{"id":559,"date":"2026-04-04T00:52:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T00:52:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=559"},"modified":"2026-04-04T00:52:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T00:52:44","slug":"arsenal-injury-update-madueke-eze-and-hincapie-ruled-out-for-southampton-fa-cup-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/?p=559","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal injury update: Madueke Eze and Hincapie ruled out for Southampton FA Cup clash"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Arsenal travel to St Mary\u2019s this weekend as FA Cup action returns, with Mikel Arteta\u2019s side facing Southampton in a crucial quarter final clash.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, the Gunners will head to the south coast without several key names after fresh injury concerns emerged ahead of Saturday\u2019s tie.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking in his pre match press conference, Arteta provided a worrying update on a number of players, with Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Piero Hincapie all ruled out of the fixture.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Madueke concern eased but still unavailable<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Arteta moved quickly to calm fears around Madueke after his recent knock, insisting the issue is not as serious as first feared. However, despite that reassurance, the winger will not be available this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt looked really bad and Noni was really worried,\u201d Arteta admitted. \u201cBut it is nowhere near that injury.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That said, the Spaniard confirmed the timeline remains short term rather than immediate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs it days? Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.football.london\/arsenal-fc\/fixtures-results\/arsenal-press-conference-live-mikel-33711055\">While that update will offer encouragement for the weeks ahead, Arsenal will still need to navigate the Southampton test without one of their most direct attacking options.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Eze and Hincapie ruled out<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Madueke is not the only absentee. Arteta also confirmed that both Eze and Hincapie will miss the trip to St Mary\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEbs is out,\u201d Arteta said, before adding: \u201cWith Ebs I cannot put a finger because he is a special character.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Hincapie has been ruled out entirely, with the manager delivering a blunt update.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That leaves Arsenal light in both attacking depth and defensive flexibility heading into one of their biggest cup matches of the season.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Opportunity for others to step up<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As a result, Arteta may now turn to alternative options, with several squad players expected to come into contention.<\/p>\n<p>There is also a chance to build on momentum from the previous round, where Arsenal progressed against Mansfield.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p>\n          <iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Eberechi Eze POWERS Gunners through \ud83d\udcaa | Mansfield Town (1-2) Arsenal | Emirates FA Cup 2025-26\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/C2fihT35IrU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n        <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>That performance showcased the squad\u2019s depth, and now, with multiple absentees, those fringe players could once again play a decisive role.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Big test at St Mary\u2019s<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Ultimately, this tie represents more than just a quarter final. It offers Arsenal the opportunity to move one step closer to silverware.<\/p>\n<p>However, injuries have complicated the picture.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Arteta\u2019s side have shown resilience throughout the campaign, and despite the absence of Madueke, Eze and Hincapie, they will still back themselves to get the job done.<\/p>\n<p>Now, all eyes turn to Saturday night under the lights, where Arsenal must prove their strength in adversity once again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arsenal travel to St Mary\u2019s this weekend as FA Cup action returns, with Mikel Arteta\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-559","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\/559","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=559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/disport.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}