Medical expert reveals why Fabio Viera is wearing protective equipment as Arsenal images emerge
New Arsenal signing Fabio Vieira is likely wearing a protective boot as a precautionary measure and not because of a more serious issue.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
Arsenal announced the signing of Vieira from Porto last month (21 June) in a deal reported to be worth £30million.
As relayed by the Evening Standard last Saturday (2 July), the Portuguese midfielder has been pictured wearing a protective boot on his left foot.
But Dinnery insists that the Gunners have not signed damaged goods and that the player’s boot is to prevent turning a minor issue into a more serious one.
“You’re trying to mitigate the risk of any further problem while the player undergoes tests or assessments,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“In this case, it looks like it’s a minor issue that has been checked out. The last thing you want to do is turn something that is minor into something more serious.
“There were reports of an injury to his left foot about a month ago. Whether this issue is linked to that, we don’t know. But by his own admission, he’ll be fine for that pre-season programme.
“That CAM boot just restricts movement and protects that ankle joint from possibly exacerbating any issues. It’s purely a precautionary issue, nothing more than that.”
Vieira scored seven times and provided 16 assists in 39 apperances in 2021-22.
He could feature in Arsenal’s first pre-season clash against FC Nurnberg on Friday (8 July).
In other news, Allan Saint-Maximin tipped by pundit to reject Arsenal move in favour of Newcastle United stay.