Mikel Merino joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad earlier this week (Picture: Getty)
Mikel Arteta has confirmed new Arsenal signing Mikel Merino has suffered a potential fractured shoulder.
The Spain international’s eagerly anticipated move from Real Sociedad was completed earlier this week and it was hoped that the midfielder would be in line to make his debut against Brighton on Saturday.
Merino now, however, appears set for a few weeks on the sidelines after he was injured in a collision with his new teammate Gabriel Magalhaes during his first training session with the Gunners.
‘Yes, very unfortunate,’ said Arteta at his pre-match press conference confirming Merino’s setback.
‘Yesterday he had a collision. He has got a shoulder injury and it looks like he is going to be out for a few weeks. [It was his] first session. It looks like he has a small fracture.’
On how the injury occurred, Arteta added: ‘He was really excited and everything was looking really good. He landed on the floor and Gabi [Gabriel Magalhaes] landed on top of him and it looks like he has a small fracture probably.
‘We have to see [how long he will be out]. He was in so much pain. We’ll have to do some more tests on that and then we’ll have more conclusive answers.’
Mikel Merino has suffered an injury during his first Arsenal training session (Picture: Getty)
Arsenal will also be without Gabriel Jesus again with the Brazil international forward still out with the groin injury which ruled him out of last weekend’s win over Aston Villa.
‘He’s progressing really well,’ Arteta said. ‘He had a muscle injury (groin) and he’s already doing a lot of stuff so we expect him to be with us soon (not for Brighton though).’
Takehiro Tomiyasu will also be absent from the squad for the match with Brighton at Emirates Stadium due to a knee injury.
The Japan international has not played any matches in pre-season and Arteta could not confirm when he will be back.
‘At the moment, it’s difficult to say,’ he said. ‘It’s a bit slow the process of the first phase of that injury. It’s probably for the medical team to say more on that.’
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