Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is still unsure how long Takehiro Tomiyasu will be sidelined for after the defender's "unbelievable" latest injury.
The former Bologna man was left out of the Gunners' USA tour squad after picking up a knee issue in training, the latest in a series of fitness problems for Tomiyasu since arriving at the Emirates.
Tomiyasu has quickly cemented himself as a fan favourite in North London over the past three years, aided by his ability to perform in all areas of defence, from right-back and left-back to centre-back.
After neither Jakub Kiwior nor Oleksandr Zinchenko cut the mustard last season, the Japan international was Arteta's first choice on the left-hand side for the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign, where he scored two goals and set up three more in 30 matches.
When announcing their 26-man squad for their USA tour, Arsenal confirmed that Tomiyasu had hurt his knee and would be remaining in London for treatment alongside Kieran Tierney, who is recovering from the hamstring issue he sustained while playing for Scotland at Euro 2024.
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Arteta unsure of Tomiyasu recovery time
The Gunners did not publicly say how long the 25-year-old would be sidelined for, but a report from CBS Sports claims that the Tomiyasu could be absent for the whole of pre-season.
The Japanese defender would therefore sit out all three transatlantic meetings with Bournemouth, Manchester United and Liverpool, as well as home clashes against Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon next month.
Speaking in a press conference after Arsenal arrived in North America, Arteta expressed sympathy with Tomiyasu over his latest concern but described his omission from the USA tour as precautionary.
"It is unbelievable, because the kid works so hard. He had an incident in training this week and we don't know yet the extent of that [knee] injury but as a precaution we kept him [in England]. We'll see what happens," arsenal.com quotes Arteta as saying.
Tomiyasu has missed a combined 40 games for club and country during his three years at Arsenal, but his absence will open the door for Jurrien Timber to make his mark after his nightmarish debut campaign in North London.
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Arteta "very excited" about Timber potential
The Dutchman only made three appearances in 2023-24 due to the ACL injury he suffered on the first weekend of the Premier League season, but he featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly success over Leyton Orient on July 20, and Arteta is "very excited" to see how he performs in the USA.
"He is so willing, you can see that in his body language and the way he acts. He has worked so hard, I think he is in a really good place at the moment," the Spaniard added.
"We are going to have to manage him now in the next few weeks, especially because the load he has been able to do in the last few months compared to the next two weeks is very different, but we are very excited.
"He is a leader. He loves to be on show and a big presence in everything that we do. He is very vocal and extremely gifted technically. He is a great addition to the team."
Speaking of versatile defenders, Arteta also broke his silence on Arsenal's pursuit of Bologna and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori amid claims that a £37.9m deal is close to completion.
