Mikel Arteta has described as “far from ideal” the loss of Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi to injuries picked up in a training session held after Arsenal’s 2-1 Premier League win against Leeds.
The session at Emirates Stadium was arranged following Saturday’s match for players who either did not feature against Leeds or did not play the full 90 minutes. Ecuador defender Hincapie was carried off by goalkeeper Illan Meslier during the workout, and Arteta later confirmed that Spain midfielder Zubimendi had also been hurt. Hincapie, 24, had come on after 82 minutes as Arsenal saw out the victory, while Zubimendi, 27, was an unused substitute.
Speaking at a news conference before Tuesday’s Champions League match against Lille, Arteta explained how the pair were lost: “We had a training session planned after the match for everyone that didn’t get enough minutes, and in two unfortunate actions we lost two players.” He added that both men will undergo further tests before the club can put a timescale on their absences: “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.”
The Arsenal manager said Hincapie’s ankle problem is the more serious of the two. Asked what could have been done to prevent the injuries, he joked that the players simply should not have trained. “Never train and they don’t get injured. The consequence of that is when you ask them to play they have no rhythm and no impact in the game,” he said.
Arteta stressed how unusual the situation was during his time in charge. “It’s never happened in seven years I’ve been here. It could happen in the training session the next day,” he said. “It’s happened now and hopefully it doesn’t happen again, but what can you do? If I had a crystal ball I would just say ‘guys, get in the jacuzzi and I will see you tomorrow’.”
The post-match workout is a regular part of Arsenal’s routine. Arteta arranges small-sided games on the pitch for those who have not played a full match, a practice designed to keep the whole squad on a similar output during a busy fixture schedule. It was during one of those games that Hincapie and Zubimendi were hurt. The plan had been for the players short of minutes to train at the Emirates so that the entire squad could take a recovery day on Sunday before training again on Monday. Arteta said the approach is intended to get “everybody in the best rhythm”.
There was also an unexpected detail in how Hincapie left the pitch, with substitute goalkeeper Meslier seen carrying the defender off on his back despite staff members being present. Arteta did not appear pleased by that, saying only: “that’s something else, not to discuss here.”
Both players joined Arsenal last summer and have largely been used from the bench this season. Hincapie has made three Premier League appearances as a substitute, though he started the Champions League win over Napoli last month. Zubimendi has also featured mainly as a replacement, making five Premier League appearances off the bench.