Tzolis heads home after hamstring scare

Christos Tzolis is returning to London early after suffering a hamstring injury in Greece’s 2-2 draw with the Netherlands.

The winger started the game but lasted only 18 minutes before requiring medical attention. He initially indicated that he wanted to continue, but coach Ivan Jovanovic decided it wasn’t worth the risk and withdrew him as a precaution.

“I told him to get out, because I suspected that he wouldn’t have done that if he hadn’t felt something,” explained Jovanovic.

“We don’t know how big the damage is today, but I hoped it was just a twitch, something temporary.

“I didn’t have any reason to be honest, because these aren’t qualifiers, they’re the Nations League. First and foremost I wanted to protect the player.”

The fact Tzolis felt able to continue suggests the problem may not be too serious, although Arsenal will still be sweating on the results of a scan.

Since joining from Club Brugge in the summer as Leandro Trossard’s replacement, the 24-year-old has featured in all five of Arsenal’s Premier League games, registering one assist.

If he is facing a spell on the sidelines, as the early rumours suggest, Mikel Arteta may have to lean more heavily on Eberechi Eze on the left flank or get creative with his other options. Not that managers tend to enjoy getting creative because yet another player has returned from international duty with a damaged hamstring.

In Tzolis’ absence, Greece established a two-goal lead but let it slip after the break.

Jurrien Timber played 78 minutes for the Netherlands, lining up alongside Virgil van Dijk in central defence.

The post Tzolis heads home after hamstring scare appeared first on Arseblog News - the Arsenal news site.