Arsenal have confirmed Ainsley Maitland-Niles will be out for up to eight weeks after suffering a small fracture in his left leg against Manchester City.
Maitland-Niles was forced off midway through the first half of Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to City but was able to leave the pitch unaided by a stretcher.
The versatile 20-year-old has impressed since breaking through into the Arsenal first-team over the last 12 months but is now set for a lengthy period on the sidelines.
“Ainsley has sustained a small fracture to his left fibula and will be out for six to eight weeks,” a statement read on the club’s official website.
New Arsenal boss Unai Emery selected Maitland-Niles at left-back for his first game in charge of the Gunners with Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal both unavailable against City.
Of Arsenal players that made more than four appearances in last season’s Europa League campaign, only Shkodran Mustafi (2.4) averaged more tackles per game than Maitland-Niles (2.2).
Arsenal, however, have a significantly better win ratio in the Premier League since the start of last season when Maitland-Niles has not started (56.7%) compared to when he has featured from the off (22.2%).
