Earlier this week, David Ornstein reported for The Athletic that Oleksandr Zinchenko had been ruled out for the remainder of Arsenal’s Premier League campaign with a calf problem.
The left-back reportedly picked up the issue in Arsenal’s win over Newcastle United, and he was expected to miss the next three games.
But there’s been some doubt cast over the claims since then.
Arsenal report that Zinchenko “continues to be assessed”, and Mikel Arteta suggested on Friday that the defender’s injury status was not confirmed yet.
Zinchenko was then spotted in training with the Arsenal squad on Saturday, further raising hopes of an early comeback.
Oleksandr Zinchenko training today ahead of Arsenal’s game against Brighton on Sunday. 🇺🇦 #ARSBHA pic.twitter.com/RBio4NSITX
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley) May 13, 2023
Ryan Taylor has since reported that though Zinchenko is still expected to miss the Brighton clash, he’ll undergo a late fitness test and there’s hope he could feature before the season ends.
There’s some talk on social media that Zinchenko was with the squad on Saturday night, but we know that the Ukraine international often joins the players on the bench even if he isn’t fit, so that doesn’t tell us much.
With the season so close to its conclusion, even confirmation of a minor injury could end up ruling Zinchenko out of the final games.
Still, it certainly seems like less of a foregone conclusion now than it did after the initial injury report broke. Arsenal fans will be keeping their fingers crossed for good news.