Madueke out for six to eight weeks with knee injury

Arsenal expect Noni Madueke to miss about six to eight weeks with the knee injury sustained in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Sunday.

However, the 23-year-old England international is not believed to have suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The summer signing from Chelsea was substituted at half-time of the Premier League match with City and has been undergoing tests to discover the severity of the problem.

Sources are indicating medics are waiting for the swelling to subside before making a definitive diagnosis on the injury, but it is understood that Madueke will be sidelined for a minimum of six weeks, though that timescale is thought to be the best-case scenario.

The news will arrive as a major blow to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and England head coach Thomas Tuchel, given Madueke’s promising start to the season.

If the initial prognosis is confirmed, Madueke will not return to action until November at the earliest, ruling him out of a clutch of key domestic and European games for the Gunners.

The attacker is set to miss England’s forthcoming games against Wales and Latvia, while also making him a doubt for World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania in mid-November.

Arsenal face Sunderland on 8 November in the Premier League. If Madueke is unavailable for those games and the international break, he could return for the north London derby versus Tottenham on 23 November.

(BBC Sport)

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