Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has said the knee injury picked up on international duty by Noni Madueke is not as serious as first thought.
Madueke was forced off during the first half of England’s 1-1 friendly draw with Uruguay at Wembley last Friday.
But Arteta has confirmed he could be back within “days”.
“No, it’s not [that serious]. It looked really bad and Noni was really worried, especially after what happened in his other knee a few weeks ago and he was out for six weeks.
“But no, it’s nowhere near that injury so that was really good news.”
However, fellow England international Eberechi Eze is still sidelined with the calf issue he picked up prior to the Carabao Cup final and will not feature in the FA Cup quarter-final at Southampton on Saturday.
“He’s out,” Arteta added. “With him, I cannot say how long because he is a special character.”
There was better news, though, regarding the fitness of Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber, who are both in contention to feature at St Mary’s.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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