Havertz - 80 %

What happened?

Kai Havertz sustained a significant head injury during Arsenal's match against Inter Milan. He had to leave the pitch due to a big cut on his head that required stitches. Although there were initial concerns about his availability, Mikel Arteta has expressed optimism that Havertz might recover in time for the upcoming game against Chelsea.

My analysis:

Head injuries like these look a lot worse than they actually are. Blood everywhere, but no sign of any concussion injury that would actually make me more concerned than what we saw. I am no doctor, but iv’e seen injuries like these where the player plays the following match. While we don’t know how big the wound is, it seemed like Havertz was fine. But if the wound i simply too big, deep, etc, then there’s a chance he might not play. Arteta seemed hopeful, and same am I.

Similar case:

In 2020 David Luiz had a similar injury, but continued to play on. He was later subbed off due to the severity and didn’t play the following match due the severity of the injury, so sometimes it can keep a player out of game time.

Prediction:

Havertz will play.

Romero - 80 %

What happened?

Cristian Romero was substituted shortly after making a tackle on Leon Bailey. He was observed removing his boot and pointing to his big toe in pain. Notably, his big toe was already taped, suggesting pre-existing issues with it. Romero specifically indicated pain around the flexor hallucis longus (which flexes the toe) or the metatarsophalangeal joint.

My analysis:

Determining the exact nature of the injury is challenging, but potential diagnoses include:

• Bone bruise to the metatarsal joint of the big toe - Recovery time: a few days to a week.

• Muscle or tendon injury - Recovery time: 1-3 weeks.

• Ligament injury - Recovery time: 1-3 weeks depending on grade.

• Metatarsal joint capsule damage or Metatarsophalangeal joint sprain - Recovery time: 1-3 weeks.

Given these possibilities, I would say there's about a 80 % chance Romero will play in the next match. However, with an international break approaching, Tottenham might opt to rest him during this period, potentially saving him for matches after the break rather than risking further injury.

The question is whether they want to risk him now that Van De Ven is also out? We don’t know. Van de Ven out could also be the exact reason they might want to risk Romero.

Latest from Ange is that it’s nothing too serious and and he will be assessed today and tomorrow.

My prediction:

Romero will play.

M. Cash - 10 %

What happened?

Matty Cash, the Aston Villa defender, sustained a calf injury during the team's match against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. This injury has been described as a minor issue, but big enough that Villa kept him out of the midweek game.

My analysis:

Cash has a history of a few calf injuries, which always make a staff more conservative than other cases. These minor injuries, as Emery called it, tend to take about 14-20 days ish to recover from, and in some cases they can return to play a bit faster.

With Cash’ history of calf injuries and an international break coming up I don’t think they’ll risk him.

Latest from Emery is that he’s likely to miss the weekend.

My prediction:

Cash was out midweek and I think he’ll be out again for this game week.

Palmer - 90 %

Cole Palmer suffered a “knee injury” from a tackle by Lisandro Martinez during Chelsea's match with Manchester United. He's doubtful for the upcoming Arsenal game due to the injury, with Chelsea's manager Enzo Maresca expressing hope but also caution regarding Palmer's participation.

My analysis:

I think it’s bullshit. Palmer should be ready. Palmer also recently got called up for the coming international break, which strengthen my point of view.

Another indicator that he’ll be fine is the fact that Palmer was back on the ball mere seconds after the tackle from Martinez, moving freely.

This suggests a minor injury, likely just a knock.

Such knocks can be quite painful, but players are permitted to continue playing as long as they can cope with the pain.

Another argument would be the international break coming up..

If only a knock, then you would want to risk it. Especially in such a big matchup.

The absolute latest on Palmer is the picture. he posted on his Instagram, which show Palmer with a “Game Ready” device on, which is a cryo/compression device mainly used for recovery after training.

Do you remember who also posted the exact same and then played the following match: Gabriel. Maybe Palmer is just taking the piss on Arsenal and Gabriel.

My prediction: Palmer will play.

Five fast ones for the Physio!

Joao Pedro - Manager said there’s a big opportunity that he will feature, which he might do, but it would make sense to start him on the bench. Low Xmin for Pedro.

Rice - I expect Rice to be ready. No sign of injury during the last match, should be available and play. Rumors circulating that it’s a “broken toe”. If true that it’s actually broken, then he’s probably out.

Werner - Out for the midweek game, and out for this weekend as well.

Son - Ready, and might get more minutes than people expect due to Richarlison and Werner possible absence. Ange has stated though that they want to manage his minutes because they don’t want him to relapse.

McNeil - We don’t have much information other than his knee issue has gotten worse and is now a doubt for the weekend. What I also found is that he apparently trained with the team on Thuesday, so id can’t be that bad. I think he’ll start.