Arsenal injury update: Hincapié, Zubimendi, Tzolis and Saliba return dates

Mikel Arteta's press conference on Friday 16 October 2026 delivered a mixed Arsenal injury update ahead of the Premier League visit of Nottingham Forest on 18 October and the Champions League meeting with Bayern Munich three days later. Piero Hincapié is expected to need another week or two, Martín Zubimendi is close, Christos Tzolis is recovering from a muscle problem and William Saliba, still without a minute this season, is moving in the right direction. Here is where each player stands and what the return date picture looks like.

Hincapié and Zubimendi: the post-match training injuries

The most unusual setback came after Arsenal's 2-1 comeback win over Leeds on Saturday 10 October. Players who had not had enough minutes stayed on the Emirates Stadium pitch for an extra session. Hincapié, 24, had come on in the 82nd minute and Zubimendi, 27, had been an unused substitute. Both injured their ankles during that workout.

PA reported that Hincapié had to be carried off piggy-back by third-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier while holding his right ankle. Speaking afterwards, Arteta said, as quoted by PA, that Arsenal had lost two players in “two very unfortunate actions”, adding that Hincapié's problem looked “a little bit more serious”. According to Reuters, he said it had “never happened in seven years I've been here” and defended the extra sessions as necessary to keep players' rhythm.

Both players missed the Champions League match against Lille on Tuesday 13 October, which Arsenal won 3-0. Roundtable reported on 14 October that an MRI scan showed Hincapié would be out for several weeks, a particularly frustrating outcome given that, according to reports, the Leeds game had been his first appearance in over a month.

Hincapié return date and Zubimendi latest

On 16 October, Arteta was more specific, as reported by Fantasy Football Scout. He said Hincapié would “probably” need “another week or two”, while “Zubi looks much better” and would be assessed after another training session. That leaves the Spain midfielder a possible option for the Forest match and the Ecuador defender aiming for a return later in the month.

Christos Tzolis: hamstring problem picked up with Greece

Tzolis was hurt on international duty. He was forced off after 18 minutes of Greece's 2-2 Nations League draw with the Netherlands on 1 October. Greece coach Ivan Jovanovic said at the time, according to Fantasy Football Scout, that he did not know how much damage had been done and hoped it was only a twitch. The winger was sent home early and missed Greece's goalless draw with Germany.

Arteta later confirmed the diagnosis in broad terms, telling Sports Mole that Tzolis had “a muscle injury” and would be out “for a few weeks”. It is understood to be a hamstring strain. Sports Mole estimated an absence of three to six weeks, though that was the writer's own estimate rather than an official timeline from Arsenal.

Tzolis missed the Leeds and Lille matches and was expected to sit out the Forest and Bayern fixtures as well. The encouraging news on 16 October was Arteta's assessment that he was “progressing really well”, with another MRI scheduled. This is the first injury of his Arsenal career, and it comes after a bright start: he set up four goals in his first eight appearances for the club in all competitions. In his absence, Eberechi Eze was expected to start on the left, with Noni Madueke another option.

William Saliba: positive signs after back injury

The longest-running absence belongs to Saliba. The France centre-back had not played for Arsenal this season because of a back injury he sustained on international duty at the 2026 World Cup, PA reported on 13 October. He trained individually at London Colney on Monday 12 October, and Arteta said he had “been on the grass for over a week now”. PA added that he could return in the coming weeks.

Arteta's tone on 16 October was the most upbeat of the day. “Every sign so far has been very, very positive,” he said, according to Fantasy Football Scout, confirming that Saliba would have another MRI the following week. He remains unavailable for the Forest game.

Arsenal injury list at a glance

Impact on Arsenal's season

The timing tests the depth of the squad. Arsenal face Nottingham Forest on 18 October and then Bayern Munich in the Champions League on 21 October, one of the toughest fixtures of the league phase. Without Saliba and Hincapié, the defensive options are reduced, and the loss of Zubimendi, if he is not cleared, would remove a key midfield presence.

Results have held up so far. According to Yalla Shoot data, Arsenal are second in the Premier League with 15 points from six games, five wins and one defeat, three points behind leaders Manchester City, who have won all six. Arsenal have conceded only five league goals, joint-fewest in the division, which says a great deal about the defensive structure even without Saliba. Forest, by contrast, are 15th with five points.

Background on the injured players

Hincapié is an Ecuador international defender who joined from Bayer Leverkusen in 2025, while Zubimendi, a Spain international midfielder, arrived from Real Sociedad the same summer. Tzolis, a Greece international winger, is in his first season at the club. Saliba came through at Saint-Étienne, joined Arsenal in 2019 and has formed a key central partnership with Gabriel Magalhães.

What's next

The immediate questions are whether Zubimendi passes his assessment in time for Forest and how quickly Hincapié responds over the coming fortnight. Next week's MRI scans for Saliba and Tzolis will determine their timelines more precisely. Follow Arsenal's games against Forest and Bayern with live scores and line-ups on our live page.