Saka faces up to eight weeks out after quadriceps injury in Arsenal's Champions League clash with Bayern

Bukayo Saka is facing a potential two-month absence after sustaining a quadriceps injury during Arsenal’s Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich on Wednesday, with club medics initially assessing a minimum layoff of six weeks that could extend to eight.

The England winger was forced off inside the opening 10 minutes at the Allianz Arena, replaced by Eberechi Eze. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta confirmed on Friday that Saka was undergoing further scans, revealing that significant fluid around the injury had complicated an early diagnosis.

“He’s got another MRI this afternoon because he had quite a lot of fluid in the area, so it was difficult to understand the extent of the injury,” Arteta said at his pre-match press conference. “We will know more probably tomorrow.”

Asked whether the injury was serious, Arteta urged caution before drawing conclusions. “When a player has to walk off the pitch, he is struggling to walk without any pain; he’s restricted in movement — they are not good signs. Let’s be a little bit patient so we can give a definitive assessment.”

The manager was also asked about footage of Saka driving into Arsenal’s London Colney training ground in an automatic car, apparently without using his injured left leg. Arteta was characteristically dry in response: “He was not changing gear either, no? I’m happy that he can drive.”

A six-week absence, backdated to Wednesday’s match, would see Arsenal’s vice-captain miss at least eight fixtures. In the Premier League, that spell includes home games against Everton, Hull City, and Manchester City, plus away trips to Liverpool and Newcastle United. In Europe, Borussia Dortmund at home and Slavia Prague away fall within that window, along with a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Fleetwood Town.

Should the injury stretch to eight weeks, Saka would also miss away fixtures at Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur, as well as Arsenal’s home matches against Bournemouth and Real Madrid. A full two-month layoff would push his return beyond the home clash with Manchester United.

Arteta confirmed Saka will definitely be absent for this weekend’s Premier League visit of Everton to the Emirates Stadium, with a fuller prognosis expected once specialist opinions have been gathered.