Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka has reportedly not yet made a full recovery from the knock he suffered prior to the international break.
The 23-year-old limped off with 10 minutes remaining in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea two weeks ago, and was then one of the eight players who pulled out of the England squad shortly after the most recent round of Premier League fixtures.
Arsenal face Nottingham Forest in the Gunners' return to action on Saturday afternoon, with Mikel Arteta seeking to gain some ground on those above them, playing earlier than Manchester City and Liverpool.
Saka has only missed one league game so far this season - the 2-0 loss at Bournemouth - which came shortly after the October international break, where the wide man sustained the injury.
No definitive news yet on Saka
© Imago
The Mirror claim that Saka is facing a race to be fit for the weekend clash with Nuno Espirito Santo's side, despite having two weeks to get over the problem.
Arteta's comments following the Chelsea fixture were taken with a pinch of salt when referring to the severity of Saka's injury, given that he has been irked by players going away on international duty recently.
Referring to both Saka and Declan Rice's possible injuries, the Arsenal boss said in the instant aftermath of the game: "It doesn't look good, because for two players of that importance to tell you they cannot continue in the game, obviously it is not good news."
Saka had not been for a scan and nothing has since been revealed publicly by the club about what state the player is in ahead of the weekend, but it appears his availability is still in doubt.
© Imago
Arsenal's other injury issues ahead of Forest clash
If recent reports are to be believed, Rice has been playing through the pain barrier with a broken toe, and is also a big doubt for this one, after being rushed back to face Chelsea following the Inter Milan encounter which the midfielder missed.
It appeared as though Arteta was going to be handed another international break setback, after Martin Odegaard in September, and Saka in October, when Leandro Trossard was forced off in the first half of Belgium's 1-0 defeat to Israel on Sunday.
However, after taking a heavy blow in the game, it is believed that Trossard only suffered heavy bruising, and should be able to recover in time to feature here.
It is in defence where most of Arsenal's problems lie, because Ben White has recently been ruled out until the new year at the earliest, after undergoing knee surgery during the break.
Takehiro Tomiyasu remains out, and Riccardo Calafiori had to miss Italy duty last week, with a return for him not expected so soon either, and these problems could persuade the club to keep hold of Jakub Kiwior, despite recent rumoured interest from clubs across Europe.
Andrew Delaney
