Arsenal handed injury boost over key forward ahead of Sporting CP clash

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Arsenal handed injury boost over key forward ahead of Sporting CP clash

Leandro Trossard is believed to have avoided a serious injury and may only be facing a brief period on the sidelines for Arsenal.

The Gunners are already without their two natural strikers, Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah, forcing winger Trossard to play up top as a central striker in recent weeks.

However, he would manage just 22 minutes of the weekend's dramatic 3-2 win over Bournemouth before limping off with a groin injury, leaving Arsenal to complete their comeback without a focal point to their attack.

"It is a worry," manager Mikel Arteta told the media after the game. "He came to me and said 'I cannot continue, I felt something when I was tracking back after the corner'. We had to take him off and we have to assess him and see how he is."

According to football.london, those initial assessments have not identified any major injury and there is optimism that Trossard will not be out for long.

Thursday's meeting with Sporting CP is expected to come too soon for Trossard, but he will face continued exams to determine just how quickly he could return.

In the meantime, Arteta must find a solution for his striking conundrum. Nketiah is dealing with somewhat of a mystery ankle problem that the boss has already admitted could be more serious than it looks, so a late assessment of the 23-year-old will be needed before Thursday's game.

Jesus is inching ever closer to his return and was recently spotted doing some light exercise with Arsenal's substitutes after the Bournemouth game, suggesting his return to team training is not far away.