Gabriel, Hincapie, Madueke – Arsenal injury news and return dates ahead of West Ham

Arsenal have the opportunity to go top of the Premier League and pile pressure on Liverpool tomorrow as they play ahead of their title rivals. Mikel Arteta will hope he has a strong squad at his disposal to take on West Ham in the Gunners’ final game ahead of the international break.

It remains to be seen whether Gabriel Magalhaes is fit enough to feature after being forced off the field against Olympiacos during the week. The Brazilian defender did not appear to need significant treatment and was pictured in training, but will be a doubt for the clash against the Hammers.

Arteta will be pleased with the progress of key players Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard following their injury absences. The former came off the bench against Arsenal’s Greek opponents as his fitness continues to be managed, while the Norway international put in a starring performance.

Ahead of welcoming the Irons to the Emirates Stadium this weekend, football.london takes a look at the latest injury news for the Gunners.

Bukayo Saka

The winger is back in action but discussions have taken place over managing his minutes on England duty.

What Arteta has said: “ We’re always talking, Thomas and I. We’re always in very fluent communication, both ways. First of all, from my side, to give him feedback on where each of the players are, and after, when they’ve been in camp as well, to reflect and learn how everything has gone. So I’m sure we’ll do that, and so far it’s been very fluent and very positive communication.”

Gabriel Magalhaes

The Arsenal defender suffered from the impact of a first-half kick against Olympiacos and eventually needed to be substituted in the second period of the Champions League match. From the outset there appears to have been no significant concern but Arteta offered no guarantee the 27-year-old would feature on Saturday in his press conference.

What Arteta has said: “We’ll have to wait and see after training. We’ve done almost nothing today, so we’ll see how everybody is. But we weren’t too concerned about him.

Expected return date: West Ham, 04/10/25.

Piero Hincapie

The defender is out of action with a groin injury and has been absent from Arsenal’s last four matchday squads. Hincapie is set to miss one more domestic game and Ecuador’s international fixtures.

What Arteta has said:“He will be available after the international break. So we’ve been trying to do everything as fast as possible but this came too fast. Now we have the international break and hopefully after that, he will have a couple of sessions with the team and be ready to go”

Expected return date: Fulham, 18/10/25.

Noni Madueke

The Arsenal winger is one of the remaining stars, designated ‘still out’ by Arteta. Last week, the Spanish coach noted he was yet to have another scan.

What Arteta has said (September 23rd): “Yes, it looks like he’s going to be out for a few weeks. We don’t know yet, we’re probably going to have to scan him next week again. He felt something at the beginning of the match, he tried to carry on, and at half-time, he was too sore, so let’s see.

“We hope [it’s weeks rather than months]. As I said, we need to scan him again to see the real extent of the injury, but it doesn’t look too bad.”

Expected return date: November.

Kai Havertz

The German international has been a long-term absentee with his kneee injury and underwent surgery on the problem in August. Havertz could return next month.

What Arteta has said: “With Kai, we know that it will be months with him. I don’t know if it can be weeks, you never know because this is Kai and he’s a different specimen. We really miss him.

“Hopefully, he will be back, and back for the long term as well, so it is very important to look after that knee. So far, he’s progressing pretty well.”

Expected return date: November.

Gabriel Jesus

Brazil international Jesus remains out of action following his anterior cruciate ligament injury at the start of the year. The 28-year-old has stepped up his rehabilitation in recent weeks, but it could be 2026 before he returns.

What Arteta has said (September 12): “He had major surgery that was going to take him many, many months. So, after discussing that with the medical staff and understanding the schedule that we had and when we thought that he could be available, that it would be between December and January, we decided to make that call, like we’ve done in the past with other players. Hopefully, we did it wrong and he comes back earlier. But at the moment, the provision was very clear.”

Expected return date: January.