Arsenal dealt Ben White injury blow vs Sunderland as Mikel Arteta forced to make early change
Ben White during Arsenal's clash against Sunderland.(Image: Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Ben White appeared to suffer a groin injury during Arsenal's clash against Sunderland. The Gunners defender was spotted grimacing while holding his crutch towards the end of the first half, and he was subsequently replaced by Jurrien Timber, who's only recently returned to action after undergoing minor surgery in the summer, at the break.
The Arsenal substitute wasn't expected to take to the pitch until later this month, but he's made good progress at the Sobha Realty Training Centre, having returned to first-team training at the start of the week.
Timber was out on the grass on Tuesday morning, and looked set to feature in some capacity when the Gunners faced Napoli in the UEFA Champions League 'league phase' opener on Wednesday night.
But the Netherlands international was left out of the matchday squad at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. At the Stadium of Light on Saturday night, though, Timber was finally named on the bench, and he was thrown into the deep end at half-time.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE! Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
Speaking to reporters on Friday morning, Mikel Arteta announced that no one suffered any knocks during the trip to Naples. When pressed on the availability of White at the time, the Arsenal boss replied: "He's fine. Excellent, he's excellent."
And then on Timber, Arteta said: "Let's see, we have another training session, he's been doing really well, he's been training with us now for a few days and he looks in good shape."
Last season, there were times when only one of Timber or White would be available for selection, so Cristhian Mosquera had to fill in a few times.
When quizzed on the problems at right-back, Arteta said: "Yeah, that was one of the challenges last year when we had injuries in the same position.
"Hopefully, this season we will have more luck, and we will manage that better. If we do, hopefully, the number of positions will be low."
On the challenges of rotating Timber and White, Arteta said: "With Jurrien, he joined and had an ACL, that has consequences afterwards. Then White comes in, you load that player for 15 games, the chance of injury can go up."
When asked about Ezri Konsa, who has played right-back in the past for Aston Villa and England, Arteta said: "Well, relaxed, we have him and Jurrien out for long periods and the issue with Mosquera.
"We were really thin, and we needed to put a new player in that position. We've done it, and so far it is working well."
As it stands, the severity of White's injury remains clear. Arteta will be expected to provide an update in due time.
Choose Football London as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.