Mikel Arteta expects Kai Havertz to return from injury “earlier than expected” – but the Arsenal manager believes his side’s Champions League home match against Paris Saint-Germain on April 29 is “too close” for the striker to feature.
Germany international Havertz has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season but missed more than two months with a hamstring injury, sitting out 12 matches.
“The way he’s pushing in the gym, you cannot hold him much longer,” Arteta said, predicting that the 25-year-old will be back sooner than initially planned “if I had to bet”.
Mikel Arteta on whether Kai Havertz could return for the Champions League semi-finals:
“I think that’s too close, but if I have to bet on him being earlier than expected then I would say yes!”👀 pic.twitter.com/ZZq0uNgCU6
— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV) April 18, 2025
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Kai Havertz injury
After a brief knee problem in October, Havertz added to Arsenal’s hamstring hall of horrors when he suffered an injury they feared would end his season during a training camp in Dubai in February, reigniting calls at the time for Arteta to sign an out-and-out striker.
“He was going to stop a shot after a set-piece and stretched the leg and felt his hamstring,” Arteta explained afterwards. “We were having a great camp in Dubai.
“[We were] recharging, training, having some time off and connecting again with nature in a different environment. Then the injury happened in a very unexpected way.”
Arsenal’s situation has worsened since, including the news on April 3 that inspirational defender Gabriel will miss the rest of the season.
Four of Havertz’s goals and two of his three assists this season have come in the Champions League, and he scored and set up another in a 5-1 home win over Manchester City on February 2 in what proved to be his most recent appearance of the season.
Arsenal injuries vs Ipswich: Calafiori, Jorginho
Ricardo Calafiori has missed five games with a knee injury sustained while playing for Italy last month, and Arteta hopes the defender will return “maybe a little bit before” the first leg of the semi-final against a feared PSG team.
Arteta added that it is “too early to say” whether Jorginho will be available for the Gunners’ first appearance in the final four in 16 years, describing the midfielder as “still struggling” with a rib injury he suffered against Brentford on April 12.
The issue ruled Jorginho out of the 2-1 win at Real Madrid in Arsenal’s European quarter-final decider on Wednesday, when they completed a 5-1 aggregate victory to knock the holders out.
Ipswich vs Arsenal
Liverpool will end Arsenal’s title challenge and win the league with five games to spare if Arteta’s side lose at Ipswich Town on Sunday (14:00 BST) and the Reds win at second-bottom Leicester City (16:30).
Like Leicester, the third-bottom Tractor Boys – who earned their second successive promotion last season – are on the brink of an immediate relegation back to the Championship.
💫 Perfect delivery
🎯 Clinical finishMartinelli 🤝 Havertz pic.twitter.com/IC7M1hhBe1
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 23, 2025
“They are a really well-organised team,” said Arteta, praising opposition manager Kieran McKenna and his staff’s achievements as “remarkable”.
“I understand where they are at the moment and they’re playing at home. You see every week the number of issues they give to the opposition, so we expect a tough game.”
Arsenal want ‘strong hope’ in Premier League table
While Liverpool are almost out of sight, Arsenal hold a four-point lead over third-placed Newcastle following 1-1 draws at home to the Bees and away to Everton.
“We need to start winning matches in the Premier League to at least maintain the position we are in and push into the last few games with strong hope,” urged Arteta, calling the trip to Portman Road “big”.
Arsenal host Crystal Palace in the top flight on Wednesday before the visit of Ligue 1 champions PSG six days later (both 20:00).
Their trip to Paris takes place on May 7 (20:00).
