Merino, White & Havertz: Latest Arsenal injury news and expected return dates ahead of PSG clash

Arsenal face perhaps the toughest test of their season so far this week, with the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against PSG taking place on Tuesday – and Mikel Arteta may be missing as many as nine first-team players for the match at the Emirates.

Injuries have blighted the Gunners’ season so far but despite having to cope without key players for long stretches of the campaign, they have made it to the final four of Europe’s biggest cup competition in impressive fashion – still, a PSG side who have already knocked Liverpool and Aston Villa out will present an especially stern test.

Mikel Merino, Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori are among the doubts for Tuesday night’s game, while there are also updates on the availability of Kai Havertz, who is set to make an early return from a hamstring injury that had been expected to keep him out for the rest of the season.

We’ve got all the latest news below, along with the injured players’ expected return dates when available.

Mikel Merino injury gives Arsenal a headache in midfield

Perhaps the most impactful absence could be that of January signing Mikel Merino, who has been on fine form both as a midfielder and as an emergency centre-forward since joining the club in the last transfer window.

The Spaniard ended up being left out of the side for the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace last Wednesday, with Arteta cagey about the nature of the apparent injury that has sidelined him. The Arsenal head coach simply told reporters that he would “have to wait and see” whether Merino was available for the PSG game.

With so little clarity as to Merino’s status, Arsenal supporters will have some understandable worries as to the make-up of the midfield on Tuesday, with Thomas Partey suspended for one game after picking up a yellow card against Real Madrid and Jorginho ruled out with an abdominal injury.

The Italy international is expected to be out for “a few weeks” while it is “not certain” that he will be back in action before the end of May. The final in Munich takes place on 31 May, should the Gunners make it through.

Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori doubts – and will Kai Havertz play again this season?

Another player who missed the Palace match unexpectedly was right-back Ben White, who has endured a torrid time with fitness problems over the course of the past year. Again, details of the issue are unknown, but it is presumed that his ongoing knee problems may have been responsible for his absence.

As with Merino, Arteta simply said that he will “wait and see” whether White could play this week. Neither injury is expected to be serious, but their participation is very much in doubt.

Riccardo Calafiori is another doubt – the versatile defender hasn’t played since sustaining a knee injury during the last international break, and while he is close to a return it remains unclear whether he will be involved against PSG. It is, in any case, unlikely that the summer signing will start after another relatively lengthy lay-off.

With White and Calafiori both doubts, Arsenal’s defence may well be heavily depleted for the first leg. Key centre-half Gabriel Magalhães will not play again this season after undergoing surgery on a hamstring injury, while Takehiro Tomiyasu is still sidelined by a long-standing knee injury and is expected to be out of action until October.

Like his defensive namesake, Gabriel Jesus will also be unavailable for the rest of the season due to an ACL injury that will sideline him until November at least, but his attacking colleague Kai Havertz could make an unexpected return from a hamstring injury that had been expected to keep him out until pre-season.

Arteta has told reporters that the German forward is progressing more quickly than expected with his rehabilitation and that “if I have to bet on him [coming back] earlier than expected, I would say yes”. It is, however, extremely unlikely that Havertz is involved against PSG, with Arteta saying that he felt the Champions League semi-final was “too close”. Havertz is not believed to have returned to full team training yet.

All in all, Arsenal are expected to be without six first-team players (Partey, Jorginho, Havertz, Tomiyasu and the two Gabriels) with three more (White, Merino and Calafiori) all significant doubts for Tuesday evening’s game at the Emirates.