Arsenal’s defensive injury woes will not let up with Piero Hincapie limping off in the second half of their mammoth Premier League clash with Liverpool.
Hincapie was noticed hobbling over to take a throw on near the managers’ technical area, with Mikel Arteta approaching the Ecuadorian to check on him.
The defender then went down after the next phase of play, receiving treatment as he laid dejected on the grass.
It was quickly decided that he would not be able to continue and he was replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly in the 58th minute.
“Hincapie’s injury will take some of Arsenal’s height away, but Lewis-Skelly will give them a little bit more creativity at left-back,” Gary Neville said on Sky Sports commentary.
Hincapie had started the last 10 Premier League games, finding favour under Arteta after seeing his first two months at the club maligned by groin problems.
However, the Gunners now face a nervous wait to discover the extent of Hincapie’s injury and see if their options at the back will be strained further, with defensive injury problems plaguing Arsenal’s season so far.
Arteta will be expected to provide an update on Hincapie in his post-match press conference at the Emirates Stadium.
There were fears that substitute Lewis-Skelly also picked up a problem when he hobbled gingerly away from a challenge with Jeremie Frimpong, but the Englishman was able to shake off the issue.
Arsenal were already without Cristhian Mosquera for the visit of Liverpool, who picked up an ankle injury in December that Arteta said would keep the Colombian out for “weeks”, while Riccardo Calafiori sustained a “very awkward” injury in the build-up to the visit of Brighton and also missed out.
Brazilian colossus Gabriel, meanwhile, only just returned from the sidelines after several weeks out with a thigh problem.
