Tzolis suffers hamstring scare on Greece duty as Arsenal's injury crisis deepens

Christos Tzolis has returned to Arsenal’s London Colney training base for further assessment after pulling up with a suspected hamstring injury during Greece’s Nations League fixture against the Netherlands, according to Greek outlet Sport24 and journalist Dimitris Manakos.

The winger, who joined Arsenal over the summer as the club’s primary attacking addition following the departures of Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus, was substituted in the first quarter of the match after appearing visibly distressed. Greece head coach Ivan Jovanovic revealed that Tzolis initially refused to come off, raising concerns that the injury may have been aggravated before the substitution was made.

“I think it was a scene that everyone saw, those who were nearby,” Jovanovic said. “I told him to get out, because I suspected that he wouldn’t have done that if he hadn’t felt something. We don’t know how much damage was done today, but I hoped it was just a twitch, something temporary.”

The news arrives at a difficult moment for manager Mikel Arteta, who is already monitoring several players returning from the international break. Martin Odegaard sustained an injury following a challenge from Bernardo Silva, while Declan Rice withdrew from Thomas Tuchel’s England squad entirely. Kai Havertz had already been ruled out during the break after picking up a knock in the Nations League.

Further down the injury list, Ezri Konsa was kept on the bench for England’s full 90 minutes against the Czech Republic after a knock sustained against Spain, Ben White was unavailable for England selection, and Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera are also carrying knocks. William Saliba remains a longer-term absentee but is reported to be stepping up his recovery.

Arsenal host Leeds United when Premier League action resumes, with the full extent of Tzolis’s hamstring problem expected to become clearer following his medical assessment at London Colney.