Arsenal have confirmed that Uruguay midfielder Lucas Torreira will miss the rest of the season after sustaining an ankle injury in the FA Cup 2-0 win over Portsmouth. According to the Premier League club, Torreira is expected to be out for eight to 10 weeks.
- Lucas Torreira Injury update
- The return date for Lucas Torreira following ankle injury
The 24-year-old received oxygen on the pitch and was carried off on a stretcher at Fratton Park following a challenge by Pompey midfielder James Bolton in the 16th minute. Subsequently, he was replaced by Dani Ceballos and left the stadium on crutches.
Torreira will not miss Arsenal’s remaining Premier League games, especially the Gunner’s final game of the season against Watford on Sunday, 17 May. He will also miss the Gunners’ visit to Premier League rivals Sheffield United in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
In a statement on Arsenal’s website on Monday, the Gunners confirmed that: “Torreira had sustained a fracture to his right ankle during Portsmouth on March 2.”
The statement added: “He is still receiving continual assessments. Recovery process expected to take between eight to 10 weeks.”
The Uruguay midfielder has featured 33 times for Arsenal this season and has made a total of 75 appearances since arriving at the Emirates Stadium in July 2018 from Sampdoria for around £26million. Torreira has netted two goals but has not started under Mikel Arteta since the 2-2 draw at Chelsea at the end of January.
Before his start game against Portsmouth, Torreira had come on as a substitute in the previous four games, but will be devastated after his chance to impress has been cut short. The midfielder will now focus on recovering from the injury and look ahead to next season.
The midfielder watched Arsenal’s 1-0 win over West Ham at the Emirates Stadium, but was again spotted on crutches as he made his way to the players’ lounge at full-time of the game.
Speaking on Thursday before the weekend win against West Ham, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had said he was hoping Torreira’s injury was not a bad one and he would be able to play again this season.
“The best scenario, I’m not optimistic, is in a week or two he will be available,” he said.
“Hopefully he can avoid any surgeries which is always very traumatic and hopefully we can have him before the end of the season, it would be much better.”
Meanwhile, Pompey’s boss Kenny Jackett said the challenge on Torreira was not intentional when it was learned that the midfielder had sustained an ankle fracture. Jackett also defended Bolton, saying the challenge was an accident. The Porsmouth boss, however, wished the Arsenal midfielder well in his recovery.
“It seemed like a good tackle at the time, it didn’t really seem it was a bad one,” he told Portsmouth News.
“James isn’t that type of lad anyway. I have watched it back, in terms of our camera angle it looked a good and well-timed challenge that played the ball. I didn’t see any real reaction from their players either, which we do watch.
“Of course it was an accident and we do wish Torreira all the best and hope his recovery is quick.”
When will Lucas Torreira return from injury? The Arsenal midfielder is out for the 2019 season and he should be expected back at the beginning of the 2020 Premier League season.
