Bukayo Saka forced off early into Bayern clash as Arsenal dealt huge injury blow

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Bukayo Saka has suffered his latest injury setback after being forced off inside the first 10 minutes of Arsenal’s heavyweight Champions League clash with Bayern Munich.

The Gunners talisman appeared to pick up a muscular injury in his thigh as he tried to play a pass outside the Bayern box, immediately feeling his quad as he hit the deck.

It soon became evident the Englishman wouldn’t be able to continue as he received treatment and he was promptly replaced by Eberechi Eze, who lost his place in the starting line-up to Noni Madueke after his winner at Nottingham Forest last weekend.

A dejected Saka limped off the field in the 10th minute and Arsenal now face a nervous wait to discover the extent of his injury.

Eze went on to score the opener in Munich as he fired into the far corner, with the goal being given by VAR after initially being ruled offside.

Saka has enjoyed an influential start of the season, notching five goal contributions across all competitions as Arsenal look to successfully defend their Premier League title while going one better than their runners-up finish in Europe.

However, injury has reared its ugly head once again for the the 25-year-old, who has struggled to keep fit for prolonged stints throughout his career.

He was plagued with an Achilles issue picked up towards the back-end of last season, which limited his involvement for England at the World Cup as he tried to manage the issue.

Bukayo Saka appeared to pick up a muscular problem
Bukayo Saka appeared to pick up a muscular problem (Reuters)

Saka also missed over 20 games in 2025 due to hamstring issues after suffering a recurrence of the injury, first sustained in December 2024, at the beginning of last season.

Mikel Arteta is already dealing with a selection headache on the wing amid Christos Tzolis’ absence, but his woes could be about to grow if Saka is ruled out for an extended period of time.

The Spanish manager will be expected to provide an update on Saka’s status after the match.

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