Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta described the fitness setbacks suffered by Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi as far from ideal following a post-match training session.
The session took place at Emirates Stadium immediately after Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League victory against Leeds United, specifically designed for players who did not feature or complete the full ninety minutes. A training session was held after Saturday’s match at Emirates Stadium for players who either did not feature in or did not play the full 90 minutes against Leeds.
Hincapie, twenty-four, entered the match in the eighty-second minute to help see out the win, while twenty-seven-year-old Zubimendi remained an unused substitute. Hincapie, 24, came on after 82 minutes as Arsenal saw out victory against Leeds, while Zubimendi, 27, was an unused substitute.
Arteta explained during a news conference ahead of the upcoming Champions League fixture against Lille that both players were hurt during unfortunate moments in the workout.
The club plans to conduct further medical scans to determine the extent of the damage and establish recovery timelines for the pair. They’ll have further scans to see where they are and we’ll have that time frame for how long they are going to be out for. Never train and they don’t get injured.
Addressing reporters about prevention, Arteta joked that players could simply avoid training altogether, though he noted that approach would leave them lacking match rhythm and impact. When asked by the media what could have been done to prevent the injuries, Arteta joked the pair should not have trained.
The Spanish coach added that such an incident had never occurred during his seven-year tenure at the club and expressed hope it will not happen again. It’s never happened in seven years I’ve been here. But what can you do, it’s happened now and hopefully it doesn’t happen again.
Hincapie’s ankle problem is considered more serious than Zubimendi’s knock, according to the manager, who scheduled the workout to maintain the best rhythm across the entire squad.
The session involved a small-sided game on the pitch to align player outputs through a congested fixture list, allowing the full squad to share a collective recovery day on Sunday.
During the incident, substitute goalkeeper Illan Meslier was spotted carrying Hincapie off the pitch on his back, a detail Arteta declined to discuss further.
