Arsenal lose Hincapié and Zubimendi to ankle injuries as Saliba steps up recovery

Arsenal will be without Piero Hincapié and Martín Zubimendi against Lille after both suffered ankle injuries during exercises following Saturday's victory over Leeds United. According to the Guardian's reporting of Mikel Arteta's Monday news conference, the pair will miss Tuesday's Champions League home match while the club assesses the damage.

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Both players were scheduled for further scans on Monday, with Arteta expecting more information on Tuesday. The manager indicated that Hincapié's injury appeared more concerning, but stopped short of confirming its severity. Neither player was given a recovery timetable, leaving the length of their absences unresolved ahead of the next round of medical assessments.

Arteta defended the decision to organise additional work for players who had not accumulated enough minutes during the match. The Guardian reported that he regarded the injuries as two unfortunate incidents rather than a reason to abandon the routine. He said similar problems could occur in an ordinary training session and that keeping players ready to contribute remained necessary.

Arseblog News reported that Hincapié had played the final eight minutes against Leeds, while Zubimendi remained an unused substitute. The subsequent conditioning session included a small-sided game with teammates. That account places both injuries in the extra work after the 2-1 win, rather than in the competitive action itself, and explains why the two players were involved after limited or no match time.

There was more encouraging news about William Saliba, although a return to matches is not imminent. BBC Sport's account of the news conference said the defender had been working on grass for just over a week. Arteta said Arsenal were controlling his workload carefully as they continued the process of bringing him back into contention.

The manager described the coming weeks as a period in which Arsenal would assess whether Saliba could begin joining the team again. He did not identify a specific fixture for his comeback. The update therefore offered evidence of progress in his rehabilitation without establishing a date when he would be available for selection.