An injury expert has given his opinion on how long Viktor Gyokeres could be out after Mikel Arteta was forced to pull his star striker at halftime during Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Burnley on Saturday afternoon. The Gunners now lead the Premier League by seven points above Bournemouth and Liverpool, but they are dealing with an increasing number of injuries this season.
Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, and Kai Havertz have all spent too much time on the bench, while captain Martin Odegaard has had more than one injury scare. Fortunately, Arsenal’s depth has often gotten them out of difficult situations this season, but an injury to their first-choice striker could be the biggest concern yet.
Arsenal’s title ambitions were mostly dashed during the 2025/26 season due to an injury problem that saw Mikel Merino employed as a substitute centre forward. Depending on the severity of Gyokeres’ problem, Arteta may once again be forced to put square pegs into round holes, especially because Gabriel Jesus is now sidelined as a potential strike option.
An injury expert evaluates Victor Gyokeres.
While the 27-year-old Sweden international has not started as quickly as many expected, following a season in which he scored 54 goals in 52 appearances and earned a high-profile £63.5 million move to Arsenal in the summer, Gyokeres opened the scoring at Turf Moor, scoring his fourth Premier League goal of the season.
During the break, he was replaced after “feeling something muscular.” That immediately raised the possibility that he had suffered a hamstring injury or anything similarly bad. However, Physio Scout, an injury expert on X, has since played down fears of anything catastrophic by stating (read full post below):
“Arteta says he will be assessed. According to the sound of things, it appears to be tightness or a Grade 1 strain rather than a serious injury.
“Tightness/fatigue: Less than one week.”
“Grade 1 strain: 2 – 4 weeks.”
Martin Zubimendi was also substituted early, but with similar worries as Gyokeres, Physio Scout reiterated their view that Arsenal should have no reason to be concerned about the duo. “With no clear in-game mechanism, it profiles more as muscle fatigue/overload from the recent run of games,” they said of the midfielder.
“Likely day-to-day, unless scans reveal more. A double whammy on an otherwise strong Arsenal performance. However, it does not appear to be anything important to be concerned about.
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