak speed.

Source: Goal.com

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