Arsenal fear Takehiro Tomiyasu will face another spell on the sidelines after only recently returning to action from a knee injury, TEAMtalk can exclusively reveal.
Tomiyasu made his first appearance of the season with a late cameo off the bench in the 3-1 win over Southampton before the international break. The defender had missed the first few weeks of the new campaign as he was nursing a knee injury he sustained in pre-season.
Tomiyasu was left out of the Japan squad for their games against Saudi Arabia and Australia due to his lack of action so far this term.
Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk that Arsenal are seriously concerned Tomiyasu suffered a recurrence of his knee problem in his short appearance against Southampton and he could now be out of action for another month.
It means the versatile star – who can play as a full-back or centre-half – will be unavailable for this weekend’s clash with Bournemouth as the Premier League resumes after the international break.
The news is another injury headache for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli both picking up knocks on international duty.
Kai Havertz and Thomas Partey also withdrew from international duty last week with injuries, leaving them as concerns for the trip to Bournemouth.
Partey was forced to fill in at right-back against Southampton as both Ben White and Jurrien Timber were missing with knocks. Arteta will be hoping the defensive pair will be fit to play at Bournemouth as Tomiyasu braces himself for another spell in the treatment room.
