Arsenal: Ancelotti ‘really sorry’ for Gabriel injury as Arteta reeling in double Gunners blow
Carlo Ancelotti has issued an apology to Arsenal and Mikel Arteta after Gabriel Magalhaes was forced off with an injury in Brazil’s 2-0 friendly win over Senegal on Saturday.
Brail have already secured their place in next summer’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, but continued their preparations for the 2026 World Cup with a victory over Senegal, with Chelsea’s Esetavao and Manchester United midfielder Casemiro scoring the goals for Selecao.
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But Gabriel has to be substituted with an adductor issue just after the hour mark and Ancelotti said he was “sorry for this” after the game, revealing he didn’t yet know how serious the problem is.
When asked about Gabriel’s injury, Ancelotti said: “Bad? I don’t know, he had a problem on his adductor the medical staff have to check tomorrow. We are really sorry for this, really disappointed, when players have an injury I hope they can recover well and soon.”
Gabriel has been in excellent form for Arsenal this season, scoring two goals and featuring in all 17 of the Gunners’ games this season as they look to end a 23-year wait to win the the Premier League title.
They’re currently four points clear at the top of the table and have also won all four of their Champions League games, but Arteta will likely need to use the extraordinary depth of his squad to cope with Gabriel’s absence and another injury which remains a problem for Arsenal.
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Riccardo Calafiori caused a stir this week as he joined up with the Italy squad with a groin issue, but Azzurri boss Gennaro Gattuso revealed on Saturday that the 23-year-old has now returned to London as he’s not recovered in time for their Group I clash against Norway on Sunday.
Confirming Calafiori has left camp ahead of returning to north London, Azzurri boss Gennaro Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia: “Calafiori left the training camp. We tried Calafiori, he had a few issues. I thank him for his commitment: he stayed here for a week, he could have played perhaps, but it wouldn’t have been fair to him or Arsenal. We’ll see who plays between [Gianluca] Mancini and [Alessandro] Buongiorno.”
The injuries have not been well timed with Arsenal hosting Tottenham in the North London derby next Sunday, before welcoming high-flying Bayern Munich to the Emirates ahead of a clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
