Kai Havertz injury: Arsenal forward’s hamstring could sideline him for remainder of Gunners’ season

Kai Havertz has suffered a serious hamstring injury that threatens to sideline him for the remainder of the season, CBS Sports understands. Arsenal flew back from their warm weather training camp in Dubai on Tuesday for Havertz to undergo tests that have confirmed their worst possible fears. Mikel Arteta is now expected to be without a recognised striker for the remainder of the season.

Havertz is understood to have suffered the injury in training earlier this week, with scans on Arsenal’s return to London offering an indication of the sheer severity of the issue, which represents a hammer blow for the Gunners in the aftermath of a January transfer window where no reinforcements were made to an injury-riddled frontline.

With Gabriel Jesus out into next season after knee surgery, the burden will fall on a small group of players to try to keep Arsenal alive in the race for the Premier League and Champions League. For the next few weeks at least that group might number just three: Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and Ethan Nwaneri. Gabriel Martinelli suffered a suspected hamstring injury in the EFL Cup semifinal defeat to Newcastle last week and though Bukayo Saka’s return to light training in Dubai was welcome news he is still expected to be out into next month.

The immediate question for Arteta will be how best to construct a frontline made of two natural left wingers and a 17 year old who began the season as Martin Odegaard’s understudy in central midfield. Since then, Arteta has spoken of the possibility of Nwaneri developing into a number nine while Trossard frequently filled in in that position during his first half season at Arsenal. Sterling could also lead the line though simply getting satisfactory performances out of him in any position has been a struggle for Arsenal this season.

That aside, academy forward Nathan Butler-Oyedeji, 22, has been a frequent presence on the first team bench amid the recent crisis of numbers. Arsenal could also explore a free agent market that includes the likes of Diego Costa, Mariano Diaz and Carlos Vela.

Havertz’s injury shines a harsh light on Arsenal’s transfer business over the last two windows. They entered both intent on adding depth and quality to Arteta’s forward line, yet their only addition was Sterling as a deadline day loan in August. That deal — plus a failed pursuit of a permanent understudy for David Raya that forced them to take Bournemouth’s Neto on loan — meant Arsenal were unable to make further loan additions from Premier League clubs in January, where a £40 million bid for Ollie Watkins was rejected.

Arsenal have been unable to secure primary targets including Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, Benjamin Sesko of RB Leipzig and Alexander Isak, the striker who put them to the sword in the EFL Cup, and concluded that a signing for the sake of it would not be the right approach in the midseason window. They will now wonder if it might have helped to alleviate some of the load on Havertz, who played the full 90 minutes against Newcastle last week with the tie long since lost.

Across all competitions, the German international has played the second most minutes of any Premier League center froward this season, a statistic that is all the more notable given Havertz had knee problems in October and suffered a bout of illness over the Christmas period. Though Arteta has praised the genetic “powerhouse” who leads his line, he 24-year-old has been visibly struggling for energy in recent weeks, dropping to the floor in exhaustion after 10 men Arsenal beat Wolverhampton Wanderers away.