Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Kai Havertz - Arsenal injury news and return dates ahead of Nottingham Forest

Arsenal will be sitting anxiously watching the final international break of the calendar year before facing Nottingham Forest. Mikel Arteta has described the last two months as an 'absolute nightmare' with the Gunners weathering their worst spate of injuries since the Spaniard took charge.

They will await the results and feedback from medical staff on a host of possible casualties, while there will be hopes the injury issues don't worsen. Here are the list of injuries and potential return dates ahead of the match against Forest on Saturday, November 23.

Bukayo Saka

Injury: Unknown

Bukayo Saka sparked fresh injury concerns as he trudged off during the latter stages at Stamford Bridge. The England international seemingly felt a muscle twinge while challenging in the Chelsea penalty area.

The 23-year-old has already missed stages of the season and was a doubt for their showdown with Liverpool, missing two matches upon the return from the previous break. But he appears to have suffered another problem casting doubt over his involvement with the Three Lions.

What Mikel Arteta said: "It doesn't look good, because for two players of that importance to tell you they cannot continue in the game, it's not good news.

"I don't know whether to expect them to be fit because if not they don't come off.

"What I'm praying for is that after the international break we have the team fully physically equipped, that they are available and that they are fit, because it's been a nightmare for eight weeks."

Potential return date: Unknown

Declan Rice

Injury: Unknown.

Declan Rice withdrew from the action with just over 25 minutes remaining on Sunday. The midfielder has seemingly suffered a fresh setback after missing the Champions League defeat at Inter Milan.

A key cog in the engine room, Rice's absence would be felt from a defensive standpoint in the latest blow to Arteta's plans after Martin Odegaard started for the first time in two months.

In a double injury update along with Saka, the Spaniard raised suspicions over whether Rice will feature in the last of Lee Carsley's matches in caretaker charge of England.

What Mikel Arteta said: "It doesn't look good, because for two players of that importance to tell you they cannot continue in the game, it's not good news.

"I don't know whether to expect them to be fit because if not they don't come off.

"What I'm praying for is that after the international break we have the team fully physically equipped, that they are available and that they are fit, because it's been a nightmare for eight weeks."

Potential return date: Unknown

Kai Havertz

Injury: Head

Just days after a clash of heads with Yann Bisseck against Inter, Kai Havertz was involved in another collision which resulted in the German needing treatment.

He has been called up to the Germany squad, but following two head injuries in as many matches, his condition will be monitored.

What Arteta said: "We will have to wait to see how they react. Kai had a nasty cut so we had to take him off."

Possible return date: Nottingham Forest (H) - Saturday, November 23.

Riccardo Calafiori

Injury: Knee.

Calafiori remains sidelined after being forced off during the Champions League clash at home to Shakhtar Donetsk after slipping in a challenge. Reports in Italy suggested that he will only be out for several weeks. The issue is not described as being serious.

What Arteta has said: "He will be out for a few weeks, I would say."

Possible return date: Nottingham Forest (H) - Saturday, November 23.

Martin Odegaard

Injury: Ankle.

Odegaard finally made his return to the starting 11 against Chelsea and played the entirety following his ankle injury. He has been called up to Norway's squad for the international break, denying the opportunity for further recovery from the problem - which he suffered on duty with his country.

What Mikel Arteta has said: "I don't know any other player in the league that is capable of doing that after six weeks out, he had a day and a half, a training and a half.

"Just physically and mentally to be connected the way he was with the team is unbelievable."

Possible return date: Returned.

Takehiro Tomiyasu

Injury: Unknown.

Tomiyasu was again absent from the matchday squad against Chelsea after missing games against Shakhtar Donetsk, Liverpool, Bournemouth, Newcastle United and Inter Milan. The 25-year-old has struggled with injury for most of the calendar year, playing only six minutes of football since the 2024/25 season began.

What Mikel Arteta has said: "No, I don't expect him to be available before then [the November international break], unfortunately."

Possible return date: December.

Kieran Tierney

Injury: Hamstring.

Tierney remains out of action after suffering a devastating hamstring injury playing for Scotland against Switzerland during the Euro 2024 group stages in Cologne over the summer. He is finally closing in on being back in training. There has been no sight of him just yet, though.

What Arteta has said: "I think he's quite close. He's looking really good. I think he's over the period where he was still struggling, so he looks really sharp out there. He hasn't trained with the team yet but hopefully, he can do that in the next week or two."

Possible return date: West Ham (A) - Saturday, November 30.

Get breaking Forest news sent direct to your phone

Join our Nottingham Forest WhatsApp group and get the latest breaking news, interviews and opinion sent straight to your phone, plus matchday team news and live updates of all the action. Just click here and select ‘Join Community’ to get started. The only proviso is that you must have WhatsApp on your phone to participate. No one will be able to see your personal information and you will only receive messages from the NottinghamshireLive Reds writers.

We will not spam your WhatsApp feed with constant messages, but you will receive updates from us daily with the latest Reds stories. If you later decide to opt out, just go to the name at the top of your screen and click 'Exit Group'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. If you are curious, you can click here to read our Privacy Notice.