{"id":2156,"date":"2026-04-12T13:55:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T13:55:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=2156"},"modified":"2026-04-12T13:55:34","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T13:55:34","slug":"arsenal-midfielder-bukayo-saka-martin-odegaard-and-riccardo-calafiori-have-been-ruled-out-of-the-champions-league-with-a-hamstring-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=2156","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal midfielder Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori have been ruled out of the Champions League with a hamstring injury"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Ninety minutes away from a second straight Champions League semi-final, Arsenal host Sporting Lisbon in the second leg of their quarter-final tie on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Mikel Arteta’s men would have likely taken a draw at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in the opening encounter, but super substitute Kai Havertz popped up with a late winner in a 1-0 first-leg victory<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Havertz’s strike could very well prove critical after the events of the weekend, as Arsenal’s Premier League title charge suffered a potentially major setback in a 2-1 reverse to Bournemouth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Here, Sports Mole<\/strong> rounds up all of Arsenal\u2019s latest injury and suspension news ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Sporting, who edged out Estrela Amadora 1-0 in the Primeira Liga last time out.<\/p>\n\n

\n
<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Iconsport \/ SUSA<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Status:<\/strong> Major doubt<\/p>\n

Type of injury:<\/strong> Unknown<\/p>\n

Possible return date:<\/strong> April 15 (vs. Sporting)<\/p>\n

After missing training on Thursday, Riccardo Calafiori was absent from the loss to Bournemouth with an unexplained injury, one that has also rendered him doubtful for Wednesday’s second leg.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Imago \/ News Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Status:<\/strong> Minor doubt<\/p>\n

Type of injury: <\/strong>Unknown<\/p>\n

Possible return date:<\/strong> April 15 (vs. Sporting)<\/p>\n

Likewise, Martin Odegaard did not make Saturday’s matchday squad after picking up a knock in the first leg, although he was seen arriving with the team at the Emirates, suggesting that his issue is not overly serious.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Iconsport \/ SPI<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Status:<\/strong> Major doubt<\/p>\n

Type of injury: <\/strong>Knock<\/p>\n

Possible return date:<\/strong> April 15 (vs. Sporting)<\/p>\n

Bukayo Saka is still recovering from the unspecified issue he sustained on international duty with England, and his chances of making the cut in midweek are currently slim.<\/p>\n\n

Jurrien Timber<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Iconsport \/ Rene Nijhuis \/ Alamy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Status:<\/strong> Minor doubt<\/p>\n

Type of injury:<\/strong> Groin<\/p>\n

Possible return date:<\/strong> April 15 (vs. Sporting)<\/p>\n

Similarly, Jurrien Timber has not featured for the Gunners since before the latest international hiatus, and the Dutchman’s status for the midweek game is still clouded in uncertainty.<\/p>\n

\n

Mikel Merino<\/h2>\n
\n
<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Imago \/ ZUMA Press Wire<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Status:<\/strong> Out<\/p>\n

Type of injury:<\/strong> Foot<\/p>\n

Possible return date:<\/strong> Unknown<\/p>\n

Mikel Merino underwent an operation to treat a foot fracture a couple of months ago, and the midfielder is bidding to make his comeback before the end of the season and in time for the World Cup.<\/p>\n

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ARSENAL’S SUSPENSION LIST<\/h2>\n

Arsenal have no players suspended for the second leg, but Christian Norgaard and Martin Zubimendi would miss the first leg of any semi-final if they pick up a yellow card here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ninety minutes away from a second straight Champions League semi-final, Arsenal host Sporting Lisbon in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}