Injury Update: Petr may be better in a month

Arsenal got some good news and some bad news on the injury front today. The good news — Emile Smith Rowe is available for selection after injuring his right hip against Brentford last week. The bad news — Petr Cech is expected to be out of training for 3-4 weeks.

The silver lining is the upcoming international break. With the Gunners off from October 7th through the 22nd, Cech will not miss nearly as many matches as he would have if the injury had occurred a few weeks earlier or later. Criticism of his ball playing aside, Cech was playing well before going down, and his absence will complicate things for Unai Emery.

Arsenal have two Europa League matches and a Carabao Cup match during the time Cech will be on the shelf. With Cech available, Bernd Leno plays those matches. But does Emery want to risk his current Premier League starter knowing that should he go down, the team’s 3rd keeper will be pressed into service? On the other hand, Bernd Leno could benefit from a run of games both in terms of form and confidence.

There are no changes to the rest of the injury report. Ainsley Maitland-Niles is expected to return to full training in early October, which is a step up on his initial estimated return in November. Dinos Mavropanos will be out until the end of the month with a groin injury. Laurent Koscielny is aiming to return to full training in November.