Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says Kai Havertz’s “unexpected” season-ending injury came when the striker blocked a shot during training.
The Germany forward will miss the remainder of the campaign after sustaining a hamstring injury during a winter training break in Dubai.
Havertz will have surgery on the issue and is not expected to return until pre-season.
“He was going to stop a shot after a set-piece and stretched the leg and he felt his hamstring,” Arteta said.
“We were having a great camp in Dubai, recharging, training, having some time off and connecting again with nature and a different environment.
“And then the injury happened in a very unexpected way, certainly. So it’s a big blow, obviously, because of the injuries that we have.
Havertz joins Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli on the sidelines, leaving Leandro Trossard, Raheem Sterling and teenager Ethan Nwaneri as the side’s only recognised forwards.
Arteta has had to deal with a number of injury issues throughout the season, with the likes of Ben White, Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori all missing lengthy spells.
In September, Manchester City captain Rodri said players were ‘close’ to going on strike to protest against the increase in matches due to revamped Uefa competitions and a Fifa Club World Cup.
A week later, he was ruled out for at least six months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.
“We’ve had players who are injured who’ve played 130 games in the last two seasons so it’s an accident waiting to happen when you continue to load, load and load,” said Arteta.
“The intensity is at a different level and the demands in terms of minutes in this competitive environment is getting higher and higher and it’s a consequence of that.
“The amount of muscle and tendon injuries is higher than ever so there’s a relationship.
“We’re very limited and we’re training less than ever. There’s no time for training.”
With the transfer window now closed, Arteta says he would consider signing a free agent to ease the club’s injury crisis in attack.
“I’ll explore every possible situation and make a decision from there,” he said.
Are there ‘more muscle injuries than ever’?
Ben Dinnery, founder of Premier Injuries, says there has been a reduction in injuries this season compared to the previous campaign.
“The narrative is that injuries are going through the roof this season, but they are actually not,” Dinnery told BBC Sport’s Football News Show.
“In terms of time loss absence we’ve actually seen a reduction season on season over the same period compared to 2023-24 by roughly 13%.”
However, Dinnery says there has been an increase in muscle injuries such as hamstring strains.
“I’s the type of injuries [getting more severe] and the length of return to play that is taking a little bit longer,” said Dinnery.
“When we took the 2023-24 season in isolation, looking at the previous four on average, we’ve seen an increase in hamstring injuries, certainly at the severe end, by about 65%.
“By severe we mean hamstring injuries that are likely to keep a player out for more than 30 days. That isn’t an outliner, numbers this season are continuing on that trajectory.”