Saka return date: Bukayo Saka’s return is finally coming into focus. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has confirmed the winger will be out for “weeks” with the quad injury he suffered at Bayern Munich — and reports now point to the Champions League visit of Real Madrid on 9 December as a potential comeback date for the 25-year-old.
Saka has not played since the 10th minute of Arsenal’s 2-2 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich on 21 October, when he pulled up with what Arteta described as a “really sharp pain” and was replaced by Eberechi Eze, who went on to open the scoring. He has missed four matches since, and the injury has already cost him a place in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for this month’s Nations League fixtures against Croatia and Spain.
Speaking on Friday ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Hull City, Arteta refused to put a firm date on Saka’s return — but his timeline made it clear the wait will stretch well beyond the international break.
“We’re talking about weeks. Let’s see, after the international break he’ll start hitting the pitch,” Arteta said. “But unfortunately he’s going to be out for a while.”
What Arteta said about the Saka return date
Arteta was equally careful when asked whether Saka could be fit for the visit of Manchester City in three weeks’ time. “I don’t want to put these guys under too much pressure. They are doing their best to get back fit. Bukayo is desperate to get back with the team, but it’s still quite early,” he said.
According to reports from football.london, the club’s medical team has 9 December — when Real Madrid visit the Emirates in the Champions League — pencilled in as a potential return target, with Saka set to step up his physical work once the November international break is over. The club is working to clear the fluid build-up around the injured tendon before he returns to full training, and nobody at Arsenal is putting a firm date on it. The north London derby at Tottenham on 6 December is seen as a more realistic first target, with the City game on 29 November looking tight.
For now, the message from the manager is patience. Saka will only get back on the grass after the break, and even then he will need time to rebuild match fitness after more than a month on the sidelines.
The fixtures Arsenal face without Saka
The timing of the injury is cruel. Arsenal go into Saturday’s home game against Hull City top of the Premier League on 24 points, three clear of Manchester City, and chasing a seventh straight home league win — their best run at the Emirates in four years. They have mostly coped without their star winger, winning three of the four games he has missed: Everton at home, Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield and Slavia Prague 2-1 in the Champions League. The one blemish was a Carabao Cup exit on penalties at fourth-tier Fleetwood Town.
But the run after the international break is brutal. Arsenal travel to Newcastle on 21 November, host Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League three days later, then welcome Manchester City to the Emirates on 29 November. The north London derby at Tottenham follows on 6 December, before Real Madrid arrive on 9 December. That is five huge games in 19 days — and Saka, Arsenal’s most dangerous attacker, is likely to miss most of them.
Arteta will lean on Eze, who has filled in on the right since Saka went down, and on a squad that has shown it can win without its talisman. Whether that holds through the toughest stretch of the season so far is the question that will define Arsenal’s autumn.
Good news on Konsa and Saliba
There was better news elsewhere in Arteta’s Friday update. Ezri Konsa, who came off during Wednesday’s 2-1 win at Slavia Prague with a knee issue, is fit and available for the Hull game. “He’s fine — he was feeling much better today. We took him out on Wednesday for a precaution, but yesterday and today he’s feeling good,” Arteta said. Konsa is also one of five Arsenal players named in Tuchel’s England squad, alongside Declan Rice, Eze, Ben White and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
William Saliba is also closing in on a return. The centre-back, out since hurting his back at the World Cup, travelled to Prague in midweek and has completed 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors friendly. He could be in line for minutes against Hull, although the club may choose to ease him back fully after the international break. With Saka out, getting Saliba back could be the boost Arsenal need most.
For the latest football predictions and betting tips ahead of the weekend’s big games, check our today’s predictions page. Arsenal host Hull City at the Emirates on Saturday (4pm WAT), looking to go into the final international break of 2026 top of the Premier League.
Photo: Chensiyuan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) — collage by SportsBuddy
