Arsenal's next five games as Mikel Arteta faces injury crisis after England stars withdraw

The international break has not been a good time for Arsenal, who have seen several players withdraw from their national teams with fitness concerns, while Noni Madueke suffered an injury

Arsenal supporters have been left fretting over the fitness of key players after a worrying first week of the international break. The Gunners are entering a crucial period of the season, with Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League fixtures on the horizon, and fresh injury doubts have come at a bad time.

The most obvious concern regards Noni Madueke, who was forced to limp out of England's draw against Uruguay on Friday night. He was later seen wearing a protective knee brace and Thomas Tuchel gave a gloomy update post-match.

“I'm worried, of course," the England manager said. "Very sad and upset and hopefully it's not a big injury.” Arsenal fans will, of course, be hoping the same, but the news on Saturday night that Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka had followed Madueke back to their club won't have calmed the nerves.

Rice and Saka did not take part in the bruising 1-1 draw with Uruguay and were part of the 'A team' group who were supposed to get involved later, after some rest, for Tuesday's friendly against Japan. However, they have been released back to Arsenal 'for medical assessment'.

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While likely to be a merely precautionary move, it is worrying nonetheless. If fit, Both Saka and Rice are guaranteed a place in Tuchel's 26-man squad for this summer's World Cup, so the German does not necessarily need to see them play against Japan. But Arsenal certainly can't afford to lose two of their best players as the season moves into April.

In the coming weeks, the Gunners have quarter finals in the FA Cup and Champions League against Southampton and Sporting Lisbon respectively, as well as a potentially title-deciding Premier League game against Manchester City. Arsenal lost the Carabao Cup final 2-0 against Pep Guardiola's side recently and know the importance of the rematch on April 19, with City currently nine points behind in second place but with a game in-hand.

Arsenal will need their key players fit for the run-in and the wave of withdrawals from international duty suggest players prioritising club over country. Eberechi Eze, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba, Jurrien Timber and Martin Odegaard were all ruled out of their countries' squads, while Mikel Merino remains a long-term absentee.

Aside from Merino, Eze is the most serious of the group, having been sidelined for an estimated four to six weeks with a calf injury. Odegaard, meanwhile, is at the opposite end of the spectrum and is expected to make a return to the field after the international break following a month out with a knee injury.

Trossard, Gabriel, Saliba and Timber all withdrew from their respective national teams with unspecified fitness concerns. All four have played a lot of football this season with Arsenal and have used the international break as vital rest time ahead of the final few months of the campaign.

Arteta has used the previous rounds of the FA Cup as a chance to rotate his squad. Arsenal have had a smooth ride in the competition so far, beating Portsmouth, Wigan and Mansfield to set up a quarter final against Championship side Southampton next weekend.

The Gunners boss could hand minutes to fringe players against the Saints, with one eye on the Champions League games against Sporting and the Premier League fixture at Bournemouth on the horizon.

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