Arsenal could be sweating over the fitness of Gabriel Jesus with the Brazilian appearing to have picked up an injury in pre-season training.
The Gunners kicked off their pre-season with a behind-closed-doors 1-1 draw against Championship outfit Watford, before playing out another 1-1 against 2. Bundesliga outfit Nurnberg in their first official friendly of the summer.
Mikel Arteta’s men have since travelled stateside for their tour of the United States, which gets underway with a game against the MLS All-Stars, coached by Wayne Rooney, on July 19.
The club will then travel to New York where they will play Premier League rivals Manchester United before heading off to Los Angeles to take on European heavyweights Barcelona at SoFi Stadium, the home of owner Stan Kroenke’s LA Rams.
The final warm-up game comes at home against Ligue 1 side AS Monaco in the Emirates Cup.
Gabriel Jesus injury blow
Arteta’s pre-season plans may have received an early blow, as just two days into training in the US, it appears Jesus may have picked up an injury.
A player, believed to be Jesus, has been pictured perched on the ground receiving treatment, with the image circulating across social media.
Of course, from the snap it’s impossible to know whether the Brazilian has merely picked up a slight knock from a collision, or something more serious.
Arsenal have had mixed luck with injuries at the start of pre-season. Reiss Nelson picked up a toe injury and will reportedly be out for two weeks after requiring stitches.
Yet, Football.London claimed that Marquinhos and Rob Holding are both back in training after missing Thursday’s game against Nurnberg on a precautionary basis.
Similarly, Leandro Trossard and Martin Odegaard were both involved in full training and an 11-vs-11 match on Monday despite their injury scares on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli was spotted on the warm-up bikes with some of the other injured stars, but it has been suggested he could play a part against the MLS All-Stars. The same can’t be said for Takehiro Tomiyasu and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who will miss Wednesday’s clash.