Zinchenko out again! Arsenal have signed another injury-prone left-back
Robin Bairner
- 16 Sept 2022 08:43 BST
- 3 min read
Arsenal summer signing Oleksandr Zinchenko has suffered another injury setback, according to reports.
The Ukraine international midfielder has missed the Gunners’ recent victories over Fulham and Aston Villa because of knee trouble, but he has since sustained a new injury.
UAF reports that he will miss the Premier League match against Brentford plus Ukraine’s forthcoming Nations League matches against Scotland (twice) and Armenia because of a calf problem.
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Arsenal fans had previously celebrated Zinchenko’s arrival because of Kieran Tierney’s injury problems at left-back. While the Scotland international has continued to pick up problems, it has left supporters concerned that they now have another injury prone player on their books.
So how does Zinchenko’s injury history look? Is this a trend that Gooners should get used to?
Zinchenko’s injury history
Zinchenko, at 25, is approaching his peak years as a player. Having signing from City in 2016, he has managed to steer relatively clear of significant injury problems to this point in his career – but he has shown a habit of picking up consistent niggles, the type of which appears to be hindering him presently.
The most significant issue that he had was a two-month recovery from knee surgery in 2019/20, which kept him on the sidelines for two months.
Games missed by Zinchenko per season
| Season | Games missed |
| 2016/17 | 9 |
| 2017/18 | 0 |
| 2018/19 | 25 |
| 2019/20 | 22 |
| 2020/21 | 12 |
| 2021/22 | 10 |
Although he has had his share of muscular problems, these have typically been very minor, consisting of fatigue rather than any serious pulls or tears. As a result, absences of around two weeks have been sprinkled throughout his career.
In the past couple of seasons, though, he has largely overcome his physical glitches. Simple knocks have seen him miss some football, while he was absent throughout January 2022 due to a Covid-19 infection.
Arsenal will hope that these knee and calf issues are not Zinchenko’s old problems waking up again following more intense usage. He has little history of serious problems, but regular glitches like these have been a feature in his career.
