Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori suffered a suspected knee injury in their win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.(Image: Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Arsenal handed Riccardo Calafiori injury verdict as best case scenario given before Liverpool

by · football.london

A football injury expert has outlined that Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori could be out for up to two weeks - should he avoid a serious knee problem. The Italian was forced off during Tuesday's 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League after twisting while defending.

The incident occurred in the latter stages of the difficult test against the Ukranian side as Mikel Arteta's side were forced to navigate past the tricky opponent. Calafiori was brought off in the latter stages and replaced by Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelley.

Calafiori tried to continue following the problem but it marks the latest headache at the Emirates Stadium. Injury issues continue to mount for Arsenal ahead of their latest Premier League title-race showdown with Liverpool on Sunday.

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Already, Arteta is facing the prospect of fielding a line-up without Martin Odegaard, William Saliba and Bukayo Saka.

"He had to come off because he felt something," Arteta said after the game. "I don't know the extent of it so in that sense, not great news."

It has been claimed that Calafiori will have to undergo scans after suffering a suspected medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury. Although the Arsenal boss says it is not good news, it has been suggested that the manner in which the defender tried to continue could hint at only minor damage.

Injury analysis account, @physioscout, tweeted: "Non-contact injury here which forces knee into valgus, but more of a slide injury rather than a direction change + pivot action.

This would be more indicative of an MCL injury, rather than an ACL injury. But integrity of the ACL still a MINOR concern.

"Physio was seen performing a valgus stress test too - which tests the structure of the MCL. Scans are necessary, but let's hope it's only a minor/moderate MCL sprain.

"Potential Recovery Times: Grade 1: 1-2 weeks, Grade 2: 3-6 weeks, Grade 3: 6-10 weeks. Again, scans will be necessary to confirm the severity. But hope is that it's only a grade 1 or 2 here as he got back up and played on."