Arsenal star to undergo scans amid fears Mikel Arteta has suffered fresh injury blow

14 hours ago 2

Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie was forced off in the goalless Premier League draw against Liverpool after feeling tightness in his hamstring early in the second half

Arsenal defender Piero Hincapie is set to undergo scans amid fears he has suffered a potential hamstring injury.

The Ecuador international felt tightness in the area during the second half of Thursday night's goalless draw against Liverpool and following consultation with Mikel Arteta, he eventually went to ground so that he could receive treatment.

The Bayer Leverkusen loanee, who turns 24 today, was swiftly replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly just before the hour mark.

However, the Gunners are now facing a nervous wait to establish the extent of the damage. It's understood there is some concern that Hincapie had to complete a sprint after he first initially felt tightness.

Last month, fellow full-back Ben White suffered a hamstring strain in the dramatic 2-1 victory over Wolves.

The first prognosis was that White was likely to miss a minimum of four weeks of action but the England international responded excellently to treatment and was back on the bench against Aston Villa within around two-and-a-half weeks, playing the final seven minutes of the one-sided rout.

Hincapie has started Arsenal's last 10 Premier League matches after shaking off a groin issue earlier in the season shortly after signing upon the dotted line at the Emirates.

The versatile defender, who can play as a centre-back or left-back, had groin surgery at the start of last summer and also needed some time to adjust to Arteta's training methods.

He did recently miss the Carabao Cup quarter-final penalty triumph over Crystal Palace after taking a blow to the shoulder during an accidental clash with Riccardo Calafiori during the 1-0 Premier League win at Everton.

Sources close to the player note that Hincapie has only ever missed 10 matches (212 games played) due to injury throughout the entirety of his career, so usually, his body recovers well.

Arsenal are already stretched at the back as Calafiori (muscular) and Cristhian Mosquera (ankle) are currently sidelined, though Arteta hopes to welcome the Italian back to full fitness soon, possibly next week.

Gabriel Magalhaes has not long returned from a substantial thigh injury while Jurrien Timber was also forced to play on through the pain barrier during a packed December schedule.

Arteta has already made it clear he would be open to strengthening his squad in the January transfer market, if the right opportunity arose. Arsenal travel to Championship side Portsmouth in FA Cup third-round on Sunday.

Read Entire Article