Medical expert: New injury could derail Kieran Tierney’s season amid Arsenal latest
Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney’s latest injury could have a significant impact on his 2022-23 campaign if he is unable to regain fitness within the next two weeks.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
Tierney, 25, is yet to play competitively after going under the knife for a knee injury in March.
He played the first 30 minutes of Arsenal’s 5-3 2 win over Nurnberg earlier this month (8 July) before being substituted.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta originally said that the Scottish left-back’s withdrawal was pre-planned and not because of a new injury.
But as quoted by The Sun last Sunday (17 July), the Spaniard revealed that Tierney has aggravated his knee injury and now has a “small problem”.
Dinnery explains that, although the issue is only minor for now, an extended absence could have major ramifications over the course of the coming season.
“Players need to be integrated in pre-season games,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“But if Arteta is to be believed, it is certainly more of a precautionary measure as opposed to anything more serious.
“He is expected to join the squad this week and train for their next game. That suggests that it was more of a minor issue that they didn’t want to take any risks with.
“If his absence extends maybe one or two weeks, that then does become a concern. Every period of time you miss in this block of training could have an impact on the upcoming season.
“Having been sidelined since the beginning of March, he can ill afford to miss those games.
“But if we take Arteta’s word on face value, hopefully we’ll see him back with the group very soon.”
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