Kai Havertz injury 'an accident waiting to happen' because of football's schedule – Mikel Arteta

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Mikel Arteta has called season-ending injuries like the one suffered by Kai Havertz “an accident waiting to happen” with the increasing demands on current players.

Havertz tore his hamstring on Arsenal’s warm-weather training trip to Dubai and will require surgery, which is expected to take his rehabilitation into pre-season. Arteta confirmed the Germany international sustained the injury when stretching to stop a shot after a set-piece in training.

Havertz’s hamstring injury is Arsenal’s third major case this season, with Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka also recovering from issues of their own. Arsenal are not alone in their injury struggles this season, with Brighton & Hove Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur’s squads also depleted.

On these types of injuries occurring across the Premier League, Arteta said: “The evidence we can provide is very limited in many aspects and every case is very different. Some of them we know are based on load and minutes, it’s inevitable.

“We have players that have been injured who have played 130 games in the last two seasons. In the end, it’s an accident waiting to happen if you continue to load and load and load.

“This season is it the accumulation of that, the stress of that, is it luck, is it preparation or methodology? There are a lot of factors to point at but the schedule that is planned is super demanding for players. Especially for explosive players, it becomes a real issue.”

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Saka and Declan Rice are two case studies that support Arteta’s claim. Saka played 121 games across the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons for club and country, while Rice played 130 games in the same timespan. Rice’s minutes were managed around Christmas.

Arteta also reiterated a point made in December around the training clubs are not able to do, saying: “We’re very limited. We train less than ever, if you see our data. There’s no time for training.

“Training is not only what happens on the grass. The biggest problem is you don’t train the muscle. The muscle is under-trained, and then you expose it and the tendon to an exposure that they cannot absorb because the tendon needs 72 hours to recover. A lot of people talk about what we’re doing outside, but it’s what we’re doing inside.

“When you have to load that muscle for two-eight weeks and haven’t trained it, the risk of injury is much bigger. One, because the muscle and tendon hasn’t recovered and then it’s not prepared to absorb the load you’re going to put it under every three days. That’s the problem.

“It’s a big blow because of the injuries we have but fortunately we have been through a lot this season. We have played without Gabriel Magalhaes, Saliba, Ben White, Tomiyasu, Calafiori (two months), Merino (two months), Martin Odegaard (two months), Bukayo Saka (three months) and Gabriel Jesus. That’s the challenge ahead. Love it and look forward because we are still where we are with all the things I mentioned on top of playing four times with 10 men. Let’s see what the team is made of.”

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Arsenal are also currently without Saka (David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

As well as having less time to train, the increased intensity of matches in recent years also contributes to the upturn in severe injuries. The demands on players not just to press high, but also to make long-distance recovery runs puts them through more work.

On this, Arteta added: “The intensity is going to a different level and the demands we are putting on players in terms of the amount of minutes in this competitive environment is getting higher and higher. It’s just a consequence of that.

“If you look at all the graphics of injuries that happened in the last couple of seasons, especially this season, long-term injuries with muscle and tendon involvements are higher than ever. There is a relationship and even if the dates of the examples are small, I think it’s very clear.”

In relation to more immediate matters, the Arsenal manager confirmed that Saka had not had a setback in his recovery from injury, and that White will be available for their trip to Leicester City.

“He (Saka) had a long-term injury,” he said. “It’s faster in a 10-day injury, three days is a lot. For three months, a week is not that much. It’s too early. He’s in an early stage of the rehab, when we get a little closer and starts to do more demanding stuff with more load we will see where he is.

“Ben has been training more regularly now. We still have to manage his load but he’s going to be available, yes.”

Arsenal travel to 18th placed Leicester on Saturday and will attempt to close the seven-point gap between themselves and league leaders Liverpool.

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(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)



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Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams
Alexandra Williams is a writer and editor. Angeles. She writes about politics, art, and culture for LinkDaddy News.

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