Ian Wright admits he’s worried about Bukayo Saka getting injured before England’s World Cup campaign (Premier League Productions/Getty)
Ian Wright admits he is concerned about Bukayo Saka suffering an injury which could threaten his World Cup hopes ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Chelsea this weekend.
Saka was forced off in the first half of Arsenal’s 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest last Sunday but the 21-year-old was fit enough to come off the bench in the Gunners’ 1-0 over FC Zurich in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
England have already suffered a setback with Reece James ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury he suffered last month, while earlier this week, his Chelsea teammate Ben Chilwell suffered a hamstring injury which is likely to rule him out of the tournament in Qatar.
Wright believes Saka is now being targeted by opponents because of how vital he is for Arsenal and feels Mikel Arteta is unable to rest the winger due to his lack of squad depth.
‘It was sad to see, you look at Arsenal and people are already saying he should have been rested by now,’ Wright said on The Kelly & Wrighty Show.
Bukayo Saka was forced off in the first half of Arsenal’s win over Nottingham Forest last weekend (EPA)
‘It was an awkward fall he had [against Nottingham Forest], he opened his knee up, the sign is always when someone is coming off how angry they are, how despondent they are, we saw with Varane how he was, Saka came off with a little bit more of an anger, he was really disappointed, he looked really vexed about it.
‘I think if Emile Smith Rowe was fit, he [Saka] would’ve got more of a rest. We just haven’t got the depth, we still haven’t put teams away enough in the Europa League to be able to rest, we have to play him, whereas you probably would’ve thought he’d get rested against Zurich.
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‘He’s so dangerous now. He’s getting fouled a lot, he’s getting a lot bodies around him, you always worry about him.
‘It is a worry because we’re not a million miles away from the World Cup, and more importantly he’s in good form which is what Arsenal need at the moment.’
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‘You always worry about him.’
